Style: prog rock, hard rock
Label: Polydor
Year: 1986
Home: England
Members: Keith Emerson ~ keyboards
Greg Lake ~ vocals/guitars/bass
Cozy Powell ~ drums
Emerson, Lake & Powell was born when a re-union of Emerson, Lake & Palmer didn't happen due to drummer Carl Palmer's obligations with Asia ... the band, not the country. Replacement Cozy Powell at first seems like an odd choice. His reputation is largely centered not on progressive rock, but hard rocking outings with Rainbow, Brian May, Graham Bonnet, Whitesnake, Michael Schenker & later with Black Sabbath & Yngwie Malmsteen. Its easy to forget that underneath the hard rock is often some often adventurous non-straight ahead playing. While he also worked with the always limit pushing Jeff Beck, Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord, & Robert Plant. If Keith Emerson & Greg Lake were looking for a more '80's sound, yet not wanting to not completely push away the past, Powell had the chops to bridge both worlds. I'm honestly not a big enough ELP fan to be able to comment on how Powell compares to Palmer. While even though I've heard Palmer in all the Asia albums, I'm not a drummer & not good recognizing drum styles. I just know what works or doesn't, as in does it clutter up the music or make it groove or just pound away brainlessly. So, moving on from Powell, how is the end product in general? I don't blame Powell for this, but Emerson, Lake & Powell is clearly more '80's than '70's. The rock guitars & driving rhythms (i.e. "The Score") makes it firmly '80's, & thus very different than the Emerson, Lake & Palmer we all know. This is pretty much a distinct entity musically. Though, I will back-up & say it might not be that distinct, but I haven't heard Emerson, Lake & Palmer's '80's output. It might be exactly the same ... which is essentially, I'm going to guess, not what most people want when they turn to ELP. ELP was a proggy classical rock band unlike no other with long wandering songs. We want Brain Salad Surgery, not something that is proggy Bon Jovi or early Def Leppard. So, Emerson, Lake & Powell might be a different entity or the same, but the end result is pretty iffy whatever the context. If this is what Emerson, Lake & Palmer were doing at the time ... I'm not inspired to hear any of those albums. I would compare this album more to Asia & GTR, but not as good. The only thing that keeps it with a few toes in the '70's is the keyboards, which thankfully dominate with classic prog sounding arrangements. I was reminded of Rick Wakeman's solo outings (i.e. "Touch & Go") or the first few albums after Genesis became a trio. While Lake still has his recognizable vocals, absolutely sounding like no band in the '80's.Yet, the playing felt rambling & uninspired, & often tedious. It didn't have the proggy spark. So, I should clarify that the dominance of the keyboards gives this a '70's feel, but not the playing itself. So, put rambling playing against rock guitars & driving rhythms & this is Emerson, Lake & whoever in name only. Though, for their defense, many classic bands such as Yes were moving in this direction turning their prog into something commercial. Its not bad, but it lacks the emotional elements of the past with lots of boring flash. Instead of going through the whole album, I would recommend listening to the "The Miracle." This is a track worth putting in your playlist. Absolutely skip over the anti-war anthem "Lay Down Your Guns" and the Broadway musical wannabe "Step Aside". Or, at least, save the later for when the band includes Barry Manilow.
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