In 2010 Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French instructed Prog that, whereas he wasn’t an afficionado of the style, he’d change into a fan of Emerson, Lake and Palmer in his teenagers – and defined why he anticipated to stay so for ever.
“In 1969, after I was 17 years previous, I had a buddy named David Schiff, who was a drummer and in addition an early prog rock and jazz freak. Due to him I bought turned on to so many various kinds of music and bands.
And he was the one who launched me to The Good, that includes Keith Emerson, after all. I beloved what they did – I noticed them a number of occasions on the well-known Fillmore East membership.
When The Good broke up, Emerson instantly joined up with Greg Lake and Carl Palmer. My buddy David, who knew about this stuff, stated on the time: ‘Fuck Ginger Baker and Mitch Mitchell; Carl Palmer is the very best fucking drummer on the earth!’ However again then, I’d by no means even heard of Carl Palmer!
So as a way to take my musical schooling slightly additional, David took me to see ELP. He needed me to understand what he meant – and so they completely blew me away. This was one superb supergroup.
Carl Palmer even gave Keith Emerson a run for his cash when it got here to approach and showmanship, and the entire expertise was unforgettable. I grew to become a complete fan of what they had been doing.
It was outstanding, and of such a excessive calibre, but additionally accessible. They left me in awe and wanting extra. This was the period when the three-man supergroups dominated – consider bands like Cream and so forth – and ELP had been actually the final nice ones of the time.
![Emerson, Lake & Palmer - The Old Castle (Live in Newcastle) [Official Audio] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/c9HrQjEJ-3U/maxresdefault.jpg)
They represented a mode of efficiency and musicianship the like of which we’ve not seen since. Right here had been three abilities, every a large in his personal proper, and but collectively the entire was even larger than the appreciable sum of the components. Each reside and on report they had been simply in a league of their very own.
I’m not an enormous fan of all issues prog; nonetheless, to me, Emerson, Lake & Palmer had been simply superb. I nonetheless maintain them within the highest potential esteem, and I should have listened to the Tarkus album one million occasions down the years.
Though not a direct inspiration on my music, what I took from them was a need to be the very best you may. If I got here throughout anybody who’d by no means heard ELP, I’d level them within the course of both Tarkus or Photos At An Exhibition – nice introductions to the band.”