So, today came the news that Greg Lake has died, from cancer. Following the late great Keith Emerson's suicide earlier this year (bedeviled by depression and arthritis), that means two of the three men who created my favorite album, TARKUS (1971), are gone now. And I have to think Carl Palmer, the last and least of the trio, is taking his vitamins and looking both ways at street corners.
The brief obit I saw called out his early days (Court of the Crimson King)* and of all his ELP work mentioned only his bitter little anti-Xmas song "I Believe in Father Christmas" and, of course, "Lucky Man".
I'm grateful to my cousin Sam for having introduced me to their music all those years ago, and to Emerson and Lake and Palmer for all the good music. They were uneven and wildly eclectic, but at their best they were superb. I know I'll be doing a lot of listening to their oeuvre over the next few days.
--John R.
current reading: still the Verne (20,000 Leagues) on and off
*I've always wondered if this was partially inspired by The King in Yellow but have never seen any supporting evidence
Tarkus is my favorite ELP album, too, John, and while I'd heard about Lake's death, I wasn't aware (or I'd forgotten, which perhaps is more likely :( ) that Keith Emerson had committed suicide.
ReplyDeleteTarkus and Trilogy are my favorites of their albums, with Tarkus leading far and away over the releases (other than Trilogy).
Allan.