Emerson, Lake & Palmer were one of the most successful, innovative and ground breaking British groups of the golden age of Progressive Rock. As well as creating spectacular ‘live’ shows that incorporated advanced technology and showmanship, they also recorded a cascade of powerful albums that sold in millions around the world. During 2016 and 2017 the band’s musical legacy will be celebrated by BMG with an important and comprehensive re-issue programme that will put the spotlight on ELP’s nine studio albums as well as their ‘live’ recordings and compilations. The trio’s remarkable style, combining original compositions with rock, jazz, folk and classical influences, was performed with passion and integrity by the founder members:
Keyboard maestro - the late great, Keith Emerson
Singer, guitarist and bass player - Greg Lake
Drummer and percussionist - Carl Palmer
Their phenomenal mix of melodic songs, dynamic arrangements, brilliant musicianship and electrifying sound broadened the audience for progressive rock and guaranteed ELP massive international appeal, as they headlined stadium tours throughout the 1970s and 1990s and achieved sales of over 40 million albums. ELP also enjoyed two major hit singles with ‘Lucky Man’ and ‘Fanfare For The Common Man’, and their 21 minute epic track ‘Tarkus’ is hailed as a milestone in Prog Rock history.
New and old generations of fans will now be able to enjoy ELP’s music afresh, as their albums are released in a range of different formats, from CD and freshly cut vinyl LP to digital download, high definition digital and mastered for iTunes. Vinyl connoisseurs will be pleased that following a special request from Greg Lake, the LPs will be presented on 140 gsm vinyl to ensure a superior high quality sound. LP inner bag features an explanation of this by Greg.
THE ALBUMS
The group’s first three albums are scheduled for re-release on Friday,July, 29th 2016.
All the CD version booklets will feature authorative liner notes and interviews conducted in 2016 with Keith Emerson and Greg Lake, by legendary rock journalist Chris Welch.
The band’s debut album ‘Emerson, Lake & Palmer’ (1970) will be available as a 2 CD set with CD 1 comprising the original album in its 2012 remastered edition. CD 2 offers an Alternate Album in a 2012 Steven Wilson stereo mix, with bonus tracks. The LP version will be the original album, newly cut for the first time from 24 Bit/HD 2012 remasters.
The Standard Digital Download will comprise the remastered 1970 album and an Alternate Album (2012 Stereo remix) with bonus tracks. The same contents will be available on MFiT and HD digital formats, all taken from the 2012 remasters.
‘Emerson, Lake & Palmer’ was first released after the group’s critically acclaimed debut show at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, when they performed to 600,000 people. Its dynamic original compositions and classical adaptations are brimful of Keith Emerson’s superb piano and Moog synthesizer work, Greg Lake’s magnificent vocals, bass and acoustic guitar playing and Carl Palmer’s lightning fast drumming.
Bartok’s ‘The Barbarian,’ together with originals ‘Take A Pebble,’ ‘Knife Edge,’ and the three part suite ‘The Three Fates’ are followed by ‘Tank’ and Greg Lake’s ballad ‘Lucky Man’ which was the band’s debut single and a huge U.K. and U.S. hit. The Alternate album has 12 tracks peppered with bonus items notable an informal ‘Rave Up,’ a Carl Palmer ‘Drum Solo,’ and alternate versions of ‘Take A Pebble,’ ‘Knife Edge’ and ‘Lucky Man.’
The band’s second album ‘Tarkus’ (1971) saw ELP take a new direction with yet more complex keyboard sounds. The title track took up the whole of side one of the original LP, and defined the band’s exultant, bombastic approach. ‘Jeremy Bender’ ‘Bitches Crystal,’ The Only Way (Hymn)’, ‘Infinite Space (Conclusion)’, ‘A Time And A Place,’ and the rocking ‘Are You Ready Eddy?’ complete this Number One U.K. album that also shot to Number 9 in the U.S. charts.
CD 1 comprises the 1971 album remastered in 2012 by renowned rock remastering engineer Andy Pearce. CD 2 is the Steven Wilson Stereo Mix of the 2012 remaster, with bonus tracks taken from the original recording sessions. They are ‘Oh My Father,’ ‘Unknown Ballad’ and an alternate take of ‘Mass’ from the extended piece ‘Tarkus.’ The LP version is newly cut from the 2012 remaster, with original gatefold sleeve and artwork faithfully reproduced. The three Digital versions are also taken from the 2012 remasters.
ELP’S third album ‘Pictures At An Exhibition’ (1971) has been credited with inspiring many young musicians to embrace and study classical music. Based on the group’s enthusiastic interpretation of the famous work by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, it was a major hit and reached Number 3 in the U.K. and Number 10 in the U.S. album charts. ‘Pictures’ was recorded on March 21st, 1971 at Newcastle City Hall, where Emerson made use of the hall’s thunderous pipe organ.
The LP and disc 1 of the CD comprises an excellent new remaster of the ‘Pictures’ album from the original master tapes. On the 2 CD set, tracks on CD 1 include ‘Promenade,’ ‘The Gnome,’ ‘Promenade,’ ‘The Sage,’ ‘The Old Castle, ‘ ‘Blues Variations,’ another reprise of ‘Promenade’, ‘The Hut of Baba Yaga, ‘ The Curse of Baba Yaga,’ ‘The Hut of Baba Yaga,’ ‘The Great Gates of Kiev’ and encore number ‘Nut Rocker’ a hit by B.Bumble & The Stingers. Bonus tracks are a medley of ‘Pictures’ recorded ‘live’ at the Mar Y Sol Festival, Puerto Rico, on December 4th, 1972.
Disc 2 has another live performance of the extended work, recorded at the Lyceum Ballroom, London, on December 9th, 1970, complemented by live performances of ELP favourites ‘The Barbarian,’ ‘Knife Edge,’ ‘Rondo’ and ‘Nut Rocker.’
Accompanying these three albums is a special 3 CD and Download release ‘Emerson, Lake & Palmer - The Anthology.’ Produced by Greg Lake, this superb, career-spanning set has 39 tracks from the years 1970 to 1998, the choice of material approved by all three band members. It is presented in special ‘casebound’ book packaging with detailed, informative sleeve notes by Chris Welch, illustrated with rare band photographs.
The songs are selected from the albums ‘Emerson, Lake & Palmer,’ ‘Tarkus’, ‘Pictures At An Exhibition,’ ‘Trilogy’, ‘Brain Salad Surgery,’ ‘Welcome Back My Friends To the Show That Never Ends,’ ‘Works Volume 1,’ ‘Works Volume 2,’ ‘Works Live’, ‘Love Beach,’ ‘Live At Nassau Coliseum ‘ 78’. ‘Black Moon’. ‘In The Hot Seat,’ ‘Live At The Royal Albert Hall 1993’ and ‘Then & Now.’
Among the highlights are the band’s performance of Copland’s ‘Hoedown’, and their version of ‘Jerusalem’ by William Blake and Hubert Parry. CD 3 includes the stirring ‘Fanfare For The Common Man,’ Keith Emerson’s hit rendition of the famed ‘Honky Tonk Train Blues,’ Greg Lake’s 1975 solo hit ‘I Believe In Father Christmas’ and the group’s menacing interpretation of the TV theme ‘Peter Gunn.’ ‘Tiger In A Spotlight’ is another live track, recorded at the group’s comeback show at the Royal Albert Hall.
Subsequent batches of important original ELP albums will be released by BMG later in 2016. They are ‘Trilogy,’ (1972), ‘Brain Salad Surgery’ (1973) and the unique triple live album ‘Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends’ (1974).
FOOTNOTE:
All these albums now serve as a fitting memorial to Keith Emerson, who died aged 71 on March 10th 2016. When speaking about ELP’s career and achievements for the re-issue project he said: “Emerson, Lake and Palmer are very proud to have brought this great music to a new generation of musicians and fans.”
UMe MARKS 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF TESLA’S 1991 PSYCHOTIC SUPPER ALBUM WITH TWO-LP VINYL RELEASE, ON JULY 22
Classic Geffen release includes five Mainstream Rock hits in “Edison’s Medicine,” “Call It What You Want,” “What You Give,” “Song & Emotion” and “Stir It Up”
TESLA's third album, Psychotic Supper, the band’s third studio album, released on August 30, 1991, was the follow-up to the live Five Man Acoustical Jam, peaking at #13 on the Billboard 200, featuring an aggressive change in direction from the previous disc, landing an impressive five songs on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, including “What You Give,” which went to #7 and even cracked the Billboard Hot 100 at #86. Other memorable songs include “Edison’s Medicine,” which spotlights how its subject received credit for harnessing electricity over the band’s own namesake, Nikola Tesla, which climbed to #20 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks, along with “Call It What You Want” (#19), “Song & Emotion” (#13) and “Stir It Up” (#35). Produced by Michael Barbiero (Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Anthrax) - who also helmed the band’s first two studio efforts -- the album was eventually certified platinum in 1993 by the RIAA, and was included in German magazine Rock Hard’s book of “The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.” The band themselves have been quoted as considering Psychotic Supper their best record.
To help mark the album’s 25th anniversary in August, UMe is reissuing the album for the first time as a two-LP standard issue vinyl set on July 22.
Tesla was formed in Sacramento in late 1981 by bassist Brian Wheat and Frank Hannon, with lead vocalist Jeff Keith, drummer Troy Luccketta and guitarist Tommy Skeoch joining them by 1984, settling on the name Tesla two years later. Their debut album, Mechanical Resonance, came out in 1986, with many of the band’s themes and song titles inspired by the electrical engineer who gave them their name. In the early days of their career, the band toured extensively, opening for David Lee Roth, Alice Cooper, Def Leppard and Poison.
And while their first two albums, Mechanical Resonance and 1989’s The Great Radio Controversy, both charted on the Billboard 200, 1990’s live Five Man Acoustical Jam, proved a breakthrough, peaking at #12, producing the Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 single “Signs,” a cover of the 1971 song by the Five Man Electrical Band.
On Psychotic Supper, the band largely eschewed the live album’s acoustic bent and let loose with a stripped-down production that enhanced the band’s bluesy take on rock and roll. “Edison’s Medicine” is highlighted by Jeff Keith’s frenetic, yet soulful vocals and some scorching guitar solos by Tommy Skeoch and Frank Hannon. Skeoch also rocks out on theremin, while Hannon straps on a bass for a memorable solo.
25 years after its release, Psychotic Supper still holds up for its impressive musicianship by the band and its mix of hard rock and anthemic ballads.
Lions Pride Music is excited to announce the signing of Wonderworld for their second album, Wonderworld II. The album will be given an additional release in October added with an extra bonus number.
WONDERWORLD is a classic powertrio, and consist of Roberto Tiranti (Labyrinth), Ken Ingwersen (Street Legal) and Tom Fossheim (Live Fire).
The band is currently also the permanent backing band for Ken Hensley (Uriah Heep), under the name; Ken Hensley & Live Fire. Being a unique group of individuals from Norway and Italy, these warriors have teamed up in a way that only true Vikings and Romans can do :-)
While recording the latest Ken Hensley album “Trouble”, the guys came up with the idea to do an album together as a classic rock powertrio, with no keyboards and a minimum of nonsense...just pure energetic hard rock. Just based on the rare chemistry of musicianship and friendship, the guys knew that this was something they had to do.
In 2014, the album was complete!
10 solid songs will be featured on their debut album, simply called...."WONDERWORLD"!
The album was released October 2014.
In 2016 the band is back stronger than ever with their second album, Wonderworld II.
TEMPT'RUNAWAY' CANDYMAN005 - A BRAND NEW front line release from Rock Candy Records available right now.
THOSE OF YOU who follow the world of Rock Candy would have noticed that we have never issued material from new artists. Indeed, our speciality is primarily to shine a spotlight on reissues - records that we feel, in one way or another, were vastly overlooked at the time or are of such a high quality that they needed to be re-examined and brought back into focus, buffed-up and given a truly five star re-appraisal. Of course, like every label, we do get many hopefuls brandishing new music but, sad to say, the content is often not quite right for us.
That we are pleased to report is not the case with New York based outfit Tempt. You may have seen them mentioned on various websites and in magazines over the last year - mainly praising a highly regarded self-financed EP and a smattering of live shows. The EP showcased a young, but thoroughly contemporary, band playing a style of music that evoked memories of the great melodic hard rock bands of the past. It was a heart-warming experience as the delivery, arrangements and attack suggested an allegiance to acts like Foofighters, Rival Sons and Alterbridge, yet the musicianship and spirit bring to mind classic Van Halen, Aerosmith and Def Leppard.
The band has crafted a truly spellbinding debut album; one that confronts the listener with a blast of the present but suggests a comforting whiff of the past. Crucially, all the elements are in place, from great vocals (courtesy of Zach Allen), incredible guitar playing (by Harrison Marcello ) and brilliantly crafted songs with enough twists and turns to not only satisfy the musically inclined but also to appeal to folk who just wanna rock.
MelodicRock Records is very pleased to announce an extension of the relationship with S.A.Y mastermind Jan Akesson, working with the guitarist/vocalist/songwriter/producer on his debut solo album ‘Ascension’, set to be released August 26 under the moniker Jan Akersson’s Shadow Rain.
Jan Akesson's Shadow Rain is an intense, in your face hard rocking rollercoaster that is both unique and melodic as well as very familiar to fans of the debut S.A.Y album, released on MRR in 2015.
Guitars and menace run through the album’s 10 tracks, whilst each throws in a hook and melody that draws you back in for more.
Sweden based multidimensional musician Jan Åkesson, was born in October 1965 and is known for his works with hard rock band StoneLake. Åkesson started playing guitar in 1978 and became a songwriter early in his life. In 1984 he got to know singer Peter Grundström while playing lead guitar in the band “Ravage”. Grundström was lead singer of the band “Whitelight” which Åkesson became a member of in the fall of the same year.
In 1987, Åkesson left Whitelight and wanted to pursue a career and a sound that was more guitar-oriented and harder. He went on to form new bands: “Why Not”, “Perfect Stranger” and “Dr. Blue”, playing many very successful gigs and making several acclaimed recordings.
In 1994 Jan decided to step back from live performance to concentrate on writing and producing songs in his new studio on the emerging digital recording platforms that would soon come to dominate the music industry. The studio he created in 2005, was called “UMP”, which is an abbreviation of: “Unlimited Music Production”.
After the split from Whitelight, who later changed their name to “Kee Avenue”, singer Peter Grundström was enrolled to join “StoneLake”. Åkesson and Grundström became a successful songwriting team and released several albums and singles on different record labels.
In 2008 they were invited to write all the music for the project “Solna” and shared the credits with well-known artists from the industry such as Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear, Gamma Ray), Alex De Rosso (Dokken), Rob de Luca (Lynch Mob, Sebastian Bach) and Pamela Moore who is known for her work with classic band Queensrÿche.
In 2015 the duo formed the project “S.A.Y.” and released the critically acclaimed album: “Orion”. Reviewer Kieran Dargan of the site “Rocktopia” wrote: “... the musical class on show here is simply too good to ignore. A rather fabulous little album that is well deserving of a home in your collection”.
Åkesson has been busy as a songwriter for different genres of music as well as hard rock, and has written pop music for numerous artists in Japan, but also hard rock music for artists such as “Liv Moon” and produced punk covers that were released on the album “MAX! - Punk it!”.
Look for ‘Ascension’, from Jan Akersson’s Shadow Rain to be released wide and far by MRR on August 26 alongside the debut Fiction Syxx album ‘Talk Dark Secrets’.
Meat Loaf collapsed Thursday night due to severe dehydration near the end of his concert at the Northern Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, Alberta Canada.
He was admitted to a nearby hospital to undergo routine tests. His vital signs are stable and normal — additional tests are being performed but he is responsive and recovering well.
He extends his heartfelt thanks for everyone's support and well wishes, and is expecting a speedy and full recovery.
Any concert postponements / rescheduled dates will be announced at a later time.
