Is Emerson Lake & Palmer's Love Beach the most punk rock record of 1978?

(I'm in the No camp)

If yer wanting to pull the prog rock is more munk than punk "zig while everybody else zags" card, the 1978 album to cite is this one.

more munk than punk.

So it's settled: Love Beach is the real punk rock.

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=413

Released 35 years ago today. Happy birthday Love Beach! Ha!

my mind has just been dynamited with this fact

President Trump plans to pardon everyone who bought “Lovebeach” by Emerson, Lake & Palmer..... pic.twitter.com/ekFmQHFQdN

— John Toolan (@MrToolan) January 19, 2021

This album is bad, but not terrible; better than Works 1 and 2, it's about as pretentious as a Neil Diamond album of the same vintage.

idk if it's better than Works 2, which is at least consistently entertaining. It's probably not better than Works 1 either, at least not the second LP with the Palmer-fusion stuff & "Pirates". but it's definitely better than those 2 reunion albums they did in the 90's. the best thing you can say about Love Beach is that they aren't trying hard enough to really fuck things up. that said I cannot believe a band that toured with cannons and 80-piece drumkits and flying keyboards and $10,000 rugs thought they could pull this off

I hate the cavernous echo on the Works albums. Love Beach is a little more on the human level. The only thing I really enjoy from all four LPs together is Emerson playing "Maple Leaf Rag", which probably would not pass muster with authentic ragtime lovers.

The actual "most punk" prog rock record of 1978 is Western Culture by Henry Cow.

I have the ELP documentary on DVD and it's funny to hear them talk about this album. Lake considers it a misfire, Palmer thinks it's as funny as everyone else does, but Emerson still insists it's misunderstood, that if only they had the chance to tour it people could've understood what Love Beach was all about...

Lake's "Taste of My Love" was about getting a blowjob from a groupie in a hotel room iirc

disgusting

umm I think it's a bit more disgusting than that

the synth bugles on that track always make me lose it

"I like my dessert first...if you know what I mean" AWOOOGA AWOOOOOGA

Oh, you look so hungry, woman
How come you strayed in here
With your eyes so bright
On this long hot night

Could it be for a taste of my love

Down on your knees
With your face to the wall
Saying please, please, please
My friend said I should call

Well, I do feel lonely, woman
And to tell the truth
I could use some company
So come closer to me

Help yourself to a taste of my love

Call up room service
Order peaches and cream
I like my dessert first
If you know what I mean

Yeah, taste it, taste it, taste it
Around the maze of pleasure
To the gates of pain
You're driving me insane
Take all you need from the taste of my love

I want to love you
Like nobody ever loved you
Get on my stallion
And we'll ride

I want to hold you
And enfold you beyond reason
I want to dynamite your mind
With love tonight

Go down gently
With your face to the east
The sun may be rising
But we haven't finished the beast

Ooh, you still look hungry, woman
I'm glad you came in here
With your eyes so bright
On this long hot night

Ooh, you need love, I need love
Here it comes, the taste of my love

I'm gonna love you
Like nobody ever loved you
Climb on my rocket
And we'll fly
Over the moon
Past the sun 'til we find
The gates of heaven
Open wide for lovers

I'm gonna love you
Like nobody ever loved you
Climb on my rocket
And we'll fly

god damnit we made it 15 1/2 years without someone posting the full lyrics to "Taste of My Love" in this thread

This is also the topic of "History & Prospects: The decay of Cities" by Henry Cow, but they omitted the lyrics at the last moment.

So near to sweet sixteen
If you know what I mean

xpost

Not punk, then.

punk can be gross but the specific way the grossness is expressed here could only be prog

The actual "most punk" prog rock record of 1978 is Western Culture by Henry Cow.

So prog not very punk in 1978.

Of course the record cover was a lot more punk before they airbrushed out the naked corpse in the grass at the band's feet.

I kind of like "Memoirs Of An Officer And a Gentleman". The rest of the album is horrible, and the cover even more so.

thanks to this revive I'm listening to this again, might as well get my $1.99 worth

what exactly is that whistle-trumpet synth that Emerson uses on the first side? it's the least sexy synth tone I've ever heard in my life. it makes these songs so much funnier.

seriously Lake belting out "I want to DYNA-MIIITE your mind with LOVE TONIGHT!" followed by "Go down gently with your face to the east" as Emerson tweets out "Chopsticks" is so fucking funny

Side two is the tasteful side.

pretty entertaining

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELeg-mNrowo

Who knew that Carl Palmer was in a short-lived AOR band between ELP and Asia? What do you know, it's complete dogshit with draggy drumming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DcsZ4RKyog

but at least he plays a straight beat! funny how much Palmer just checks out when he can't do his tippy-tappy shit

fwiw I think those Greg Lake solo LPs are worse. not just musically boring but imo the lyrics are so awful it drags the whole thing down. as someone who isn't really bothered by lyrics that's quite a feat!