[Review] Emerson Lake & Palmer: Love Beach (1978)

ELP apparently still had a few more ideas to get off their, um, chest.

Kronomyth 9.0: An officer and a gentlemanticore.

Fortunately, Love Beach is better than it looks. Unfortunately, it looks terrible. The first time I reviewed this, I called them wannabeegees. It’s not simply an image problem; Love Beach is also their weakest studio album to date. The first side of music, written by Greg Lake and Peter Sinfield, is the kind of generic rock that turned up on Lake’s first solo album, made marginally better by the participation of Messrs. Emerson and Palmer. A spirited cover of Joaquin Rodrigo’s Canario provides a nice instrumrntal workout (shades of “Fanfare for a Common Man”) and would have made for a fitting single. It also provides a thematic introduction to Love Beach’s best side, Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman. Here, Keith Emerson and Sinfield come up with a worthy, epic successor to “Pirates.” It’s a progtastic ride into the sunset, perhaps the trio’s last masterpiece. The keyboards played by Emerson (Korg Ps-3300, Yamaha GX-1) haven’t aged particularly well, a problem that also plagued Tormato by Yes. Otherwise, you’d think you were listening to vintage Emerson, Lake & Palmer for half of this album. That said, it’s questionable how much of a band ELP actually was at this point. Love Beach, like their last two Works, is a marriage of convenience. Lake was clearly interested in writing heavier, shorter rock songs while Emerson was still working in a longer and classically inspired format. Palmer seems to have no particular allegiance to either, and excels in both settings. If the band didn’t go out with a bang, at least they walked out with a march and heads held high.

Original elpee version

A1. All I Want Is You (Greg Lake/Peter Sinfield) (2:33)
A2. Love Beach (Greg Lake/Peter Sinfield) (2:44)
A3. Taste of My Love (Greg Lake/Peter Sinfield) (3:31)
A4. The Gambler (Keith Emerson/Greg Lake/Peter Sinfield) (3:19)
A5. For You (Greg Lake/Peter Sinfield) (4:25)
A6. Canario (from “Fantasia para un Gentilhombre”) (Joaquin Rodrigo) (3:57)
B1. Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman
B1a. Prologue/The Education of a Gentleman (Keith Emerson/Peter Sinfield) (5:33)
B1b. Love at First Sight (Keith Emerson/Peter Sinfield) (5:37)
B1c. Letters from the Front (Keith Emerson/Peter Sinfield) (5:18)
B1d. Honourable Company (A March) (Keith Emerson) (3:45)

All arrangements by Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

CD reissue bonus tracks
8. Canario (rehearsal 1978)
9. Taste of My Love (rehearsal 1978)
10. Letters from the Front (rehearsal 1978)

Original 8-track version
A1. All I Want Is You
A2. The Gambler
A3. For You
B1. Love Beach
B2. Taste of My Love
B3. Canario (from “Fantasia para un Gentilhombre”)
C1. Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman (Part 1)
C1a. Prologue/The Education of a Gentleman
C1b. Love at First Sight (beginning)
D1. Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman (Part 2)
B1b. Love at First Sight (conclusion)
B1c. Letters from the Front
B1d. Honourable Company (A March)

The Players

Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer. Engineered by Karl Pitterson, Jack Nuber.

The Pictures

Art direction by Bob Defrin. Photography by Jim Houghton.

The Plastic

Released on elpee, cassette and 8-track on November 18, 1978 in the UK (Atlantic, K/K4 50552), the US (Atlantic, SD/CS/TP 19211), Germany (Ariola, 200 249), Japan (Atlantic, P-10603A) and Syria (Original, 161 01). Reached #48 on the UK charts and #55 on the US charts (RIAA-certified gold record).

1. Re-issued on compact disc in Japan (Atlantic, AMCY-217).
2. Re-issued on compact disc in 1993 in the US (Victory, 80028).
3. Re-issued on compact disc on May 21, 1996 in the US (Rhino. 72231) and in 1996 in the UK (Essential, ESMCD 363).
4. Re-issued on compact disc on July 7, 1999 in Japan (Victor, VICP-60749).
5. Re-issued on expanded compact disc in 2001 in Europe (Castle/Sanctuary, CMRCD 226) with 3 bonus tracks.
6. Re-issued on K2 remastered compact disc on December 7, 2005 in Japan (Victor, VICP-63226).