Emerson, Lake & Palmer

如万人空巷般的体育场里，三个年青人正在空旷的舞台上卖力的弹奏著改编自古典音乐的作品。看似长发披肩、老成持重的Keith正用疾如风的指法快速地滑过键盘；身材修长、却有张娃娃脸的Greg一面弹吉它一面唱和著；短发而显出乾静俐落、精神饱满模样的Carl则准确专注地敲击。三种迳谓分明的形象，用各自擅长的乐器演奏著迥异於原曲的古典音乐，复杂的曲式结构与简洁有力的演绎却还能完美地调和在一块。欣赏他们技术精准而临场即兴的现场实况是每个乐迷所津津乐道的，在当时的定义中这就是所谓的超级乐团，他们就是七十年代独领风骚的前卫/古典摇滚巨星Emerson, Lake and Palmer。 这一切都要从他们於1969年那个不大寻常的巧遇讲起。话说六十年代中期有个古典摇滚乐团The Nice，当中的主脑Keith Emerson从小即著迷於兼具浪漫乐派与国民乐派风格的柴可夫斯基(Tchaikovsy)与西贝流士(Sibelius)，毕生也希望以钢琴技巧高超有如莫札特(Mozart)第二为职志。在The Nice的第二张专辑Ars Longa Vita Brevis(1968)中，他尝试重新翻奏伯恩斯坦(Leonard Bernstein)所创作音乐剧西城故事(West Side Story)中耳熟能详的插曲America而备受瞩目(据说伯恩斯坦当时对这主意可不表赞同)，同年Royal Albert Hall的演出也很成功，提出原始构想的Keith Emerson自此成为镁光灯下的焦点。 1969年，以担任前卫摇滚先驱King Crimson主唱并以In the Court of the Crimson King(1969)专辑扬名立万的主音歌手Greg Lake与The Nice的Emerson在英国Croydon的爵士与蓝调音乐季中结识。双方当时英雄惜英雄，决定在音乐会结束后各自离开其原来乐团并t组新团以别苗头。 他俩找到了当年年仅二十，曾以摇滚与融合爵士演奏著称专属Arthur Brown与Atomic Rooster的鼓手Carl Palmer，等Lake录制完King Crimson的第二张专辑已是1970年的春天了。经过几场密集彩排后更加坚定三人信心，决定以团员的姓为团名，组成当时举世注目的Emerson, Lake and Palmer(E.L.P) 。 依照文献，他们练习的曲目从伯恩斯坦到柯普兰的皆有，{Take a pebble}是他们成形后的第一首歌，也收录於Lake所制作的第一张专辑Emerson, Lake and Palmer(1970)里。在曲式方面受到德国Bartok及捷克Janacek的影响，主唱柔美抒情的嗓音、节奏刚硬的敲击，构成同名专辑的初步印象。在这张同时被喻为定义古典与科技摇滚的杰作里，融合了古典、硬式摇滚甚至民谣等音乐原素，以all-stars的supergroup三人组，试图带给乐迷完全不同的感受。环顾当时的音乐环境中，YES与Genesis皆尚未成气候，知名度与开创性能与ELP并驾齐驱的也只有King Crimson与Pink Floyd了。{The barbarian}以纯演奏出发，末了的一分钟内曲风逆转，Emerson的键盘与Lake的贝斯声线完美契合，搭配Palmer精确的鼓击相当精彩。 {Take a pebble}，十二分钟，是ELP第一首注重乐曲结构的曲子，我们听到了繁复而具有fusion味道的编曲，还有Lake美声唱腔般的男中音。 {Knife-edge}有那么一点受到国民乐派的影响，在演奏上三人默契十足、热情奔放。{The three fates}三个段落，分别可以听到Emerson以管风琴、钢琴、与鼓合奏等精湛的演出。{Tank}中段有Palmer精彩的鼓独奏还有特制的合成乐器声响。{Lucky man}是终曲也是笔者较钟情的一首，由Lake嗓音与原音吉它起始，合声与简单旋律逐渐引人入胜，结束前一分钟Emerson还以Moog(早期专门模拟管弦音色的合成乐器)弹了一段你从未听过且难以形容的独奏。 总结来说，从之后的专辑也可看到，ELP并没有从事发明或革新的概念，但就是能以其技巧挂率与独到的乐念创造出兼融古典与前卫的乐风。 在第二张专辑Tarkus(1971)，ELP稍微改变了一些前张受好评作品的风貌，当然团队的向心力丝毫不受影响。Emerson更加专注於moog合成乐器的音效实验上、Palmer则也继续钻研更艰深的鼓技。内容上也采取了寓言与神话概念，以两个虚构的野兽交战为题展开故事情节，这张在英美都得到销售与口碑的满堂喝采，英国还拿到排行榜冠军。前几条歌曲都是以单曲走向，较特别的是{Are you ready, Eddy?}向当时地位崇高的录音工程师Eddy Offord致敬(他老兄制作过大部份YES的全盛时期专辑)。{Honky tonk}则是模仿五十年代流行的老式摇摆乐，十分有趣。{Stones of years}、{A time and place}则是在美国发行成单曲。标题曲{Tarkus}是ELP成军以来野心最为庞大的曲子，器乐演奏部份比前作快速而营造出紧迫的效果，又未丧失旋律的动听性，可说是集上述精华於大成。 商业上的成功并没使他们被名利冲昏了头，同年在Tarkus发行不久之后，ELP再接再厉把当年三月在New Castle City Hall的实况演出发行。但并不是一张全新内容的专辑，而是把俄国五人团中的穆索斯基(Mussorgsky)为记念其好友所创作的组曲"展览会之画"Pictures At An Exhibition(1971)重新照ELP的方法演绎，提到这就不能不提它的背景。国民乐派的众支流中俄罗斯有所谓的五人团，其中最有才华却最短命的穆索斯基在俄国现实主义文学的影响下与一群艺术家朋友过著人民公社般的生活。其中志同道合的建筑师朋友赫特曼(Hartman)玩票性质的画作偶而在圣彼德堡展出，穆索斯基还特地作曲庆贺。 1873年赫特曼急病过世，穆索斯基追怀挚友最好的办法就是不眠不休地将其画作，以音乐的形式表达出来。此组曲与"荒山之夜"并列为穆索斯基最杰出与为人熟知的作品，然而在生前作曲家并未得到今日所受到的赞誉。 ELP针对原曲并依照乐团意念加以改编，保留了原作中奇幻的部份少数再加入歌词以Lake演唱，此乐曲本来由十首与画作相关连的钢琴独奏及具有间奏功能的{Promenade}(漫步)组所成。以笔者手边的原始钢琴版本作比较，除{The sage}、{Blues variation}是后来被乐团加上以辅助气氛的作品，ELP保留了原画作中{The gnome}(侏儒)、(The old castle)(古堡)、{The hut of baba yaga}(女巫的小屋)、{The great gates of kiev}(基辅城门)等四幅，分别代表著"活泼生动的"、"雅致与神秘"、"粗犷而具戏剧性"、"威风凛凛与光辉灿烂"。除{The hut of baba yaga}部份从原组曲倒数第二被移到第三幅，其余大致同於原作观画时间的顺序，全套组曲不算安可总共三十五分钟。为什么要如此大费周张地说明呢?这当然是有理由。这阙曲子神妙的地方便在於，观赏画的人的心情转折在一开始也就是被设定在曲子里面的。从看到第一幅画前的{Promenade}(漫步)开始，心情就会随著不同意味的画所欲表达的内容而改变，两张画之间的步履速度与心路历程也被生动地写入其间的{Promenade}(漫步)里。也就是说，从刚踏入画廊的那一步到跨出画廊都被写到整首曲子里了，作曲家意图表达的观画者内心体验与外在环境的复杂性交互出现，成为这首曲子的独特内涵。 那ELP 的诠释到底如何呢?它的确带给我对这首原先就很喜欢的作品另类表达方式，尤其是声乐与鼓、贝斯、吉它、合成乐器等搭配的结果是很新鲜的。但纯就感觉来说倒也不是那么成功，首先是乐曲进行中的漫步因为人声出现而心神被打断，中途安插的两首曲子对於气氛营造的意图也略显画蛇添足，现场演出时听众的鼓噪声多少也破坏了它有时应具有的声音表情。其余各项音画里器乐的配置适当与否则见人见智了，我自己对它是特别惊艳於开头跟结尾的两部份。起始的 {Promenade}(漫步)带有诡异意味的动机，乐团把漫步的感觉带到一种沉重的速度，接应到侏儒篇活泼生动的四分之三拍子中。{The great gates of kiev}(基辅城门)应该是专辑中的最高潮，从一开始的肃穆的主题到尾奏都是以强而有力的演奏形态，结尾听到Emerson与乐团竞飙华丽的快速音群十分过瘾。安可曲则是开了Emerson的精神导师柴可夫斯基一点玩笑，把胡桃钳组曲(Nutcracker)的其中一首改编为"Nutrocker"。算是送给所有共同经历过这场音乐之旅乐迷的一点释放压力的小礼物。 随后的Trilogy(1972)，依然得到乐迷与乐评的双重肯定。三人的演出默契与点子在这张唱片可说是发挥地淋漓尽致，从成人抒情到空间摇滚(space rock)都有，当然还有给编自古典音乐的作品。单就概念来说并没有创新只不过比前两张专辑修饰更精致旋律更动听罢了，在本地乐迷也造成一股漩风。 {The endless enigma part one}前头诡谲的音效起，到后面乐团与主唱的进场整首六分多钟紧紧扣人心弦。{Fugue}(赋格)则延续了前首的情绪，以Emerson钢琴独奏为主轴。{The endless enigma part two}是完结这段概念的终曲。{From the beginning}是ELP在美国唯一的排行劲曲，Lake以轻柔的中音演唱，同时负责原音与电吉它独奏，最后Emerson的moog才悄悄地滑进来。{The Sheriff}里Lake的唱腔稍有改变为俏皮的表现，后段的转换较为突兀还伴随一记枪声。{Hoedown}原是大家耳熟能详的通俗乐曲，节录改编自柯普兰(Aron Copeland)的"牛仔"(Rodeo)，感受到与原作截然不同的趣味。标题曲{Trilogy}中段有Emerson精湛的合成乐器演出， Palmer的强劲准确的鼓点与其辉映。{Living sin}相比起来或许是较弱的曲子，Lake刻意尝试具威胁性与低沉的嗓音，倒可看出Lake千变万化而又游刃有余的能耐。{Abaddon's Bolero}一听结构便知是在向拉威尔(Ravel)的波丽露舞曲(Bolero)致敬的作品(或是光从曲名就可看出来了?)，当然也是Emerson 展现炫技才华的良好示范。整首演奏时间八分多，层次井然，声音由小而大、配器也渐趋繁杂。平心而论，在这张并未看到ELP杰出的创造力或复杂的乐念，但是由9首一气呵成、皆有其不凡之处的作品组合而成还是有一定的聆赏价值。1972年关於ELP也有些许改变。首先原专属King Crimson的作词家Peter Sinfield跳槽到ELP担任Lake的写词搭挡。同年他们以Tarkus专辑中出现的怪兽为名组新唱片公司Manticore，创业作为义大利艺术摇滚团P.F.M (Peter Sinfield亦是其中一员)的作品，此外签约艺人还有Stray Dog、Banco等。 1973年，ELP重新上路，录制了当年轰动一时的Brain Salad Surgery(1973)，这也是他们第一张交由Manticore发行的作品。Brain Salad Surgery被视为科技摇滚与空间摇滚发展的极致，首先是封套设计交由后来以异形系列电影造型名气大开的H.R.Giger绘制，类似外太空不明生物与地球远古文明的交媾，相当怪异。第一首单曲{Jerusalem}旋律源自於英国当地传统的歌谣，Lake唱来有种庄严的气息。{Toccata}是 Emerson节录自Alberto Ginestera第一号钢琴协奏曲的第四乐章再加以改编而成，新作充满著高科技的音效。Emerson曾特地飞到日内瓦向作曲家本人请益而留下一段佳话，Ginestera曾在唱片内页的注解写下:"Keith Emerson has beautifully caught the mood of my piece"。{Still you turn me on}是Lake每张都要如法泡制一般的抒怀作品，{Benny the bouncer}充满喧嚣即兴的气氛。{Karn evil 9}大概是ELP成军以来最长企图心最强的作品，全曲长三十分钟以上(!!)，与同年YES发行的Tales from Topographic Oceans(1973)双专辑不逞多让一样使许多人大叹吃不消。从1st impression(第一印象)的乐队的彻底疯狂到2nd、3rd impression(第二、三印象)的狂飙飞驰，Emerson使用了Hammond(一种厂牌的电风琴)、moog、大键琴与传统钢琴等数种乐器似乎要耗尽个人精力在这首曲子上；Palmer鼓点则穷追不舍般地跟紧节拍。 最后对这张专辑值得一提的是诗人Sinfield的加入或多或少弥补了原本ELP 音乐与词意表现不等的毛病，总之，这是乐团极盛时期的表现。 后世在评论"前"前卫摇滚的发展时总不免提到YES与ELP，当然不可讳言的他们一定会有瑜亮情结的存在。他们各别已都是名震一时的巨星，加上有超高知名度的键盘手为号召，每次新唱片发行总难免会被拿出来比较。Rick Wakeman独步於新创的新世纪曲风，以乐段气氛整体烘托为主；Keith Emerson则擅长古典音乐(二十世纪以后作品)的改编与重新赋予时代新意，两者对实验各种合成乐器音效领域的拓展皆功不可没。有趣的是，组团较早的 YES七十年代初期受到ELP同名专辑的影响而由硬式摇滚走向概念专辑的路，两团同样在1971-72年达到其表演艺术的巅峰，73年一齐发行正反两面评语两极的长篇作品，开始有人认为前卫摇滚已走向无病呻吟、哗众取宠的老调。两团在七十年代中期以后走的却是不同的路了，当然这是后话。 by Bruce Eder Emerson, Lake & Palmer were progressive rocks first supergroup. Greeted by the rock press and the public as something akin to conquering heroes, they succeeded in broadening the audience for progressive rock from hundreds of thousands into tens of millions of listeners, creating a major radio phenomenon as well. Their flamboyance on record and in the studio echoed the best work of the heavy metal bands of the era, proving that classical rockers could compete for that arena-scale audience. Over and above their own commercial success, the trio also paved the way for the success of such bands as Yes, who would become their chief rivals for much of the 1970s. Keyboardist Keith Emerson planted the seeds of the group in late 1969 when his band the Nice shared a bill at the Fillmore West with King Crimson, an up-and-coming band that featured lead singer and bassist Greg Lake. Emerson and Lake first discussed the possibility of collaborating at that point, but only after the Crimson lineup began disintegrating during their first U.S. tour did he finally opt to leave the group (after agreeing to sing on the forthcoming Crimson album). Upon officially teaming in 1970, Emerson and Lake auditioned several drummers, including Mitch Mitchell, before they approached Carl Palmer, a former member of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown who later hooked up with bandmate Vincent Crane in an experimental band called Atomic Rooster. The trios first rehearsals mostly picked up from the Nices and King Crimsons repertoires, including such well-known numbers as Rondo and 21st Century Schizoid Man. In August of 1970, even as they were working on the songs that would ultimately comprise their first album, ELP played its first show at the Plymouth Guildhall, just ahead of the Isle of Wight Festival in August of 1970. The groups self-titled debut album was finished the following month and released in November; an instant success, it rose to the Top Five in England and the Top 20 in America. The single Lucky Man also was a hit, and their stage act rapidly became the stuff of legend. The recording of the second ELP album, 1971s Tarkus, tested their cohesiveness while stretching their sound in new directions. Emerson was interested in further exploiting the range of the Moog synthesizer, and had conceived of an extended suite built around an opening eruption of sound, while Palmer had come up with an unusual drum pattern that he was eager to use. When they tried to present their ideas to Lake, who had assumed the mantle of producer with the first album, however, he couldnt really grasp the piece. He balked, and arguments ensued, and for a time it looked as though there might be no second album. The group eventually agreed to disagree about the proposed track: Tarkus became the title of the new album, and ultimately defined the ELP sound as most people understood it — the song was loud and bombastic, somewhat gloomy in its lyrical tone, and exultant in its instrumental power. A descendant of The Three Fates and Tank from the first album, Tarkus was a much denser piece of music, featuring not only multiple overdubs of instruments but textures that ultimately proved very difficult to re-create on-stage. After Tarkus hit the number one spot on the English charts and reached the Top Ten in America, their March 21, 1971, concert at Newcastle City Hall — featuring the groups adaptation of Mussorgskys Pictures at an Exhibition — was recorded for release, and became another major hit. It was eight months before ELPs next record, Trilogy, was released in July of 1972. In the interim, they toured extensively, and made it their business to cultivate the college audience that took most naturally to their work. With Trilogy, the partnership was back fully in balance, with each member taking an equal share of musical responsibility. Moreover, Lake never sang better, nor did the group ever sound more comfortable and laid-back; among the eight very solid numbers in a classical-rock vein, there was tucked a track that became virtually the bands signature tune, a version of Aaron Coplands Hoedown. Such was the groups credibility that when it came time to record a version of the first movement of Alberto Ginasteras Piano Concerto No. 1 and the publisher denied them permission, they approached the composer himself, who fully approved and applauded the track that became Tocatta on Brain Salad Surgery, released in 1973 on their own record label, Manticore (named for one of the mythological creatures portrayed in Tarkus). Through Manticore, ELP also released material by Pete Sinfield and the Italian progressive rock band PFM; Sinfields presence as a composer with Lake on Brain Salad Surgery helped strengthen one of the groups lingering weaknesses, its lyrics — where Lakes use of language had always tended toward the pleasant but simplistic, Sinfield, a veteran of King Crimson, provided lyrical complexity nearly as daunting as the best of the groups music. In the wake of this string of successes, ELP released a triple live album, Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends, in August of 1974, but their streak came to a halt with Works, an album that also marked the dissolution of the group sound. At the time, each member was feeling constrained by the presence of the others, and their inclination was to release a trio of solo albums; cooler heads prevailed, however, and they reasoned that none of their solo works would sell remotely as well as an ELP album. The result was Works, a double album released in March of 1977. The album consisted of three solo sides and a fourth side on which the group did two extended collaborative efforts, Pirates and Fanfare for the Common Man. The record fared poorly, and the group was never the same: Works destroyed ELPs unity, and their main motivation for recording seemed only to be their contractual obligations. Worse still, theyd squandered valuable time with work on the double album, time during which the publics taste was changing — the progressive bands were coming in for special criticism, and the notion of extended suites, conceptual rock albums, and classical-rock fusion now seemed hopelessly ponderous and pretentious as the rise of punk rock and disco seemed to undermine any notion of intellectualism in rock. Works, Vol. 2, released in November of 1977, was nothing more than a collection of obscure B-sides and odd tracks dating back four years, while their next album of new material, Love Beach, was later described by the bandmembers themselves as nothing more than a matter of going through the motions. ELP split up in 1979: Lake embarked on a moderately successful solo career, Emerson took to composing film scores and recorded the occasional solo project, and after a stint with the band P.M., Palmer joined the pop supergroup Asia. In the mid-80s, Emerson and Lake got together with drummer Cozy Powell as the short-lived Emerson, Lake & Powell, complete with a self-titled 1985 album. In 1991, Emerson, Lake & Palmer reunited for an album called Black Moon, followed by a fairly successful tour. In 1993, they released Live at Royal Albert Hall. Their attempt at another new album, In the Hot Seat, was doomed to failure by Emersons development of a repetitive stress disorder in one hand, which required surgery and restricted the groups ability to record or perform.