Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Label: Victory Music
Release: 1992
Length: 48:28
Rating: 2.5/5
Right up until the official confirmation of the reunion of the legendary progressive rock trio Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), it seemed like they’d belong to the ‘good old days’ forever, back when rock music was still young, refreshing and unburdened by label corruption. The first attempt at an ELP reunion after the end of the seventies came as early as 1986, when keyboard wizard Keith Emerson and vocal/guitar/bass icon Greg Lake invited the legendary Cozy Powell to join them in place of drum grandmaster Carl Palmer, who was otherwise engaged at the time. Their only studio album was solid, but nothing special compared to the golden ELP era of the first half of the seventies. Then Emerson and Palmer tried their luck, with Lake replaced by Robert Berry in a project called 3. The only studio album from that short-lived get-together, »To the Power of Three« (1988), was stylistically closer to melodic rock/AOR than to prog rock. Unlike »Emerson, Lake & Powell« (1986), which is still fairly well regarded, most ELP faithful have practically forgotten about it by now.
Some had already written off the idea of ELP ever showing up again in their classic, original lineup. Well, despite the bleak outlook, Emerson, Lake and Palmer did finally get back together in 1991, when Palmer left the supergroup Asia, and for the first time since 1978 (exactly twelve years had passed since their split at the end of the seventies) they set about recording new music, trying to weigh themselves down as little as possible with their famous legacy from the early seventies.
The result of the new union was the album »Black Moon«, which, unlike what followed two years later, was no outright disaster, but it was no match for the ‘golden days’ either. It was a thoroughly average effort, and at least acceptable for everyone who hadn’t gone into the ELP reunion, after so many years since they’d last made new music together, with overly high (and unrealistic) expectations. Lake’s voice had become much more worn down over the years, pushed into a lower register and gloomy, which sadly only got worse in the years to come, while Emerson, too, doesn’t exactly stretch himself in crafting the individual symphonic arrangements and the rare improvisations, and often seems way too ‘tame’ compared to his virtuosic antics of the past. Palmer showed the most flexibility on »Black Moon«, at least staying at the usual, expected level while pounding away at the drum kit.
The individual songs on »Black Moon« were well below the ELP standards that ruled between 1970 and 1974. The rather cold and sterile production certainly didn’t help. The title track and opener, a sort of compromise hybrid between symphonic prog and melodic rock, is a relatively solid start and perhaps even the only moment on the album where you can hear an equal contribution from all three ELP heavyweights. Keith’s symphonic arrangements are, unlike most of the album, fun and lively, while the melodic chorus is completely average. From here on, things don’t get better, they get worse. The cheery »Paper Blood« is a real ‘foreign body’: thanks to the harmonica, blues guitar licks and female backing vocals in the chorus, it’s closer to blues rock and r’n’b than to symphonic prog rock. The whole thing wouldn’t even be that bad if the song weren’t marked by a boring chorus.
The acoustic-leaning love ballad »Affairs of the Heart« was written during Lake’s collaboration with keyboardist Geoff Downes (Asia, Yes) in their unreleased project Ride the Tiger. Of the ballads Lake wrote after the end of the ‘golden era’, this is one of the few that deserves praise. »Romeo And Juliet« is a rather interesting Emerson interpretation of a classical piece by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, which, if only for a moment, revives memories of his once innovative and provocative experiments from the early seventies, with which he stirred up a ‘hornets’ nest’ among the puritanical elite of classical music supporters. Lake’s pacifist ballad »Farewell to Arms« has a lovely backbone arrangement and a strong central message, but the guitarist’s/bassist’s singing isn’t at the emotional level you’d expect, so it’s yet another piece that’s forgotten fairly quickly after listening. »Changing States« is a fairly average instrumental with Emerson’s eclectic but unexciting variations in the starring role.
»Burning Bridges« was written by American film composer and »Black Moon« producer Mark Mancina, and it shows: more than an ELP song, it sounds like the backdrop to some clichéd Hollywood movie where the hero beats all the baddies and rides off into the sunset with the chosen one. The instrumental »Close to Home« is an Emerson piano interlude that, thanks to its gallant central arrangement, would have worked well with vocals too. »Better Days«, one of the better moments, is a solid hybrid between symphonic prog and punchy melodic rock, boasting an effective chorus and one of Greg’s better vocal performances on »Black Moon«. The album closes with Lake’s love ballad »Footprints in the Snow«, which doesn’t leave much of an impression behind.
With »Black Moon«, sadly a long way from what ELP were once capable of, though at the very least a decent and listenable effort, the legendary trio announced that they had finally, after almost twelve years, come back from the dead. There were almost too many compromises on the album, but the good thing was that the supergroup worked together as a trio on a relatively equal footing, unlike the ‘fragmented’ practice of the late seventies. Unfortunately, their long-awaited return, right after the otherwise successful »Black Moon« tour and especially with the release of the next studio album, the disastrously bad »In The Hot Seat« (1994), which finally sealed their fate, proved to be a misfire and ended ingloriously in 1998.
Lineup
Keith Emerson – keyboards, piano
Greg Lake – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, harmonica
Carl Palmer – drums, percussion
Production
Mark Mancina, Ian Morrow and John Van Tongeren
Tracklist
1. Black Moon (6:59)
2. Paper Blood (4:29)
3. Affairs Of The Heart (3:47)
4. Romeo And Juliet {Prokofiev, arranged by Emerson} (3:43)
5. Farewell To Arms (5:10)
6. Changing States (6:03)
7. Burning Bridges {Mark Mancina} (4:45)
8. Close To Home (4:29)
9. Better Days (5:37)
10. Footprints In The Snow (3:52)
