Honky

Keith Emerson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 27, 2000)
• Original Release Date: July 7, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Gunslinger Records
• ASIN: B00004S7M4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #183,913 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Hello Sailor Intro

2. Bach Before the Mast

3. Hello Sailor Finale

4. Salt Cay

5. Green Ice

6. Intro-Juicing

7. Big Horn Breakdown

8. Yancey Special

9. Rum-A-Ting

10. Chickcharnie

11. Jesus Loves Me

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost a great album, November 1, 2008

By 

Stuart Paine (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Honky (Reis) (Audio CD)

Emerson recorded HONKY in the Bahamas and in 1983 it was the second LP released on his Chord label. The first, in 1981, had been NIGHTHAWKS. Neil Symonette (drums) and Kendall Stubbs (bass), who assist him here, had also worked on that film score project. This is a good album and belongs in every Emerson fan's collection. For me the highlights are the 3-part "Hello Sailor" suite and "Chickcharnie", an instrumental version of "Nighthawking".

Some thoughts on the tracks:

1) "Hello Sailor Intro", 2) "Bach Before the Mast" and 3) "Hello Sailor Finale" - The main body of the suite is "Bach Before the Mast", a Bach-style fugue by British harpsichord virtuoso, George Malcolm (1917-1997), based upon the traditional English melody, "Sailor's Hornpipe". The "hornpipe" tune is instantly recognizable from its use in the old Popeye cartoons. Emerson performs Malcolm's active and slightly humorous fugue very cleanly and energetically on piano. The Intro is an understated and leisurely tease of a duet with the bass. The Finale is a series of variations for keyboard, guitar, sax, bass and drums. The whole thing is brilliant.

4) "Salt Cay" - a happy little rocker reminiscent in places of Caribbean music. Its coda, a simple melodic couplet of alternating I and V is almost half its length, fading out after more than a dozen iterations. With synths, organ, bass and drums, this is a BRAIN SALAD SURGERY type of sound.

5) "Green Ice" - a mechanical and angular I IV V exercise.

6) "Intro-Juicing" - not a music track; just a few seconds of KO clowning around at a radio station mike.

7) "Big Horn Breakdown" - by Billy Taylor. Piano, bass, drums and kazoo (kazoo?!) do a kind of music hall tune. Similar to the piano coda in "The Sheriff". Real nice.

8) "Yancey Special" - Meade "Lux" Lewis's hard rockin' standard I IV V boogie w/ piano, saxes and brass.

9) "Rum-a-Ting" - a funky tune, this music was NOT on the LP. (According to Wikipedia, "ting" is a carbonated grapefruit beverage, so the title would be a contraction for "rum and ting".)

10) "Chickcharnie" - Keith's "Nighthawking" with a mini-Moog substituted for the vocal. (A chickcharnie is a Bahamian barn owl.) On the original HONKY LP, it was THIS track which was entitled "Rum-a-Ting".

11) "Jesus Loves Me" - not the familiar melody but a live jam w/ Emerson on organ. It sounds unrehearsed - begins w/ noisy shouting by the "chorus" and doesn't improve. The "singers" never find the key, are all over the place and appear tone-deaf. Maybe that's what Keith wanted (Charles Ives went for this kind of thing, too), but for me this track's the low point of the album. "Silent Night" (THE CHRISTMAS ALBUM) would work out much better.

All in all, very cool. Get this Castle remaster and not the old CHORD disc with its incorrect track order and muted sound. You'll also miss out on "Rum-a-Ting" with that one. TT: around 44 minutes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What a "fun" album!, December 29, 2008

By 

M. Read - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Honky (MP3 Download)

This album took awhile for me to warm up to, but I think there are some interesting tracks and one treasure on this quirky album. The album is eclectic to say the least, but what amounts to mostly noodling for most of the album is redeemed in the track "Chickcharnie". This upbeat number sets itself up as Keith vs. Rhythm Section, and not to outdo one another, they create a delightful tension with the meter and Keith commands some precision playing and a great piano solo to finish out with.

This is not an album you'll "get" immediately, but with it's calypso, gospel, honky tonk, boogie woogie, and some straight up goofy tracks and influences, it's a "fun" album short on ego and demonstrates a mastery of his craft and talent.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Off-Beat Keith Emerson, April 7, 2007

By 

D. Lyon "off-beat listener" (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Honky (Audio CD)

I have been an avid ELP fan/listener for over 30 years. I recently purchased this CD, having only heard one song from it before deciding to buy. I felt it was really an infusion of something fresh and new to go with my other works by Keith Emerson and ELP. The songs on the CD really mesmerized me and the amazing God-given gift Keith has for composing and playing are very evident. I have Emerson music from the late 60s all the way to 2002 and I have to say that this title really stands out with some of the other classics by Keith.