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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hot Seat a Cold Fish,
By jason m carzon (Bowie, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: In the Hot Seat (Audio CD)
What happened? Well, let us view the guitly. At the time of recording, Keith Emerson had undergone arm surgery and was for the most part playing lame- often multitracking keyboard parts and playing with one hand. Greg Lake's voice had deteriorated considerably, becoming gruff and raspy, and more suitable for blues or depressing folk music than the bombastic ELP of old. Carl Palmer's drumming is restrained- more in tune with his work with Asia than ELP. He recieves no writing credits, nor does he really shine on this particular album. He must have been locked out of the studio or restrained at gunpoint. Then there is producer Keith Olson, who although is a fine producer, may have had a hefty shake in the direction of this album. Certainly the production is a notch above their previous album 'Black Moon'. He may have over-produced it to the point of rubbing off any of the magic that may have been left over from Black moon. There is nothing wrong with pursuing a more commercial/aor direction, that isn't the point. It's just that some of the songs just aren't that good. That, added to Keith's hand condition, Greg's voice sounding an octave lower, and Carl's absence, make for another black mark on the band which makes the previously lambasted 'Love Beach'(1978) sound like a progressive meisterwork. Greg Lake seems to be back in his dominate pop mode, and most of the album was written by him with many tracks co-written with Olson. So the most guilty is Lake. Also for the first time since 'Love Beach', the electric guitar is featured- the results being most forgettable. I'm not just going along with popular view of this album, there still are a few good moments. I for one had grown to really love Emerson's more modern synth sound he employed during the 80's(ELPowell and To The Power Of 3)and 90's stuff such as 'Changing States' and the studio version of Pictures At AN Exhibition. Some of that is here as well, although in smaller doses. Here are the tracks:HAND OF FATE - An unusual album opener from what you're used to(a droning synth line or something similar). Here, Emerson's nimble piano is the lead instrument over synth chords instead of a synth or hammond lead. This is a fresh track, somewhat like ELP's take on neo-prog. Vocals don't even appear until almost halfway through. The solo towards the end sounds a little like uninspired synth squiggling. DADDY - This is one of Greg Lake's worst songs. The piano/synth intro is nice enough, though the song itself is underdeveloped. Just when you think Greg is about to take the song into another level after the verses, it just continues with the 'Daddy come and take me home'. There could have been much more emotion to this track, but concerning the lyrics, perhaps that's just as well- 'Daddy' deals with the subject of child abduction. Any real power this song could have had would have made it more heatbreaking. This is probably ELP's most depressing song. ONE BY ONE - Nice 90's synthesizers that I like. This is one of the better tracks. Although still a bit accessable, this one is closest to earlier ELP, with their recognisable keyboard driven sound. Lyrically, this one sounds like it has leftover words from Tarkus or Bitches Crystal, bringing back some fantasy imagery for whatever reason they brought it back. The part at the end with the orchestral keyboards cannot be deserving of the animosity heaped on the rest of this album. HEARTS ON ICE - whatever happened to the pretty acoustic ballads like 'Footprints In The Snow' from Black Moon? Hearts On Ice features a lot of lyrics seemingly from a list of cliche lyric phrases- often a problem with Greg Lake. Where was Peter Sinfield when ELP needed him? The cringability factor is high. THIN LINE - this one had potential and could have been extended a bit(rumour has it that it was, but producer Olson chopped it up to make it more radio-friendly). Something about this reminds me of The Nice. Background singers on an ELP album? Sure, that's not a terrible thing. Very different for ELP, but why not. New directions are fine, just a shame more wasn't done with this track. This is what the Nice may have sounded like in the mid-90's, maybe. MAN IN THE LONG BLACK COAT - continues with the Nice comparison. Bob Dylan was one of Emerson's early heroes- The Nice performed a few Dylan covers back before ELP were formed. Now he's come full circle by doing Man In The Long Black Coat, another Dylan cover. A interesting track, but not for die-hard fanatics of Brain Salad Surgery and nothing else. Whereas Lake's voice sounds strained performing live versions of ELP classics in concert, here his new raspy, darker voice works best. CHANGE - an upbeat one, but one that sounds incomplete- without any real solos. Again, the newer synths are much to my liking, but the song itself won't gain them any new fans. GIVE ME A REASON TO STAY - another ballad from mr. Lake, written by outside writers. Here it is assumed that perhaps Lake was thinking he could try the Phil Collins thing and maybe have an adult contemporary hit. He should have saved this for his solo album. Possibly the worst moment in ELP history. GONE TOO SOON - Greg's guitar playing isn't much to write home about either, and takes up too much space on this album, often pushing out keyboard bits. Greg and Olson really did want to crossover into Phil Collins territory and have hits, didn't they? Did it occurr to Lake to just be himself? Sad. But dig the cozy synth solo. That makes the song listenable. STREET WAR - An apocalyptic rocker sounding like something from the Emerson Lake & Powell album. Not too bad. A far cry from Trilogy, but don't always judge a band on past merits. I'm sure there is something decent to be found by all on this album, you'll just have to dig harder. PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION - well, this had already appeared on their box set the previous year, so this wasn't anything new. Instead of writing and recording an all-new 15-minute epic which fans really probably wanted, they put this on instead, assuming that people buying this album weren't die-hard fans who already had the box set who were buying the album because of the smash hit 'Daddy'. They really did want some hits this late in the game, didn't they? The studio version of Pictures is very good but belongs on the box set. HAMMER IT OUT - the Japanese version includes this under three minute bonus track which is a jazzy piano solo by Emerson, offering probably the most notable glipse of the old ELP on the whole Hot Seat album. Think 'Piano Improvisations' from 'Welcome Back...'. A shame it's too short. If you are an ELP fan, buy it. Make up your own mind. You may like some of it. Some will definately dissapoint you. What happened, guys? Why were we left with this as your last album?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not great but still very nice,
This review is from: In the Hot Seat (Audio CD)
Not half as bad as most critics say. It is very different than the '70s ELP but what long lived band hasn't changed. Yes has changed much more and I cannot say they changed for the better. This recording by ELP has a very nice opening with Hand of Truth. De second track Daddy regarded by most as a waste of time may not be one of the most remarkable songs ever written but is a heartbreaking song about child abduction and murder. A song that grips you (at least it did that with me) if you have a little girl of your own. Man in the Long Black Coat is a beautiful cover of a Dylan song. How come that Dylan songs sound a lot better when performed by others (take Times are a Changing performed by Phil Collins). Street War is an ELP worthy closing of a very nice album. Pictures at an Exhibition is good but it would have been nice if the guys had written a couple of songs more instead of using an oldy.Definitely not their best but still a very nice recording.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Serious Attempt at a new Direction,
By
This review is from: In the Hot Seat (Audio CD)
The death knell of creativity is sounded by the monotone of commercial expectation. It is refreshing to see a major Rock act taking new steps of creative freedom.In the Hot Seat has obviously disappointed those ELP groupies who still live in the 70s, but there is much on this album to commend it. Songs like Thin Line, Street War, Man in a Long Black Coat, Gone Too Soon and One by One are well written Rock tunes, and the sonic quality is superb. This version of Pictures at an Exhibition is the best one ELP ever released - Dolby 5.1 sound, and cutting age Synth samples. If you like ELP but have avoided buying this CD because of the lousy reviews - think again!
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