Rabbit
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Tarkus
Dec 6, 2016 14:55:20 GMT
Post by Rabbit on Dec 6, 2016 14:55:20 GMT
I have performed this live in the past with really good musicians and even then, its way safer to have the security of midi backup for those really difficult and nasty moments. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it doesn't really matter, but for reference, I always go back to the source as I did with this and the wonderful Keith Emerson. He's buried not too far from me here since he lived not too far away and I still have great problems accepting the fact that he actually shot himself in the head, probably in one of his awful depressions. Tarkus is challenging to play live because it swings suddenly from something that is pretty simple into some very tricky little passages. From the outside, they don't seem too bad but they are. Not to mention the very wide array of keyboard sounds needed and sudden switches, which thankfully, MIDI helps to takes care of for you. You can suddenly switch to a new bank of sounds, which wasn't possible in the days of the Moogs, which is what Keith played. A tricky and temperamental machine, to say the least. Also, the repetitive riffs in the left hand are very difficult so again, MIDI can help enormously with this as well. Listening to a remastered version by ELP today reveals really nasty distortion all over the place. Particularly in the bass. Even with nice smooth Senns, it's quite nasty. I'm guessing that the original master must be bloody awful, probably due to the fact that it was mastered for vinyl and distortions might get lost amongst the snap, crackle and pop. It is really poor. So if you are in an ELP faze, the remasters seem to be uncovering an awful lot of problems that made Tarkus difficult for me to listen to and enjoy. Great pity, since I felt that modern engineers might have tried using their ears, unless that distortion is there on the master.
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Deleted
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Tarkus
Dec 6, 2016 15:58:52 GMT
Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2016 15:58:52 GMT
I used to have a friend, who had another friend, and we'd visit him a lot when we were in our teens because he was, THE MAN. Crap taste in music though and ELP or Barclay James Harvest was never far from his stylus. Tarkus did my head in though. Like you say, it was the sudden changes in direction that made it a pretty un-nerving listen. It is a tour-de-force of left-field thinking though and the technical ability is second to none. Again, as you say, the recordings are awful. I blame the drugs. couldn't stand that mate either, btw. He was a means to an end for me. A necessary evil and it wasn't all bad. I discovered Robert Calvert in that living room. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and 'shrooms. Hence
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Rabbit
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Tarkus
Dec 6, 2016 16:06:20 GMT
Post by Rabbit on Dec 6, 2016 16:06:20 GMT
ELP can be very hit and miss Gordon. He did an orchestral version of it in 2012, I think it was. I actually prefer that to the ELP version. Also, poor old Emerson was playing that technical stuff live onto tape, so in places, he can be very uneven. Modern technology gets you past that. The orchestral version has more 'space' inside it and IMO, sounds a lot better for it. Their first album was very nice and then it all went a bit 'large' and the band's career ended with some particularly crap stuff. I saw Emerson play quite a lot. Quite amazing to watch although he could be erratic. One I really liked to watch and hear though was old Jon Lord who was the Deep Purple keyboard player. Loved the old organ sounds that he used. He also composed many little pieces for keyboard players which are really nice It's funny that in most bands, the keyboard player can go almost unrecognised, like Banks in Genesis. Almost a 'shadow' figure.
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Rabbit
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Tarkus
Dec 6, 2016 16:11:24 GMT
Post by Rabbit on Dec 6, 2016 16:11:24 GMT
Here's one version ..... of the beginning
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Rabbit
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Tarkus
Dec 6, 2016 16:15:58 GMT
Post by Rabbit on Dec 6, 2016 16:15:58 GMT
Piano version. Here, you can see the deadly left hand technique I was talking about. It is REALLY difficult to do......
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Rabbit
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Tarkus
Dec 6, 2016 16:27:29 GMT
Post by Rabbit on Dec 6, 2016 16:27:29 GMT
Fabulous Jordan Rudess .....
Jordan is a great fan of Keith's. (The bearded man who speaks at the start) He appears regularly on Facebook with demos of his work so you can get to see what he does.
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Rabbit
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Tarkus
Dec 6, 2016 16:35:14 GMT
Post by Rabbit on Dec 6, 2016 16:35:14 GMT
Anyone able to read music or follow music, here is the piano score and even following, let alone playing, is difficult.
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Tarkus
Dec 8, 2016 16:40:24 GMT
Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2016 16:40:24 GMT
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Rabbit
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Tarkus
Dec 8, 2016 17:09:53 GMT
Post by Rabbit on Dec 8, 2016 17:09:53 GMT
Great pity. All hadn't been well with Greg Lake for some time. Very sad to see.
I loved 'Lucky Man' a great deal, from the lyrics, the melodic line and the swooping synth solo at the end.
This is not too long ago and makes me feel quite sad TBH.
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Rabbit
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Tarkus
Dec 11, 2016 10:46:42 GMT
Post by Rabbit on Dec 11, 2016 10:46:42 GMT
Poor Keith is struggling at times with the dexterity of his hands. While lovely to see them together, it's also very sad since this was the last time they played as a band.
It never ceased to amaze me how many variations of sounds came from just a trio. Just three of them. That puts a lot of pressure on each player during a show like this.
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