# Emerson, Lake & Palmer how are they remembered these days? Did they leave any legacy in music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2016, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emerson-lake-palmer-how-are-they-remembered-these-days-did-they-leave-any-legacy-in-music/742981 "2016-01-12T23:50:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emerson-lake-palmer-how-are-they-remembered-these-days-did-they-leave-any-legacy-in-music/742981/41 "2016-01-13T18:57:33Z")
My older brother (mid-teens at the time) played _Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends_ till he wore out the grooves. Which was tortuous as my brother had an allergy to headphones. :rolleyes: That album lives up to the name: the definition of “interminable”. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emerson-lake-palmer-how-are-they-remembered-these-days-did-they-leave-any-legacy-in-music/742981/42 "2016-01-13T19:02:42Z")
I, for one, love to put on the full-length version of “Karn Evil 9” when I have a half-hour to spare and nothing to fill it with. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emerson-lake-palmer-how-are-they-remembered-these-days-did-they-leave-any-legacy-in-music/742981/43 "2016-01-13T20:23:57Z")
Really loved some of their stuff, loathed the rest. They do seem to be despised by a lot of people, though. I think they represent what a lot of people felt was wrong with music. They were the Nickelback of their time. > [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > …Much like Ian Anderson with Jethro Tull, who would come onstage twirling his flute like a baton and tossing it in the air, but would deftly substitute it for another when it came time to actually play! I do remember Anderson having a “stunt” flute that he would grab for twirling and such. Don’t know if it’s true, but someone told me one of the reasons was because if he twirled his real flute, there would be spit flying everywhere. Maybe a flute player can chime in on that. ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emerson-lake-palmer-how-are-they-remembered-these-days-did-they-leave-any-legacy-in-music/742981/44 "2016-01-13T22:10:49Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Their early albums were great, but they got caught in the anti prog backlash, exacerbated by the fact their later albums weren’t all that good. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emerson-lake-palmer-how-are-they-remembered-these-days-did-they-leave-any-legacy-in-music/742981/45 "2016-01-13T22:20:49Z")
The summer of 1973 I lived in a house with guys from school who were in a band doing prog rock covers - ELP and Yes, mostly. So I got a full dose, and listened to ELP for a while, but got over them. I much prefer some of Emerson’s solo stuff, especially Journey to the Center of the Earth (but not the sequel.) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emerson-lake-palmer-how-are-they-remembered-these-days-did-they-leave-any-legacy-in-music/742981/46 "2016-01-13T22:26:45Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > I do remember Anderson having a “stunt” flute that he would grab for twirling and such. Don’t know if it’s true, but someone told me one of the reasons was because if he twirled his real flute, there would be spit flying everywhere. Maybe a flute player can chime in on that. LOL. Well, I am a flute player, and yes, the flute does get quite wet inside as it’s played. It’s mostly condensation from the player’s breath. Mostly. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emerson-lake-palmer-how-are-they-remembered-these-days-did-they-leave-any-legacy-in-music/742981/47 "2016-01-13T23:05:11Z")
I still have the _Tarkus_ LP lying around somewhere. Maybe one of these days I’ll dust it off and see what I think. My recollection of their music is that much of it was interesting, but _cold_. I could only listen to so much at a time. Their legacy? Kinda like the Moody Blues, they really created a one-band niche. They didn’t open up new musical vistas for other bands to expand on. More of a cul-de-sac. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emerson-lake-palmer-how-are-they-remembered-these-days-did-they-leave-any-legacy-in-music/742981/48 "2016-01-13T23:33:14Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The summer of 1973 I lived in a house with guys from school who were in a band doing prog rock covers - ELP and Yes, mostly. So I got a full dose, and listened to ELP for a while, but got over them. I much prefer some of Emerson’s solo stuff, especially Journey to the Center of the Earth (but not the sequel.) That was Rick Wakeman. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emerson-lake-palmer-how-are-they-remembered-these-days-did-they-leave-any-legacy-in-music/742981/49 "2016-01-13T23:38:40Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > As a keyboard player, I can say that Emerson is widely recognized as the unchallenged master virtuoso pianist of the genre. I dunno. I’d go with Wakeman there. Regardless, Emerson was certainly not “unchallenged” for piano chops specifically, as Wakeman is definitely in the conversation no matter who you think is better to your taste. I’d probably give Emerson the slight edge for synth stuff, though. For prog rock keyboardists in general, though, I’d go with Tony Banks myself. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emerson-lake-palmer-how-are-they-remembered-these-days-did-they-leave-any-legacy-in-music/742981/50 "2016-01-13T23:41:34Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![DMGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@DMGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emerson-lake-palmer-how-are-they-remembered-these-days-did-they-leave-any-legacy-in-music/742981/51 "2016-01-13T23:47:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I dunno. I’d go with Wakeman there. Regardless, Emerson was certainly not “unchallenged” for piano chops specifically, as Wakeman is definitely in the conversation no matter who you think is better to your taste. I’d probably give Emerson the slight edge for synth stuff, though. For prog rock keyboardists in general, though, I’d go with Tony Banks myself. I must agree. TB didn’t necessarily have the flamboyant chops of Wakeman or Emerson, but his playing was incredibly tasteful, and he was a master at writing incredible melodies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emerson-lake-palmer-how-are-they-remembered-these-days-did-they-leave-any-legacy-in-music/742981.md?page=2)