Los Angeles / give me Norfolk, Virginia / dial one oh four ten oh nine / tell the folks back home th...
Los Angeles / give me Norfolk, Virginia / dial one oh four ten oh nine / tell the folks back home this is the promised land calling / and the poor boy is on / the line
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Originally written by that rarest of species, a US concert composer, in this case Aaron Copeland (father of Stuart, drummer of The Police), premiered in Cincinnatti in 1942 at a concert to honour those about to die in WWII. The idea came about after similar British efforts to keep the home fires burning in WWI, using the music hall as an attempt to "connect", in todays parlance, with the public to events overseas.
A fanfare by its very nature is brass orientated, going back to the Middle Ages when the horns would blow to signal the arrival of a Great Person in a medieval town or village. The story has it that Copeland had to finish his piece before the end of the US tax year on 12th March 1942. That he did and gave his work that name surely renders it worthy of the common man (or woman) themselves, taxes being one of the two only sure things in life and all that. Hence the horns that announce the start of this piece.
So to 1976. The forgotten men of prog, Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg "I Believe In Father Christmas" Lake (guitars) and Carl Palmer (bass), who lets face it, did have a tendency to take themselves a little bit too seriously, record this magnum opus, taking the opening and stretching it in that manner so beloved of 70's proggers.
It's got a great rolling bass line, the timing is perfect, just as you would expect from classically trained musicians, and the trio get their groove on to a T. This is just a fabulous example of good musicians letting the jam take them where they want to go. The musos among you might even recognise the fade out as being copied by Nick Cave on The Birthday Partys "Release The Bats", ask me if you're not sure!
Just to top it, it was the theme tune to the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada, and was much used at athletic events worldwide for many years, (also reached no 2 in the UK charts in June 1977) until the IOC decided to get hip and bring in.........Bjork. Oh dear.
A prog rock masterpiece. Avaliable on ELP's album of the same name, but you really don't want to be buying that, you don't. Try the "Best Of ELP", or even better download it. The ELP revival starts here. Now.
Thanks for reading.
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