In The Windmills Of Your Mind
I'll Be Your Valentine
| Track: | Rating: | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Tiger In A Spotlight | | | | |
| 2. When The Apple Blossoms Bloom In The Windmills Of Your Mind I'll Be Your Valentine | | | | |
| 3. Bullfrog | | | | |
| 4. Brain Salad Surgery | | | | |
| 5. Barrelhouse Shake-Down | | | | |
| 6. Watching Over You | | | | |
| 7. So Far Too Fall | | | ||
| 8. Maple Leaf Rag | | | | |
| 9. I Believe In Father Christmas | | | | |
| 10. Close But Not Touching | | | | |
| 11. Honky Tonk Train Blues | | | | |
| 12. Show Me The Way To Go Home | | | ||
with the London Symphony Orchestra and occasional guests
It is almost impossible to find a critic who has anything good to say about this album. Following the relative disappointment of Works, Volume One, Volume Two must have seemed merely a confirmation of ELP's degenerated talent at the time of its release; as such, even critics sympathetic to the progressive scene tend to regard the album as a forgettable embarrassment amid the late stages of the movement.
One cannot merely explain this response by virtue of the fact that WV2 is simply a collection of previously recorded (but generally unreleased) material -- the Rolling Stones did the same thing four years later, after all, and saw their levels of critical approval return to levels unseen in several years. Rather, even the most stalwart fan of the progressive rock scene must be forced to admit that this album is a considerable step below what ELP were capable of producing, a write-off work which seldom rises above the level of average, "going through the motions" material. One might suggest that the gesture made by Carl Palmer on the inside jacket was appropriate for the music in question.
And yet, for all that, WV2 is not quite the ultimate disaster that it has sometimes been portrayed as. Although the album did nothing to suggest that ELP remained a success force within the British or American music scenes, it at least managed to cull some half-decent material from earlier session recordings (as well as some worthwhile solo material previously unavailable on a full-length album). One wonders if the album might have gone over much better had it been released as a 'rarities and studio sessions' album in the early 1990s.
This is not to excuse the value of the songs themselves, however, which are often either objectively bad or relatively sub-par ...
The most frightening thing about "Tiger In A Spotlight", the lead-off track, is that it was recorded by ELP in 1973, suggesting that their period of creative degeneration may have commenced prior to their three-year withdrawal in the mid-1970s. From a production standpoint, this song is an absolute mess, with channels being noticeably dropped and risen, and the bass being mixed in an absolutely abysmal manner (the technology may have sounded 'impressive' in 1973, but by any objective standpoint it simply sounds foolish). The song itself is only average, and would receive a
The second track (here referred to as "Apple Blossoms" for reasons of sanity) was also recorded in 1973, and was initially released as the b-side of "Jerusalem". Although a step below the level of what ELP were capable of at the time, this actually isn't too bad of a track; Palmer gets a few good moments in, and Emerson makes things considerably more interesting by adding some extremely odd keyboard effects in the middle section. "Apple Blossoms" gives the impression of a band jamming around a musical idea without really knowing where it going; but, for that, it's at least a credible track.
As hard to believe as this may be, Carl Palmer is actually responsible for creating the first top-notch track on the recording. "Bullfrog" (written and performed with outside musicians) features good drumming and particularly good percussive effects, showing considerable signs of a jazz-blues influence; the horn section, in particular, is a nice touch. Moreover, the "steamy" section of the track (complete with overdubbed keyboards) is an extremely listenable moment by any standard. A diamond in the rough, perhaps.
"Brain Salad Surgery" is a fairly average ELP track, featuring Emerson paying more attention to playing "nasty" chords than actually developing the piece. While the segueway section of this work adds some credibility from a musical standpoint, some points must be deducted for Lake's vocals (was this perhaps recorded at the same time as "Tiger"?). The bass solo is hardly essential, and the entire thing has all the marks of a throwaway. The song composition itself is actually not that bad, though, accounting somewhat for its (perhaps surprisingly) high rating.
Although "Barrelhouse Shake-Down" (performed by Emerson with outside musicians) is total kitsch, it's actually a fairly enjoyable track if taken on its own merits. Despite the utterly anachronistic nature of the music, the performance and composition are actually fairly good (particularly as regards Emerson's playing in conjunction with the horn section). One might almost wonder if Emerson was considering making further inroads into music of this sort should his venture with ELP fail. This track is usually not noticed fairly often one way or the other; as such, it might classify as the "underrated gem" on the album.
The same cannot be said of "Watching Over You", a tedious and prosaic Greg Lake solo ballad (performed on acoustic guitar) which is notable only for being innocuous enough to fall considerably short of "intolerable". The lyric is rather patronizing, and is generally forgetable. Aside from the fact that Pete Sinfield seems to be singing background vocals, there isn't terribly much to speak of here.
"So Far To Fall" is a monumental embarrassment. The music is reasonably interesting for the first eight seconds; then, a silly keyboards/guitar duet emerges, and the track begins its mournful journey into the lower realms of musical quality. The lyrics are beyond terrible; even if one can forgive the nonsensical sexual references, the manner of expression is still lower than that which would be expected from either Lake or Sinfield on normal occasions (which is saying quite a bit). Lake's voice is again terrible, and Emerson seems to be treating the entire thing like a joke (not that I would blame him for doing so, of course, but this doesn't amount to anything interesting from a musical standpoint). Palmer is a minor saving grace, but not by enough to rescue the track. This was the worst track that ELP had released to date, at the time; the fact that they later managed to exceed even these levels speaks volumes of the direction which their career has heading in.
"Maple Leaf Rag" features Keith Emerson playing Scott Joplin's classic with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It's a fairly good performance, but hardly anything essential; as such, it doesn't merit much consideration.
"I Believe In Father Christmas" (a slightly altered version of another Lake solo track, which was a minor hit single in 1975) may very well be Greg Lake's only good moment on the album. The acoustic guitar melody is fairly interesting, and the Prokofiev reference (from "Lt. Kije") is quite appropriate under the circumstances (though the bass could have been a bit better). This is one of the few poignant moments on the album, which may explain its continued popularity at the relevant holiday. The keyboard work at the end is fairly good as well.
"Close But Not Touching" (recorded by Palmer with outside musicians, again) is another fairly good track, with a martial beat introduction and some considerable work by wind and brass instruments as the song develops. this jazz-rock piece clearly falls somewhere outside of Palmer's idiom, but it's still a fairly decent moment. The guitar solo is fairly good; if there is a serious problem with this piece, it's that the melody doesn't really develop terribly much.
The album then turns to another "Emerson + orchestra" track, which in this case in a cover of Lux Lewis's "Honky Tonk Train Blues". Again, despite its rather "kitschy" nature, the piece is given a fair performance by the musicians in question. It isn't quite as good as "Barrelhouse Shake-Down", owing to its somewhat predictable bluesy development, but what is there is handled fairly well.
One must wonder what compelled Greg Lake to conclude the album with a cover of "Show Me The Way To Go Home" (losing a bet? trying to cash in on "Jaws" fever?). This godawful performance is a virtual admission of artistic bankruptcy on his part; Emerson, perhaps realizing that it was a lost cause, doesn't seem to have put terribly much effort into the arrangement -- even his keyboard solo is sub-par, though it's still the best thing about the track. Simply awful.
And such is Works, Volume Two: not at all the total disaster some have made it out to be, but a generally sub-par assortment of half-developed ideas and predictable themes. Moreover, when taken as a whole the album is without any sense of "flow", serving from one track to the next without any sign of a conscious plan.
Still, there are a few good moments here, and even the "flawed" tracks still have some merit to them (save "SFTF" and "SMTWTGH", that is). Prog fans might find this release to be better than most critical assessments, if still below the group's capabilities.
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 19 September 1997)