3 – Live in Boston 1988 – Keith Emerson – Robert Berry – Carl Palmer
Thanks to some dedicated Asia/ELP fans, there are still some live recordings of the short lived 80′s offshoot band 3 (Three) being circulated around. You may remember this little variation in the ELP timeline – it was when Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer teamed up with singer/guitarist Robert Berry to record the album “To the Power of Three” back in 1988. As you may have guessed, the album flopped and the supporting tour got cut short. I’m not totally certain how many live gigs the group actually ended up doing but I recently received copies of two of their shows (Boston and NYC), both of which were simulcast live on the radio at the time.
I haven’t had a chance to listen to the NYC gig but after listening to the Boston show, it’s pretty obvious to me why the band didn’t last (..well, besides the lack of album sales). In a live setting, the band just didn’t gel. It sounded more like a showcase for Keith Emerson and a backing band. I can’t say if it was his ego or talent or a bit of both but Emerson pretty much overshadowed the rest of the group. And there’s no question about his ability on keys. Just listen to his jawdropping solo piece “Creole Dance”. amazing stuff. But it just seemed that Palmer and Berry weren’t up to the task of pulling their own weight in this setting. Berry’s bass work was simply buried by Emerson’s synthesizers and his vocal range had a lot to be desired. And don’t get me started on Palmer’s drumming. Granted, he’s a world famous rock drummer and does amazing drum solos but when playing with the rest of the band, he simply can’t stay “in the pocket”. his tempo is all over the place. I’m not sure if he was preoccuppied with his electronic drum setup but his playing was pretty subpar in my opinion.
The problem was compounded with lackluster material that just didn’t translate well onto the stage. Come on singing lyrics like: “Sangre de toro, drinking the wine, beneath la montana, the shadows of time” is just embarrassing. Oh, they also included a backing vocalist (Jennifer Steele) and a guitarist (Paul Keller) for these live gigs. I’m almost certain that they brought in Steele for “eye-candy” because from hearing her off key harmonies, she obviously can’t sing.
If you’re interested in the group, I say stick with the studio album. Even though it has the typical 80′s production sheen, it’d a whole lot better than hearing them live.
retroGrade: C (performance), B+ (sound quality, FM source)
3 (three)
Live in Boston
Recorded April 15, 1988 at the Paradise Theater
Radio Simulcast (WBCN)
TrackList:
Fanfare For The Common Man
Desde La Vida
Lover To Lover
Hoedown
You Do Or You Don’t
Talkin’ Bout
Creole Dance
On My Way Home
Runaway
Standing In The Shadows Of Love
America
Blue Rondo
Tocatta
Drum Solo
Flight Of The Bumblebee
Eight Miles High
the live band:
Keith Emerson – keyboards
Robert Berry – bass, vocals
Carl Palmer – drums
Paul Keller – guitar
Jennifer Steele – backing vocals
—
Related posts:
What surprises me is to see that no song previously done with Greg Lake's voice was included on those shows. Was it because of Robert Berry's voice that didn't suit in well and couldn't compete with Lake's ? I've heard that Trevor Rabin was supposed to form some band with Keith Emerson before joigning Yes, I wonder what it would have been like, probably something that would have sounded a bit like Three... Well, when you don't have it, whatever you do or whatever your name is, you just don't do anything, instead of forming a band like this one...
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
Like