Track Listing

1. All I Want Is You
2. Love Beach
3. Taste of My Love
4. Gambler
5. For You
6. Canario
7. Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman: Prologue/The Education of a ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #83324 in Music
• Brand: Emerson
• Released on: 2008-05-13
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Album Description
ELP's final '70s album features "Canario," and the 20-minute suite "Memoirs Of An Officer And A Gentleman."

Customer Reviews

It's not that bad.
Yes, the cover is cheesy. Yes, the title sucks. Yes, "Love Beach" is a blatant attempt at commercial pop, and it sticks out like a sore thumb in ELP's progressive-rock-meets-classical-music discography.

But I have news for everyone: "Love Beach" actually has good songs on it! Actually, over half of the record's running time contains solid material. It's no "Tarkus" or "Brain Salad Surgery," but it merits a place in any ELP fan's collection.

"All I Want Is You" and "Love Beach" are well-crafted, catchy, up-tempo pop songs - a welcome change of pace from balladeers Greg Lake and Peter Sinfield. "For You," despite its lounge music vibe, sports a cool intro and some nice dynamics. "Canario" is a turbo-charged rendering of Rodrigo's guitar composition in the tradition of ELP's Copland adaptation "Hoedown." "The Gambler" and "Taste of My Love" are admittedly filler, perhaps the only truly bad songs on the record.

"Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman," the twenty-minute epic that spans the erstwhile "side two," is a mixed bag. The lyrics, which describe the story of a World War II soldier, achieve a simplistic yet noble pathos of the "England Expects" variety. The instrumentation is perhaps a bit pedestrian to justify the running time, although the coda "Honourable Company" finds both Emerson and Palmer in majestic form.

"Love Beach" was an easy target for critics who claimed that progressive rock had "jumped the shark" by 1978. But it's far better than its reputation indicates. If you're a diehard ELP fan, give it a chance.

It's Not THAT Bad An Album!
If ever there was a rock album that had tomatoes thrown at it, both of the verbal AND of the real kind, it's "Love Beach" by Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Okay, so the band only recorded this album as a contractual obligation. Okay, so the band's "Oooh, What Studly Men We Are" cover photo is a riot. Okay, so the suggestive lyrics to "Taste Of My Love" are pretty vile. Okay, so Greg Lake booming "I'm gonna make love to ya!" over and over again at the end of the title track gives one pause. But OTHER than that stuff, this is a very good ELP record. "All I Want Is You" is a very-pleasant opening number. "For You" is a great song---it might have even been a strong hit single for the band. "The Gambler" is a tasty slice of blues/pop. "Canario" is a fine instrumental ELP workout. And don't tell me that the sidelong-epic "Memoirs Of An Officer And A Gentleman" isn't powerful, classic ELP, 'cause it most certainly is. This beautiful suite alone is worth the price of admission. What a shame that Keith, Greg, & Carl never played this buried treasure live...."Love Beach" will always be considered a "throwaway" album. Noted. But despite it's flaws, there is absolutely, positively some excellent ELP material on "Love Beach." It isn't their masterpiece, but it certainly isn't a total washout either. So please ignore the album cover and just enjoy the album's musical gems (and there ARE gems). 3 stars. Uncle Alan says check it out. :-)

Ugly as its cover suggests
This is the nadir. Awful pop songs by Greg Lake - I mean, honestly, he sounds like Neil Diamond! - and oddly uninteresting, unenergetic keyboards from Keith Emerson, that seem to take us back to the "Nice". The embarrassing Greg Lake songs provide the album's one highlight. One of the songs is a piece of "I'm a stud, me" sexual boasting, and includes the line, "Climb on my rocket and we'll ride..." And Emerson comes in with the "horn" button on his tinny-synth, and makes a sort of "A-ROOT! A-ROOT!" noise... Laugh! I nearly.

For completists only. The least bad track is "Canario", and parts of "Memoirs of an officer and gentleman" almost work, though most of it doesn't. I own this, because I'm an ELP nut, but even I never actually play it. There's nothing on it that needs hearing.

I call this the worst ELP album because I don't believe the reformed lot who did "Black Moon" and "Hot Seat" are ELP at all. What's worse, because I'm a huge fan of Greg Lake, and generally think that his solo songs and collaborations with Emerson are the best stuff on the early albums, the person most at fault for the horror that is "Love Beach" seems to be Lake. He wrote the MOR songs, he - along with Pete Sinfield - wrote the dreadful and sometimes sadly sexist lyrics, and he did the awful hammy singing. I don't know what had happened to Greg Lake at this period, but whatever it was, it was a bloody tragedy.

The only reason for owning this album is that you are the kind of loony who must own everything ELP ever did. If you're simply interested in ELP, please avoid this album. You won't enjoy it, because it's awful, and as an ELP fan myself, I'd rather not too many people knew about this one.

Laon