Manticore Records has been resurrected. It is wonderful that Greg’s widow, Regina, has agreed to his dying wish to get the label back up and running, and is dedicating it to his legacy. Take a look at https://www.manticorerecords.com/
Before starting with the background and album review, some words about my personal musical relationship with Lake. His place in musical history is assured. He was part of the trailblazing first lineup of King Crimson, and you can still view reports of how he and his bandmates blew the Rolling Stones no less away when they opened the famous Hyde Park free concert in 1969, the debut album In the Court of the Crimson King widely regarded as the first ever “proper” progressive rock album. I loved his solo work. As for ELP, their place in rock history is also assured, although of the major players in the 1970’s, they were the outfit I least went to in terms of musical satisfaction – basically, much of it too bombastic for my taste.
It was with some interest that I received For The Love of Greg Lake from Italian vocalist Paola Tagliaferro and her guest musicians; a tribute album co-arranged with Regina. There is, incidentally, a first album available on Bandcamp at https://paolatagliaferro.bandcamp.com/album/paola-tagliaferro-sings-greg-lake but this one can be purchased via https://lnk.to/PTSGL on all major digital platforms. Further, take a look at her website at https://www.paolatagliaferro.it/
So, with a legend of progressive rock to consider, and the fact that I very rarely review tribute albums, what do I think of this? The first thing to state is that Tagliaferro has a wonderful voice, with range, depth, and emotion. She has also surrounded herself with class musicians, so what we have here is a heartfelt interpretation of an artist she clearly admires very much.
There are nine tracks here, so let’s take a look at them and have a listen to a couple.
First up is It Hurts, which featured on the debut solo Lake album released in 1981. Pier Gonella on guitar especially has a hard act to follow in Gary Moore, a guitarist I adored. We have a video of this, and it is embedded below. Immediately, a smoky, distinct Italian voice hits you, with Gonella providing for some nice blues licks as well as a pulsing Lake-like bass, Luca Scherani providing for some class piano and keyboard work, and Dario Canepa providing for a nice drum half of the rhythm section. Urgent in parts, and clearly quite emotional, a good start to proceedings for sure. In fact, worth the entrance fee for the guitar solo alone.
Watching Over You featured on the not exactly critically well received ELP Works Volume 2, co-written between Lake and the legendary Peter Sinfield, his old collaborator in Crimson. The song was written as a lullaby for his daughter. Pretty and well performed, a song to play late at night whilst looking over your beloved family.
Stones of Years – the second segment of Tarkus, now incredibly fifty-three years old. This album is still generally very well regarded by progressive music fans and certainly pushed the boundaries of what a trio could achieve on record. I just love Tagliaferro’s voice on this, and the whole piece is a blues club delight to the senses, a room filled with smoke and illicit love.
Lend Your Love To Me Tonight is the first Lake piece from Works Volume 1, which, of course, was derided by the fashionable press on its release, this being the age of punk/new wave, and “death to the dinosaurs!”. The keyboard touches on this are quite lovely, and the voice and guitar combine nicely in a balladic soundscape. Tagliaferro here really does shine in her obvious love of the music and vocals of her subject.
The Only Way takes us back to Tarkus with the hymn based upon the work of J S Bach, which at the time was a radical fusion of classical and modern rock, but would, as with the spaced-out music of Yes, eventually drag them down into cultural opprobrium. This is a nice adaptation and closing my eyes listening to the main voice and piano, I see myself in one of the many lovely lesser well known churches in Rome worshipping, not only for the glory of the almighty, but also the alter of the mysticism we call jazz-rock.
In Affairs of the Heart first appeared in ELP’s Black Moon in 1992, and thence in 2015’s Ride The Tiger from Lake and Asia/Yes/Buggles alumnus Geoff Downes, although the piece was written by the pair in sessions from 1988. Now, whatever one could accuse Lake & Downes of, you could not possibly accuse them of not being able to turn a decent tune, and this is something I have always liked. Tagliaferro turns this into a good gothic type of song, and the orchestration on it is nice.
I Talk to the Wind is from that beacon of rock music, the Crimson debut, an album which sounds as fresh now as it did when I first heard it many years ago now. Mellow and dramatic amidst the madness and symphonic genius which surrounded it, I always loved this track. This is a very good modern update, with some fine keys and a class guitar underlaying, jazzy drums and percussion, all the while Tagliaferro waspishly dominating proceedings. I love the viola solo provided by Giulia Ermirio. Listen to the audio of this below and enjoy.
All I Want Is You is a pretty brave track to include on any tribute to Lake and ELP. The opening track from Love Beach, probably the most denigrated album in all progressive rock history, and rightly, because it was truly awful, I was fascinated to try to take a step back, listen without prejudice, and see what it sounded like here. It’s okay, but it really is virtually impossible to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear, and as long as I live, I will find it difficult to find a kind word for anything from that album.
We finish with The Great Gates of Kiev, which, by contrast, is the majestic side of ELP, and Tagliaferro matches that with aplomb, the yearning for the meaning of life coming across nicely, with the viola especially bringing a lovely touch, the Hammond in the background sensitive before taking the lead role in the denouement. This is an exceptionally strong rendition and a great way to finish the album. You can listen to an audio of it below.
As with the majority of tribute albums, I don’t believe that this necessarily adds to the overall cannon of the object, but what it is is a very loving tribute from a singer who I have learned to really enjoy listening to over this past couple of weeks, and, as such, I have no hesitation in recommending that you click on the links I provided above and giving it a good listen and adding to your collection on the platforms available.