Love Beach

In March 1978, the band finished their ten-month North American tour in support of Works Volume 1 (1977) and Works Volume 2 (1977). Several early shows featured the group playing with a symphony orchestra on stage but it proved too costly to operate and the idea was dropped.[2] Despite the group preferring to rest, they were encouraged by Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegun to record a new album. He also reminded them that they had to deliver one more. Emerson recalled the band's meeting with Ertegun and his suggestion for the group to make "a commercial album" which Emerson felt reluctant to do.[3] Lake recalled that Ertegun threatened to decline the band the prospect of solo albums if they refused to work together, so they agreed. The need for a commercial album suited Lake's method of songwriting, as he was responsible for the group's radio friendly songs such as "Lucky Man" and "From the Beginning." Emerson therefore "eased up on my opinions to an extent, bit my nails, and gave him the freedom he kept asking for on side one".[3]

Compass Point Studios

The band had become tax exiles and decided to record in Nassau in the Bahamas where Emerson and Lake were renting homes. Recording took place in 1978 at Compass Point Studios without a dedicated producer, despite Lake having produced all of their previous albums. Early pressings of Love Beach carried no producer credit, but production and mixing of the album were largely carried out by Emerson.[4] Jack Nuber and Karl Pitterson were engineers. The sessions were difficult due to the increasingly strained relations between the three musicians. Emerson's increasing drug use had additionally started to affect his ability to work or collaborate with others.

Lyricist Peter Sinfield, who had worked with Lake in King Crimson and on his collection of songs on Works Volume 1, was asked by band manager Stewart Young to join them in Nassau and assist Lake in writing the lyrics. Though frictions had arisen between Sinfield and Lake by this time Sinfield thought a break would be good for him and accepted; however, because of the limited amount of time he had, he requested that he work alone.[5] Upon arrival, Sinfield found the group were barely talking to each other and he left the island when he was finished working on the album. Lake and Palmer followed suit after they had put down their parts, leaving Emerson who put "the whole album together ... and sent it off".[6][7]

Emerson was particularly upset about the album's title, which Atlantic Records had taken from one of the album's tracks by Lake and Sinfield, itself named after a stretch of beach on Nassau.[4] The front cover was taken on an island off Salt Cay, depicting the group as biographer Edward Macan described as "bare-chested late-seventies disco stars".[4] Emerson then organised a booth at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to conduct a survey on the public's opinion on the album with a questionnaire.[3] The overall opinion was of disagreement of the title which Emerson presented back to Atlantic, but the label refused to change.[5]

The first side of the album consists of short tracks mostly penned by Lake and Sinfield.

Side two consists of "Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman", a 20-minute track in four distinct parts. It is a concept piece that tells a story of a romance between a soldier and his fiancée during World War II, marking the first track by the band that deals with everyday people, in contrast to their previous fantasy-inspired epics such as "Tarkus" and "Karn Evil 9".[5] Sinfield wrote all of the lyrics and later felt relieved to find a lyrical theme that worked for the song given the limited amount of time he had to work.[5] Emerson considered the words "a bit gross".[5]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Classic Rock	[9]
Rolling Stone	(unfavorable)[10]
Sea of Tranquility	[11]

Love Beach was released in November 1978.[4] Emerson later called the album "an embarrassment against everything I've worked for".[4] Upon release Palmer spent two months arranging a farewell tour, but ongoing disagreements in the group led to the idea being shelved.[2]

Critical and fan appraisal of the album is mainly negative; some consider it the nadir of ELP's output, while others consider the reunion albums Black Moon and/or In the Hot Seat to be worse. Writing in Rolling Stone magazine at the time of the album's release, reviewer Michael Bloom said that "Love Beach isn't simply bad; it's downright pathetic. Stale and full of ennui, this album makes washing the dishes seem a more creative act by comparison".[10] The album was not toured or promoted by the band, although they did play "All I Want Is You" on the Old Grey Whistle Test.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer

• Keith Emerson – keyboards
• Greg Lake – vocals, guitars, bass, harmonica
• Carl Palmer – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Peter Sinfield – lyrics

Production

• Keith Emerson – production
• Jack Nuber – engineer
• Karl Pitterson - engineer

• "All I Want Is You/Tiger in a Spotlight" (UK release)
• "Canario/All I Want Is You" (German release)

Sources

• Forrester, George; Hanson, Martyn (2013). Emerson, Lake and Palmer: The Show That Never Ends ... Encore. Foruli Classics. ISBN 978-1-905-79239-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Macan, Edward (2006). Endless Enigma: A Musical Biography of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Open Court Publishing Company. ISBN 0-8126-9596-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)