Flower King Of Flies/Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack/Bonnie K/Rondo/War & Peace/Tantalising Maggie/Dawn/The Cry Of Eugene
The Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack was the debut album from the British progressive group The Nice. The peculiar sounding character in the title is formed out of each band member’s name. Keyboard wizard Keith Emerson would achieve greater fame in the 1970s with Emerson Lake & Palmer.
“The Nice's debut, the absurdly titled Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack, is often considered one of the first progressive (as differentiated from psychedelic) albums. While this album didn't quite create progressive rock, it is an important touchstone for prog's formative years.”
“The title is one of the dumbest I've ever heard. As for the music it is mostly ordinary psychedelic pop tunes that aren't too bad. Three longer tracks are of note, but only Rondo is awesome. Dawn is experimental, but the whispered vocals are laughable. War & Peace is an organ-fused blues tune, nothing more. Only for compulsive completists of prog rock and psych-pop freaks.”
“A pioneer album for progressive rock, with the psychedelic influence that every band was condemned to have in the late 60s, and a virtuoso keyboard player who would later become the centrepiece of a better band.”
"Although clearly an early progressive rock album, The Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack is very firmly rooted in 60s psychedelia and acid rock. It's easy to hear a bit of ELP in this, but what's more intriguing is just how different it is from ELP. Although very innovative at the time the album is let down firstly by weak vocals and secondly by some inconsistent material. However, there are some good musical passages and most of the musicianship is excellent, particularly that of Keith Emerson.”
“The Nice were one of the first bands experimenting with progressive rock by mixing it with classical and jazz. These guys are excellent instrument players, but the music, in spite of innovative and fine moments, is not that exciting. The vocals are totally pointless and sometimes terrible.”
“It's not the commercial prog-rock of ELP era, but instead a great psychedelic album driven by stunning keyboards, late 60s soul and swinging psychedelia.”
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