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And so another
huge chapter in musical history gets turned. In this
case it rings volumes with the legacy Ahmet created.
When he spoke, I listened because he knew his stuff;
he'd worked with all the greats and never interfered
with the creative process of ELP. The recording industry
will never be the same again.
My favorite memory, and there are many, is when Ahmet
visited ELP in Montreaux, Switzerland. He'd listened to
all the prepared stuff and asked what else we had. We
dug out a rough one-off take of 'Fanfare For The Common
Man'. 'That's a hit! Make it shorter.' And so we made it
longer and shorter because it made us all happy to
please him because he knew his stuff. Towards the end of
the 70's, Ahmet called ELP into his office. We were
pretty burned out from touring but Ahmet was insistent.
'All you guys need to do is just get in a studio and
jam.' We left the details to manager Stewart Young and
settled into Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas for
3 months where he would visit. However he seemed more
interested in the topless babes coming out of the sea
than being shut in a studio. The resulting album was
Love Beach. Thanks for everything Ahmet. Actually that
album is really not that bad!
Keith Emerson.
December 19, 2006
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