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by Bruce Pilato
Soundstage T is tucked deep in the large Shepperton Studios compound in the English countryside, about one hour from downtown London. It is part of a complex where everything from the classic Sean Connery-era James Bond "007" pictures to the forthcoming Tom Hanks film, "The Da Vinci Code" (currently in production there) have been filmed.
Today is Monday, October 17th, and Greg Lake and his new solo band are in the final days of rehearsals for his forthcoming UK tour. This will be the first time Lake has performed as a solo artist since 1981, when he fronted a band that included guitar virtuoso Gary Moore. The new group is nothing short of spectacular, and is, in Greg's own words, "among the finest bands I have ever worked with."
Musical Director and keyboardist David Arch (who has scored numerous film soundtracks and worked with everyone from Elton John and Rod Stewart to Joni Mitchell and Diana Ross) leads the group through the tricky nuances of Lake's musical history. The band contains a wide variety of musicians and singers who have crossed nearly every musical genreŽ (to play this stuff, frankly, they have had to). In age, they span from Baby Boomers to Gen X-ers.
The rhythm section consists of Trevor Barry on bass and Brett Morgan on drums. They are solid anchors, while guitarist Florian Opahle, Josh Grafton on second keyboards, Arch, and Greg himself provide the familiar chords, riffs and solos for this catalog of music that is synonymous with the history of FM rock as we know it today.
Today's rehearsal is largely focused on Greg's new, stellar arrangement of Mussorgsky's "Pictures At An Exhibition," which he first performed and recorded in 1971 with ELP. The new version has considerably more weight than the original, having the power of the new 8 piece line-up, and David Arch's masterful use of today's state-of-the-art keyboard technology. Two newly added backing vocalists, Bekki Carpentar and Jai Ramage, join with Greg and the band to give the singing a multi-layered richness that has never been available to Greg in a concert environment before this.
As the epic piece winds down, Greg opens his mouth to sing the final line of the dramatic Russian classical music suite: "Death is life!" It climaxes with the crashing power of a 40 megaton bomb blast. KA-powww! Those of us observing in the back of the soundstage are stunned by the sheer force of the musicianship. Greg, however, just takes a breath, smiles and nods with his approval: "Right, well done. Next up, 'From The Beginning.'"
And so it went: one incredible musical statement after another, until by the end of the rehearsal, most of his career milestones had been performed and he and the band are exhausted - deeply satisfied - but exhausted.
The rehearsals for this tour confirm what those of us close to Greg have known all along: To grasp the full scope of his musical history, he has needed the ability to draw material from every aspect of his career from King Crimson to ELP/ELPowell and his best known solo material.
From the majestic opening of the 1969 Crimso anthem, "In the Court of The Crimson King," through later songs such as 1992's "Paper Blood" (from ELP's Black Moon reunion LP), the show will be close in its set list to the double CD From The Beginning - The Greg Lake Retrospective, which is being re-released soon by Sanctuary Records.
As with his performances with the 2001 Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band, these songs, which had previously been so closely affiliated with King Crimson and ELP, suddenly take on a new life of their own with new players involved. The majority of the songs soar from the sheer freshness of Greg playing within a new, exciting band. The rest comes in the fine attention to detail. Every sound, every vocal line, every guitar fill is tried, improved, and tried again until it is just perfect.
At the rear of Soundstage T, the crew at Classic Pictures is editing the first of two DVD projects based around Greg's tour. Entitled "Welcome Backstage," the 47-minute production shows Greg and the band rehearsing in a relaxed environment, similar to the approach taken with the 1970s Beatles feature film, "Let It Be."
The Welcome Backstage DVD is intended as an introduction to the newest stage of Greg's career and a precursor to the forthcoming tour. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the preparations and pre-production rehearsal for the forthcoming Greg Lake UK tour. It will include five complete musical performances, interviews, and candid backstage shots, all in 5.1 Surround Sound, and will only be available at greglake.com and on the internet for fans as well as at the shows.
A more comprehensive DVD of the entire show will be filmed near the end of the tour and will include extensive bonus material. This title is set to have a general release in 2006 and will be available both online and in stores later in the year.
During a short break from the rehearsals, Greg and I pop into the editing suite to check out the progress of the DVD. Director Robert Garofalo is viewing the final edit of "A Farewell To Arms," another Black Moon song that Greg, on this tour, is playing in concert for the first time ever.
His deep and soulful baritone (sounding better than ever) brings a new emotional edge to the musical tale about love and death during wartime. In the end, the show will be over two hours, and contain an intermission. Amid the wealth of Crimson and ELP hits will be a healthy dose of songs that Greg has previously recorded, but never performed until now. In addition, there are even a few musical surprises that should catch audiences off-guard.
The rehearsals have been arduous but fruitful, and at the end of the day, everyone's spirits are high. Finally, Greg is getting the chance to re-create the classic songs of his career with a band that will make them sound as they have never sounded before.
By the end of the day, even I was drained, and I only had to watch and listen! Opening night is six days away, and Greg is still tinkering with the set list, arrangements and musical ideas. But, when it all comes together on stage, there is no doubt it will be a great musical adventure for all who come out to see it.
More to come from behind the scenes at Shepperton...
Bruce Pilato
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