The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack

The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack
O'List, Davison, Jackson, Emerson
Studio album by The Nice
Released	December 1967
Recorded	Olympic Studios, Autumn 1967
Genre	Progressive rock, psychedelic rock
Length	37:50
Label	Immediate
Producer	Emerlist Davjack
The Nice chronology
The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack (1967) Ars Longa Vita Brevis (1968)

The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack is the 1967 debut album by the English psychedelic rock and progressive rock group The Nice. It is considered one of the first albums in the latter genre.

The name Emerlist Davjack is a pseudonym created by combining the last names of the four members of the group; Keith Emerson, David O'List, Brian Davison, and Lee Jackson.

The album was promoted by a sampler (Featured on the Castle Communications 2000 box set "Here Come The Nice" (CMETD 055-1)) featuring a commentary by John Peel, which included the following comments:

1967 was a strange year for pop music with groups experimenting with new sounds and bouncing on and off bandwagons with dizzying speed and agility. They were calling themselves ridiculous names and regretting it shortly. The Nice came together in a void and will be here when the others are in pantomime in Wolverhampton.

The cover, photographed by Gered Mankowitz, shows members of the band apparently unclothed except for being wrapped in cellophane.

Background

The original disc credits all compositions to "Emerlist Davjack"; later releases gave more specific credits.

The song "Flower King of Flies" is a reference to Beelzebub.^{[citation needed]} "The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack" was used as incidental music for the 1968 children's television drama "The Tyrant King", directed by Mike Hodges and written by Trevor Preston for Thames Television, from the London Transport book by Aylmer Hall. The 6-part series also featured music by The Rolling Stones, The Moody Blues and Pink Floyd.

"Rondo" includes a short excerpt from Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D Minor. "The Cry of Eugene", which was later re-recorded by Jackson's group Jackson Heights, refers to "Harlequin & Columbine".

Legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
George Starostin

The album was named as one of Classic Rock magazine's "50 Albums That Built Prog Rock".

Track listing

Side one

1. "Flower King of Flies" (Keith Emerson, Lee Jackson) – 3:19
2. "The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack" (Emerson, David O'List) – 2:49
3. "Bonnie K" (Jackson, O'List) – 3:24
4. "Rondo" (Dave Brubeck, Emerson, O'List, Brian Davison, Jackson) – 8:22

Side two

1. "War And Peace" (Emerson, O'List Davison, Jackson) – 5:13
2. "Tantalising Maggie" (Emerson, Jackson) – 4:35
3. "Dawn" (Davison, Emerson, Jackson) – 5:17
4. "The Cry of Eugene" (Emerson, Jackson, O'List) – 4:36

Additions on reissues of the album

1. "The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack" [Single Version] (Emerson, O'List) – 2:48
2. "Azrial (Angel of Death)" (Emerson, Jackson) – 3:44
3. "The Diamond Hard Blue Apples of the Moon" (Davison, Jackson) – 2:47
4. "America" [instrumental] (Leonard Bernstein, Davison, Jackson, Stephen Sondheim) – 6:18
5. "America" (Bernstein, Davison, Jackson, Sondheim) – 3:55

Personnel

• Keith Emerson - organ, piano, harpsichord, vocals
• Lee Jackson - bass, guitar, vocals, timpani
• David O'List - guitar, trumpet, flute, vocals
• Brian Davison - drums, tubular bells, timpani
• Billy Nicholls - uncredited harmony vocals on "Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack"
• Derek Burton - Cover Design