Photo: By Gorupdebesanez [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
The Nice was a progressive rock band formed in the late 1960s that played an important role in the history of Progressive Rock. The band was first formed in 1967 by Keith Emerson, Lee Jackson, David O’List, and Brian Davison. Some band members had been initially part of a band called Gary Farr and the T-Bones. However, circumstances led to the eventual formation of The Nice.
The Nice released their first album in 1967, entitled The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack. A year later, they released their sophomore album Ars Longa Vita Brevis in 1968. An album titled Everything As Nice As Mother Makes It was released in 1969. In the U.K., the album was titled The Nice. The band The Nice released their final album, Five Bridges, in 1970 before Keith Emerson broke up the band to form Emerson Lake & Palmer in between studio albums and after the band broke up. There was also a series of live albums and compilations.
Our 10 Essential Songs of The Nice list looks to define some of the band’s most intense moments from their live and studio catalog. This one should knock you out!
# 10 – Flower King Of Flies
Opening up our 10 Essential Songs by The Nice is the excellent track “Flower King Of Flies.” The song “Flower King Of Flies” was the opening track in the band’s debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack, released in 1967. This recording helped fuel the growth of Progressive Rock music in the mid- to late 1960s. The track featured David O’List on lead vocals and guitar. Also contributing to the recording was Keith Emerson on all keys, Lee Jackson on bass, and Brian Davison on drums.
# 9 – One Of Those People
I have always loved this song and used to play it to annoy my younger brother. It was brilliant music ahead of its time. “One Of Those People” was the closing track on the band’s final album, Five Bridges, which was released in 1970. “One Of Those People” was the only studio recording on the album, and the rest of the music on Five Bridges was recorded live.
# 8 – Daddy, Where Did I Come From
The perfect song to follow up “One of These People” on this Essential list of songs by The Nice. Yes, this is not what you expected. The song “Daddy Where Did I Come From?” was released on the band’s second album entitled Ars Longa Vita Brevis. This incredible album also featured guitarist Steve Howe, who would soon join the great band Yes.
# 7 – Karelia Suite (Live)
It’s incredible to compare the Karelia Suite (Live) to “Daddy, Where Did I Come From?” Yes, this is the same band, with just a little orchestra added to the mix. Simply stunning! This was recorded live on October 17 1969, at Fairfield Halls, in Croydon, London
# 6 – Pathetique
This is simple proof that no one ever came close to the skills that Keith Emerson displayed both in the studio and on the concert stage. This is incredible playing. There are no words to really describe it. You will be left breathless when listening to this amazing musical performance.
# 5 – Ars Longa Vita Brevis
This is pretty much side two of the band’s second album Ars Longa Vita Brevis. It’s worth every second of listening time you can afford. The live experience works so well for these guys. The way Keith Emerson’s organ reverberates in the hall creates an even bigger sound than the band already generates. This is just stunning music.
# 4 – Rondo
Continuing with our best of The Nice Songs, we turn to the band’s first album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack, which was released in 1967. The track “Rondo” was the closing track on the album’s opening side. Simply killer! The bass work is phenomenal. The way it sets the groove under Keith Emerson’s sensational keyboard lines is simply captivating.
# 3 – She Belongs To Me
One of the great Bob Dylan songs was given the Keith Emerson Nice treatment. It became one of the band’s most popular live-performance songs. It sounded nothing like the original version by Bob Dylan. This was just an amazing reinterpretation that remains as stunning in 2024 as it did in 1970.
# 2 – Hang On To A Dream
If you ever want to argue that Keith Emerson was one of the most dynamic piano players in classic rock history, one play of this mighty track should help you easily win the argument. The recording of “Hang On To A Dream” was issued on the band’s live album Elegy. The album was released in 1971.
# 1 – America
“America” is one of the most fabulous and stunning pieces of Progressive Rock music ever recorded. Utilizing the theme from Leonard Bernstein‘s “America from the marvelous motion picture West Side Story. Listen to Keith Emerson’s dark organ solo at the beginning as it’s wrapped around by that haunting chorus. And then BAM, it’s rock and roll progressive heaven. This version of “America” was released on the album Autumn 67 Spring 68.
Updated March 21, 2024
Top 10 Essential Songs From Keith Emerson And The Nice Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2024
My two favorite Nice tunes from ’69 were “She Belongs to Me” and “Time Is”. I’m surprised that they weren’t mentioned. But what is most surprising is that there is no Nice on You Tube.
There is quite a bit of the Nice on YouTube.
By the way, another correction: O’List wasn’t the lead singer on Flower King of Flies; that was Lee Jackson in a softer singing voice. O’List sand lead on The Throughts of Emerlist Davjack.
I wouldn;t have chosen Flower King of Flies from the first albuml I would have chose THe Cry of Eugene, which was a much more interesting song–to me at least.
Whoops. I skipped right past She Belongs to me – Thanks, that was great. And it took me to You Tube. I don’t know why my searches for Nice don’t work, L0L
Not sure if it was a lack of research or a conscious choice, but there was no mention of the classical influences of several of the pieces, something Keith Emerson continued in ELP. Knowing the source pieces would give listeners a better appreciation of how The Nice adapted them. Karelia Suite is an almost direct quotation of the Intermezzo from Karelia Suite by Jon Sibelius. Pathetique is a creative adaptation of a theme from Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony. And Ars Longa Vita Brevis is adapted from Berthoven. Emerson’s classical background is an integral part of how he wrote and played music. Leaving that out completely diminishes what he did.
The point of the article was to turn people onto a band thay may have never heard of. It was a short representation of some of the band’s finest songs presented in a quick read.It was not intended to be a biography of the band. We are working on that for a seperate article. Keith Emerson’s classical influnces are quite obvious especially with the recordings he made in Emerson Lake & Palmer. So,it was a conscious choice based on it being a simple top 10 songs list. It was not based on a lack of research, an insult that really did not have to be made.
Definitely not meant as an insult. That’s why I said it might have been either lack of research or a conscious choice. Unfortunately, in my experience, there are many top ten-type articles out there that aren’t very good. So my intention was to give the benefit of the doubt. Thank you for clarifying that it was a conscious choice. All I was saying is that the reader might have benefited from a sentence telling them where the song came from. For example, I listened to the Sibelius Karelia (less than 4 minutes long) before listening to The Nice version, and it gave me a greater appreciation for what Keith Emerson did with it. Thank you for the article. Please know I did not mean to insult.
No problem my friend, thanks for adding some great points to the article. I think you will find that many of our top 10 articles, some more than others are on completey different level of depth than many other sites.
Just a comment–Steve Howe had auditioned for and was getting ready to join the Nice, but decided against it.
I am unaware of any recording of Steve Howe with the Nice. Davy O’List played guitar on the version with guitar.
On Daddy, Where Did I Come From? that was Davy O’List, not Steve Howe.