This is an incredible collection of 54 tracks on ten vinyl albums and seven CDs bundled as one package. It represents the live performances of an integral group that were seen as the archetypal representation of everything that was prog rock.
Their second live performance as a band was in the 1970 Isle of Wight festival which is captured in the first of this collection. With tracks listed as anything between one minute (‘Maple Leaf Rag’) and the entirety of ‘Pictures At An Exhibition’ at 35 minutes plus, this is a prog fan’s idea of heaven. Intertwined with the typical classically influenced pieces written by Aaron Copland and many other classical composers there is a great deal for many to admire in the virtuosity of the band.
Many nowadays will only know Greg Lake from the Christmas hit, but his prog credibility takes him to other seriously prog bands (King Crimson before he joined ELP, and he also collaborated with Gary Moore after he left). His voice is instantly recognisable on any track on which he sang.
There must have been a visionary sound engineer to record all these very early performances. Whilst it is obvious that the early tracks are limited in the quality of the sound the obvious musical entrepreneurship of the three members is readily available to hear. A quick search of the internet and YouTube will find the late Keith Emerson in front of something that looks like an old fashioned telephone switchboard but is in fact a Moog synthesiser that he was the first to take on tour. There are other videos of him sat at a piano in the California show which rose into the air and started spinning end over end whilst he continued to play.
The third album, recorded as ‘The Works Live in Canada’ is of a much higher sound quality, probably as a result of the bands size and reputation and improved ability to record live sound in the late ‘70s. However, whilst there are many shorter tracks featuring the vocals of Lake, the longer tracks are still present; but the longest are a cut down version of ‘Pictures…’, at 15 minutes, ‘Fanfare…’ and ‘Tank’, which features a virtuoso drum solo among the orchestral playing. Criticised by many fans as a contractual obligation with poor sound at the time, I have to say when compared to the IoW recording it has actually come out well in this remix/remaster for a live recording.
An opening sub two-minute intro of ‘Karn Evil 9’ kicks off the Albert Hall album from 1992 and the sound reflects the expertise and acoustic quality of the venue. Many of the older longer tracks are reduced to bit parts as a promo while the newer more “commercial” songs take centre field – e.g., ‘Paper Blood’, ‘Black Moon’ (with a drum beat that reminds me of ‘We Will Rock You’) and the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ theme, which many will now recognise as the theme tune to ‘The Apprentice’ (albeit the original is by Prokofiev). Apart from the last two tracks, ‘Pirates’ and ‘Fanfare…’, the remainder are almost exclusively sub five minutes. Despite this, I have always liked ‘Still…’ and ‘Lucky Man’, and with a 13-minute version of ‘Fanfare…’ including ‘America’ and ‘Rondo’, there’s no real complaint from me.
The previously unreleased 1997 recording from Phoenix kicks off with ‘Karn Evil 9’, an established opening by this point, albeit not as “full” sounding as previous versions on the collection; as with all artists there are subtle differences in the live versions but Keith Emerson was renowned for improvisation. Of the albums in this collection the sound on this one remains a bit “thin” throughout and even the audience recording is a bit suppressed. Even Greg Lake’s voice appears to have lost his previous tone and warmth even though still recognisable, especially on tracks like ‘From The Beginning’ and ‘Lucky Man’. However, ‘Knife Edge’ has a different style that suits his voice at this point. ‘Bitches Crystal’, ‘Creole Dance’ and ‘Honky Tonk Train Blues’ rattle one into the other again demonstrating the keyboard virtuosity of Emerson, supported well by Lake and Palmer. ‘Take A Pebble and ‘Lucky Man’ add the vocal dimension of Greg Lake, again lacking the tone of his earlier years.
‘Tarkus’ continues to demonstrate Emerson’s virtuosity, but Greg Lakes vocals continue to lack his earlier tone. Having listened to this collection for many hours makes me consider if the band was a serious vehicle for anyone other than Keith Emerson; whilst there is no doubting the ability of both Greg Lake and Carl Palmer as musicians with their own skill sets, this collection comes across as being overtly dominated by the keyboard skills and musical variability and virtuosity of Keith Emerson…
The question arises from this, would I recommend it? The answer is unequivocally yes, for avid ELP fans who have been waiting for this. More importantly would I recommend shelling out a considerable amount of cash for what is undoubtedly a unique collection of the kings of prog rock’s definitive live work, which is exquisitely packaged as an obvious collectors set? HELL YES – and mine is on order! I just wish I had seen them live!
- ‘Out Of This World’ is released on 29 October. You can get your copy HERE.
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