Emerson, Lake & Palmer Album: “Live [Disky]”

"Emerson, Lake and Palmer, in their first debut performance ever". Someone actually said that. It is how the group is introduced at the beginning of this CD. And in reality, this was the group's second live performance. So, maybe he should have said "Their second debut performance, ever".

This was at the Isle of Wight, so the audience was enormous. They were one of many major groups at the festival. There is 53 minutes of music plus a 15 minute interview. The sound quality is passable. There are some stretches with a background buzz. Sometimes the sound cuts out a little. The stereo separation is severe. At times there will be nothing coming out of right channel, while a guitar solo is going on in the left.

It starts out with Barbarian, which is not too much different than the studio, except that is has a rawer, more powerful sound. Next is a 35 minutes of Pictures At An Exhibition. I like this version better than the official album. It is a bit livier and more energetic. They play it looser and throw in some other stuff, like a section of Tank. Rondo is very short and not very interesting. The version of Nutrocker isn't that great either. I prefer the version on Pictures At an Exhibition.

I was trying to decide between 3 and 4 stars. It is a nice performance, with a raw energy not heard on the studio albums. But, it is not that special, and the sound quality is not that great.

If you are interested, you might want to get it while you can. It was released earlier, with a different cover. But, then it disappeared for a number of years, before showing up again. Who knows, it may go off the market again.

ELP are a band who are best heard live, and the more live material they release the better. This documents the world debut (and second overall performance) of one of the first "supergroups" of the 70's. As to be expected, the band attack the material with an abundance of energy making this disc a worthwhile purchase. The Barbarian is excellent, and Greg Lake plays superb acoustic guitar in Take a Pebble.

The downside is the show has some ragged moments, especially in Pictures. But the excitment of the show more than makes up for that. Plus, the short interview at the end of the disc is very interesting, especially Emerson's story about the cannons!

Finally there is a good live ELP album!! Barbarian kicks things off with brute force. Then Take a Pebble mellows things back out just in time for an excellent rendition of Pictures at....... This album has NO filler and the interview is a nice touch. Bottom line.......BUY IT!!!