Product Details

• Actors: Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer
• Format: Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Eagle Rock Ent
• DVD Release Date: November 16, 2004
• Run Time: 84 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00069YDXU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,511 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

LIVE AT MONTREUX 1997 - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Grim. Beyond bad. DREADFUL., February 6, 2005

By 

David S. Jenkins (On the Road) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Emerson Lake & Palmer - Live at Montreux (DVD)

I'll give this a token one star because Carl Palmer can still play like hell and Greg Lake plays the most beautiful bass guitar I've ever seen (not heard, mind you, seen.) Otherwise this disc is literally going in my trashcan. I can only assume that my fellow reviewers who've looked upon this DVD kindly are so young that they never saw ELP in their prime, when they were an amazing band and their concerts a thrilling, spine tingling experience. I HAVE NEVER SEEN THREE MUSICIANS WHO HATE PLAYING TOGETHER SO OBVIOUSLY as I do on this DVD. The bad vibe between Emerson and Lake is palpable, they won't even look at each other. Emerson's chops are all but gone, he's content to substitute speed for accuracy, he's all over the place, sloppy BEYOND belief, the Alvin Lee of keyboards. Greg Lake plays some nice acoustic guitar but plays bass like he hasn't picked it up for a decade and isn't all that sure where the right notes are. His voice is....well, it's gone. He sounds like me doing a really, really good imitation of Greg Lake in the shower, with the flu. Technically, as others have noted, the sound is dreadful, as is the stage lighting which never surpasses that which you saw at your high school prom. On the positive side, even at half effort, playing with two guys who clearly don't give a damn, Carl Palmer shows why he was one of the greatest drummers of his era, if not the greatest. If you're a young fan, please know that ELP were honestly one of the most important, groundbreaking, genuinely awe-inspiring bands of the 70's... though you'd never know it from this travesty of a performance. If you're an ELP fans who remembers their greatness, avoid this at all costs. It's a quick cash desecration of their past brilliance, a trashing of their own art and their own heritage. It's just too sad.

76 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Save Your Money - This Isn't the Real ELP, December 14, 2004

By 

R. Herbert (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Emerson Lake & Palmer - Live at Montreux (DVD)

I soooo wanted to like this DVD concert, and soooo looked forward to it. I'm an original ELP nut, going back to having seen their shows after the Brain Salad Surgery release and on the Works tour (lucky enought to have seen them with the full orchestra). In the mid-70's and early 80's nobody was a bigger ELP fan than I.

That said, I can't excuse the terrible production values of this DVD. I'm so sick of concert DVD's released with sound quality that no one would ever accept from a current movie release. The sound here simply sucks - and this thru a system with more than $40,000 of equipment. Keith's keyboards come in at various volumes, Carl's drums are not distinct in the least, and Greg's bass and singing are a muddy mess. This might be one of those instances that those with lesser home theater system might not notice - but state of the art this is not (not even average compared to today's best). It all sounds like something recorded by a bootlegger in the audience.

Performance-wise, the boys are clearly past their prime here, and it's a shame to see a once unbelievable performance band reduced to kinda-getting-by. Keith's keyboards are not as sharp as the once were, and he occassionally seems to be off, time-wise, with his mates. Carl was once the most promising of the rock drummers, with technical skill and energy that were far above his peers. His playing here has none of the fire and technical acumen it once had. Greg seems solid by comparison; both in playing and singing, but the aforementioned poor sound quality makes it hard to tell.

Unless you gotta have something to remind you of what this band once was, I'd save your money. This is nothing like the greatness of their prime performances.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I'm kinda disappointed about this DVD, April 1, 2007

By 

Rykre "The Rogue Scholar" (of the vast Western Dystopian Wasteland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Emerson Lake & Palmer - Live at Montreux (DVD)

Somebody dropped the ball here. Yes, although ELP in 1997 was way beyond their prime and they didn't have the energy (or even the pride) they use to have many years ago back in their heyday, but it still doesn't justify why they should sell this DVD with a reduced picture and sound quality. But, I was willing to accept this DVD after I saw it on High Definition cable TV.

Yes that's right! This show was filmed with High Definition equipment and was in Widescreen on cable TV. But this DVD is not presented in the High Definition that it should be. And this DVD is Full Screen, not Widescreen. The sides were cut off. Even in the rolling credits, it tells you (in horrid blurry hardly decipherable print) that this concert was filmed in High Definition.

I saw them live back in 1992 in Sacramento and that particular world tour has been captured on film in England and is available as the DVD of "Live at The Royal Albert Hall." At least, at that show, they still seemed to care about working together and giving their audience their best effort. And strangely enough, this concert looks better on DVD than "Live at Montreaux." It's not High Definition, but just looks and sounds better. They looked a little healthier too at the Royal Albert Hall.

The only thing I have to say "positive" about their "Live at Montreaux" DVD, is that some of their instrumental work is still pretty good. The show starts off very typical of any ELP show over the many years they've performed together. It's no surprise that an aging comeback band like ELP will start off their show with Karn Evil 9 ("Welcome Back My Friends...."), and about the first 20 minutes of this show could easily bore you and make you want to shut it off, but as you get deeper into the show, it does get a little better. They get more instrumental, and that is usually what we ELP fans enjoyed the most about ELP live. It's not Greg Lake's fault, but it is unfortunate that the first thing that diminishes in appeal about any aging rock band, is that the vocalist suffers the most obvious of the inability to continue to perform. Keith and Carl can still entertain their audience with their instrumental solo performance, but you can tell that it's very exhaustive for them. On this DVD, Keith's "Creole Dance" was quite good. And the encore performance of "Fanfare For the Common Man" was an excellent display of Keith and Carl giving their best. I didn't forget about Greg, It's just that nothing really stands out for him on this show. "From the Beginning" is always good, so is "Lucky Man", but I wish he would have done "Still...You Turn Me On", "C'est La Vie", "The Old Castle", and maybe even "Epitaph". All his input here was very short term and nothing outstanding. He didn't even bother to smile for his audience.

If they ever decide to re-release this DVD in the true High Definition Widescreen that it should have been, then maybe I'll buy it. But, this DVD is a disaster at all levels. I'll have to pass.

(ATTENTION: PROG FANS: Check out the new DVD of "Yes: Live at Montreaux." It is the best Yes live DVD available to this day.)