Customer Reviews

With the Nice

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THE NICE only ever did 5 albums; this package is a reissue that contains their 4th & 5th: FIVE BRIDGES SUITE and ELEGY. Much of it was recorded live, some of it is overblown and disturbing to the ears, but all of it is magnificent in its own way. I do have 3 problems with the CD, however. The sound is not quite as clear as it was on my old LP (I hate it when that happens). And strangely, 3 of the tracks are MISSING! Sure, "Country Pie / Brandenberg Concerto No.6" and "One Of Those People" were the 2 "off" songs from FIVE BRIDGES, and 2 different versions of "Pathetique Symphony, 3rd Movement" appeared between the 2 albums originally. But STILL... Finally, "My Back Pages" finishes the CD, when anyone who had the original KNOWS that "America" was supposed to be at the END! (Why do record companies do stuff like this? )

For anyone liking this I strongly recommend THOUGHTS OF EMERLIST DAVJACK, ARS LONGA VITA BREVIS and NICE-- their earlier 3 albums.

Strange because this edition should contains the same tracks as in the vinyl and don't!!!There are 9 tracks in vinyl edition and this CD contains just 6 tracks.
Following tracks is lacking in this CD:
1-Country Pie/Bradenburg Concerto N.6
2-One of those People
3-3rd Movement,Pathetique Symphony.
Besides,in the back-cover is writed:"This CD contains material previously available on the albums Five Bridges and Elegy".
It's a lie!Now I wish to know:WHY?Does someone knows the answer?
I think is better buy Elegy and Five Bridges separately.It contains all material mentioned lacking in this CD.

Keith Emerson didn't always have state-of-the-art synthesizers to produce his sound--at one time, he did it with one Hammond organ and one Steinway grand. Just imagine--pre-electronic prog! In later years with ELP, he would do probably one classical number on an album and incorporate jazz into the instrumental breaks of original numbers. But Nice used to fill entire albums with traditional jazz and classical in a rock format--an original number was the exception rather than the rule. The "Five Bridges Suite" featured here was a foretaste of such ELP epics as "Tarkus" and "Karn Evil 9", but most of Nice's talents ran towards arranging, not composing. Of course, Emerson hadn't found.Greg Lake yet. Except for a short period when David O'List was in this band, they didn't have guitar, either--bassist Lee Jackson didn't double on it. And you might find his "Popeye the Sailor" voice a bit off-putting--there's no resonant Lake baritone here. I didn't--I bought all of their stuff way back when because of how they PLAYED.

I originally purchased this record in the '70, and thoroughly enjoyed the classical/rock/jazz mix. It was great to find this recording on CD! The live rendition of "Hang On To a Dream" remains one of my favorite piano pieces. Keith Emerson is, in my opinion, one of the best rock pianists of the era. I still can't warm up to the electronic midsection of the "Karelia Suite", which is otherwise a great rendition.

In case no one noticed this cd is almost 69 minutes long and back in 1990 cds were not 80 minutes long. This cd contains what they could fit into the space allowed by the length of the cd. A new reissue could possibly fit all nine tracks on it. Ask the record company to put out a reissue, with everything on it.

The summary said it all, listen to the excerpts. I bought the LP years ago in Canada and are so happy to find it in CD format at Amazon.com!

It arrived in excellent condition.

I have looked for years for this album. I owned it back in the 70's... lost it? and now... what a fantastic album.

I feel this version of "America" is the best I have ever heard... Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique" is marvelously interpreted here.

Although I think I remember the vinyl having superior sound, I could be wrong as I am getting older... This is one of my all time favorite albums and I am SO GLAD to have it again.

The Nice were one of the pioneers of well played thoughtful virtuosic music. A couple of minor points noted in other reviews--early in the Nice's career, Lee Jackson did double on guitar, but they had pretty much eliminated the guitar from their sound by the time David O'List left. Also Keith Emerson used two organs onstage. This lp reflects the Nice's unique array of talents -- Brian Davison played like a jazz drummer (think experimental and improvising, not "sloppy" and you have it right--he was quite capable of a Palmer type style as 1974's Refugee LP demonstrated) and Lee Jackson had developed a ridiculously fast and unique bass style using a rather unusual Vox Constellation bass. The singing though sometimes weak, is very sincere and grows on you. For those who wish an introduction to the Nice I would recommend this as a good introduction. Also check out "America: The BBC Sessions". Some parts are poorly recorded, but they give an excellent intro to the vitality of this group!

Buy this CD for the best live playing of a Hammond B3 in the history of mankind. Much here is a bit lame, but Keith on the B3 in "America" is the reason to own this.

I believe the Nice used to be the backing band for blues shouter Gary Farr. This is perhaps the origin of one of their biggest problems: once Farr had gone on to obscurity, they found that the didn't have a singer. Bassist Lee Jackson stepped up to the mike, and the fact is, he's horrible. All the songs with singing are musical write-offs, as recorded by the Nice, because of Lee Jackson. Even in the instrumentals, his bass playing is actively bad, as is Brian Davison's clumsy drumming, and it's surprising how much (negative) difference that makes.

So the only tolerable Nice stuff, I think, is when Emerson is virtually playing solo. And even Emerson never really seems to take off with this group. The stuff he did with ELP is absolutely stunning; here, he sounds at his best about comparable to, say, Vincent Crane from Atomic Rooster (and Crazy World of Arthur Brown before that); not bad but not all that remarkable either. And Vincent Crane always had a better band with him than the Nice. For a while he even had Carl Palmer...

I bought this album on the strength of Emerson's name, as a huge Emerson fan. And I was hugely disappointed.

Laon