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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This was my first listen to "Karn Evil 9" in one piece., September 30, 2000
This review is from: Return of the Manticore (Audio CD)
Any "vinylsaur" like me will tell you that it was frustrating to head for the turntable in the middle of "Impression 1" and flip the damn album over. The fact that hearing Emerson's sequenced-filter pattern on his old Moog 900 gave you the cue to get a head start only made it a bit easier to take. A bit--which was cold comfort indeed, given the fact that the half-hour"KE9" was their magnum opus equivalent to Beethoven's Ninth. So now I don't have to do the listener-interactive intermission routine anymore. All of their other big numbers are here as well ("Take a Pebble", Tarkus", "Pirates"), but the appearance of the rather weak "Officer and a Gentleman" proves that length isn't necessarily a measure of worth, even in prog. Also here is one of two studio versions of Moussorgsky's "Pictures At an Exhibition" The other is on "In the Hot Seat", and in my opinion, both are a waste of tape--the raw spontaneity of the live version from the album of the same name simply cannot be matched. The studio versions come across sterile, dry. As do the remakes of the hit song "Touch and Go", the Arthur Brown number "Fire" (from Palmer's time with him), The Nice's "Hang On To a Dream" (from Emerson's time with them) and King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" (from Lake's time with them). I don't necessarily agree that there had to be ELP versions of those numbers. In contrast, though, ELP have been playing "Rondo" for years on the road--I'm glad to see a version of that here. Also here is the single version of Lake's "I Believe In Father Christmas" (it has a stronger ending than the album version on "Works 2"). So why spend 67 bucks on a set that duplicates a lot of their best material? In my case, as I suggested earlier, most of my earlier ELP is on vinyl. For want of a better reason, that's why.
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29 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Save money and buy their Classic Albums Remastered!, July 13, 2000
This review is from: Return of the Manticore (Audio CD)
I think people have clouded judgment when evaluating a group that has made a great impact on rock music (progressive rock, at any rate) as ELP has. In my opinion, they were highly influential in their reworkings of classical music in a modern, rocking format. However, the body of their own creative work is light, hence, I wouldn't recommend that anyone waste a dime on a 4-CD set, when they can capture the group at their peak of artistry and consistency simply by purchasing their truly great albums (ELP, Trilogy, and Brain Salad Surgery) and perhaps their other descent album (Tarkus). This set is shameless by diluting the cohesion of the tracks from their wonderful albums by hodge-podging them with a bunch of uneven garbage that they made later in their careers, specifically the several pieces from 'Love Beach' and 'Black Moon.' The CD booklets are unsubstantial and add very little insight into the group. So, as my review heading suggests, you can spend about 30 bucks to get their three remastered classics, or you can spend the almost 70 bucks here and keep hitting the 'Skip' button to get over the weak selections.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compilation of Progressive Rock Supergroup, February 8, 2003
This review is from: Return of the Manticore (Audio CD)
ELP was formed in 1970 as one of rock's first supergroups. Keyboard wizard Keith Emerson came from the Nice. Bassist/vocalist Greg Lake had previously been employed by King Crimson, while Carl Palmer had manned the sticks for Atomic Rooster. Each member was an expert at their respective instruments and Keith Emerson was one of the first keyboardists to experiment with the Moog synthesizer. The band's second gig was the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. Their music ranged from Greg Lake's more subdued pop numbers like "Lucky Man" and "C'set La Vie" to Emerson's bombastic showstoppers like "Karn Evil Number 9", "Trilogy", "Tank" and "Tarkus". The band also recorded their own versions of many cover tunes and adaptions of classical pieces like "Peter Gunn", Aaron Copeland's "Hoedown" and "Fanfare For The Common Man" and Bartok's "The Barbarian". Emerson was also equally adept a piano as witnessed by the version of Meade Lux Lewis' "Honky Tonk Train Blues" included here. The set contains a few great unissued tracks like a live version of Dave Brubeck's "Rondo" and the uptempo "Bo Diddley". The first disk contains a number of rerecorded pieces like new versions of "Pictures At An Exhibition" , "I Believe In Father Christmas" and "Touch And Go" with Carl Palmer on drums instead of Cozy Powell. The set is great but I would have organized the material chronologically instead of the haphazard way it is organized here. The booklet included is not very comprehensive for a set of this size. In addition a few tracks I like were missed such as "Nutrocker", "Jeremy Bender", "The Sheriff" and "Brain Salad Surgery". It also would have been nice if they added a disk of unissued live material. However, this is the most comprehensive (1970-1992) anthology available of ELP one of the best and most influential progressive rock bands.
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