Customer Reviews

Return of the Manticore

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

We can all quibble over selections for a box set. This could have been left out, this could have gone in. This set is no exception. However, as you listen to this set, the message comes through. This was an exceptional band. What strikes me is the variety of music as you go from track to track. No other band, other than the Beatles, consistently stretched like ELP. Most non fans probably think of them as 20 minute songs of synth solos. Just listen to the solos in Take a Pebble, the power of Pirates, the grace of the Greg Lake acoustic numbers, the drumming behind KE9 or The Barbarian. Absolutely imcomparable. It was nice to have the new versions of their prior bands hits, and great to get the unreleased tracks. Over a period of 25 years, every at bat may not have been a home run, but they swung for the fences, and more often than not, they delivered. If you are any kind of an ELP fan you will find that this collection will become the source for your ELP music.

This is a great box set, but if you're looking for unreleased ELP tracks, you're going to be disappointed. Most of their albums are represented here, except for In the Hot Seat (which hadn't been recorded yet), the first (and best) recording of Pictures, the Emerson, Lake, and Powell album (which is a shame, as it is very good), and the "3" album (which was garbage for the most part). The new tracks are good (especially the new version of Touch and Go, which is much more dynamic than the original), but there are only 3 unreleased tracks, "Bo Diddley", a live version of "Rondo", and "Prelude and Fugue". The latter is a studio version that was part of Emerson's Piano Improvisations off the triple live album. The Rondo rendition is pretty good, but not as tight as The Nice's previous versions (though Palmer has a furious drum workout). Most of ELP's unreleased stuff went onto Works Vol. 2, which perhaps would explain the lack of unreleased tracks. If you have all the ELP albums, you can skip this. If you're a completist, pick it up. Good liner notes, too.

Let's face it, no compilation is complete of course and almost always will there be people who'll miss their favorite track(s), that is unavoidable, certainly when considering that ELP issued a mere 12 original albums on CD, 3 of them being a double CD (Welcome Back My Friends ....., Works vol. 1 and Works Live) and this box has 4 CD's, so those who complain about lacking a certain track should buy the orignal album(s), for them this collection is not meant. But for others, ELP fans and completists alike and also for those who do not want to own everything this band released this is a welcome stay. It brings forth the highlights, no less, from all their albums, from the 1970 debut "Emerson, Lake and Palmer" through the 1992 triumphant return "Black Moon" (with the exception of "Pictures at an Exhibition" and the recent "Live at the Royal Albert Hall" though) and their 2 decades plus spanning career. Because of the release of the new "In the Hot Seat" about the same time it doesn't contain material from that album. Although ELP were not a "hit" band, they disliked singles and were a true album band, this box contains all the greatest hits you can mention and some more. Believe it or not but suites like Take a Pebble (live), Tarkus, Karn Evil, Fanfare for the Common Man, Pirates and Memoires of and Officer and a Gentleman are all there, in their original form, length and glory, clockin in over 10, 20 and even 30 minutes. Furthermore there is wealth of wellknown and (maybe) lesserknown tracks, varying from beautiful sung and played ballad-like songs through their own adaptions of classical works through blues, jazz, rock and everything in between. ELP was one of the first and only bands to fuse different musical styles to create a new and unique sound, without becoming something as a potpouri. They showcased their brand of music which blended with a lot of different styles and demonstrated their ample musical qualitities. Emerson as composer on a wild array of keyboards, from classical and modern (blues and honky tonk) piano, Hammond organ and a pionier on such nonroad instruments as the Moog Modular Synthesiser, even astonishing its inventer, and the Yamaha triple-keyboard multisynthesizer GX1 (to be heard from Works vol. 1 onwards), Lake as singer/songwriter/producer on fine vocals, acoustic, electric leadguitar (on Tarkus, Karn Evil) and bass guitar, and Palmer on drums, authentic and electronic percussion, tympani and the like. Together they were a strong outfit, completing each other. Apart from being solely a collection of album tracks this box has much more on offer. Not much bonusmaterial though, the only really outtake as a grouprecording is "Bo Diddley" (disc 3, track 6) from march 1975/april 1976 and therefore recorded at the making of Works vol. 1. It could have fitted on Works vol. 2 but was omitted and left in the vaults. From Emerson was a piano-etude "Prelude and Fugue" (disc 4, track 7), composed by Gulda, left in the can, recorded way back as far as january 1971, before Tarkus and was not appropriate to include on that album. To my opinion it is much similair of a part of the piano improvisations on the live Welcome Back My Friends in "Take a Pebble" (here disc 2, track 3), not to be confused with the Emerson composed "Fugue" as intermittent between "The Endless Enigma" part 1 and 2 (here disc 3, track 3). Those mentioned two tracks are the only outtakes, at least on this box set, which were not included on one of the original albums, which lacks studio-outtakes in general. Furthermore included in this set is a sprawling 15 minute livetake Rondo (disc 2, track 7), the Nice showstopper (from their first album "The Toughts of Emerlist Davjack"), a reworking of Dave Brubecks "Rondo a la Turk", an instrumental, performed by ELP at the end of 1970, just after the splits from The Nice, King Crimson and Atomic Rooster respectively and forming Emerson Lake and Palmer but yet without much new livematerial and shortly after the release of the debutalbum. Apart from the knowledge that this is played by the ELP members and therefore not by the Nice trio, which makes is slightly interesting, is has not very much on offer. After their reunion in the nineties they played "Rondo" on most liveshows, ending the set with it, or being a part of "Fanfare for the Common Man", with Emerson abusing one of his Hammond organs (also to be heard on the excellent "Works Live" album). So with only those 3 extra tracks this whole box would not trick many fans to buy it, when they own already all (or most) of the original albums. With the aid of producer Keith Olsen (also responsible for production of "In the Hot Seat" album) and numerous backingvocalists and even a second guitarplayer (!) - Tim Pierce - ELP went back to their legacy and re-recorded tracks from their illustrious past: The Nice (a Tim Hardin song), King Crimson and Arthur Brown, even Emerson Lake and Powell, the Lake Christmas single (also in a reworked version on Works vol. 2) and for the first time "Pictures at an Exhibition" in studioformat, (all on disc 1). That is what this box has on extra offer and is elsewhere not available (although on latterday re-issues of "In the Hot Seat" album the same recording of "Pictures at an Exhibition" was added). So a must buy for true ELP fans or those who like progrock, without being withheld by the fact that ELP is much more than an average progrockband. It comes with a small book with some helpfull information and a collection of pictures which adds to the atmosphere. All in all I would say a most complete compilation which shines a bright light on this band of bands. They and their fans deserves it!

For all the hammering ELP took from the critics, I think that much of their music still holds up pretty well. Sure, some of the songs linger too long, and the lyrics are frequently foolish, but at other times they were able to create a new and challenging type of rock, and while the sci fi themes don't really serve them well (I find that "Tarkus" and the "Impression" sequence on "Brain Salad Surgery" work better for me if I simply ignore the "story" and concentrate on dynamics and performance), it's certainly better than the whimsy offered on many Yes and Genesis albums.

The bottom line is, these guys, along with King Crimson, helped expand rock's vocabulary, introducing extreme virtousity into a genre that was still being created. At times I want to shut it off and return to Chuck Berry, and at times I also feel that their influence is more important than their recorded output. But I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this box set. I certainly don't worship at the altar of prog rock anymore, but come on, ELP aren't as bad as the critics made them out to be. I still think that The Nice were funnier and had a much better sense of humor, but if ELP took themselves way too seriously...well, don't you also have to admit that Frank Zappa sometimes goofed around too much?

Fans of ELP will enjoy this set, and novices, too, even if it is a bit expensive. The biggest drawbacks for me were the liner notes (way too fawnish and slavishly over the top for my tastes) and the new recordings on disc one. I found them cool, but I think ELP fans would rather have the extended version of "Pictures At An Exhibition." I just don't think they're all that good anymore - the danger is gone, as is the tension, and I hate what the new production techniques do to Carl Palmer's drums!! And speaking of sound, it's amazing how good these tracks all sound. No one ever said ELP didn't know their way around a studio.

So, bottom line is, despite my lack of enthusiasm for prog rock since my middle school days, I still can't dismiss these guys. They're just too creative and talented (if egotistical, but so what?) to ignore.

This is what these guys do; you either like it or you don't. If your a fan of ELP and don't have this set then read on.

This 4-CD anthology is actually more desirable than any combination of previous "Best Of..." releases since it is difficult to cover the breadth of ELP in a single CD. It is also better than the 2-CD retrospective entitled "The Atlantic Years", being more comprehensive.

The timeframe spans the pre-ELP years through the release of "Black Moon". The opening disc begins with tracks from the group's reformation in the nineties - "Touch And Go", previously recorded with the late Cozy Powell on drums; "Hang On To A Dream", dating back to Keith Emerson's Nice work; "21st Century Schizoid Man", a welcome addition from Greg Lake's days with the landmark band King Crimson. The track "Fire" is totally unnecessary and unrepresentative of the quality of the ELP's other work. From there we get a full dose of "retrospection". Notable is the inclusion of the 22+ minute version of "Take A Pebble" from the grand live creation "Welcome Back My Friends....." which captured the trio at peak form. Conspicuously absent are minor pieces which would have made a more enjoyable overall presentation, for example, "Benny The Bouncer" from Brain Salad Surgery and "Are You Ready Eddy?" from Tarkus; but a forgettable epic such as "Memoirs Of An Officer And A Gentleman" are present in full form. Even though a new release of "Pictures At An Exhibition" is presented, The rocker "Blues Variation", from the full version album is not included.

Overall, a desirable collection for ELP fans to augment their collections since every major work is there.

This sprawling 4CD box set was released in 1993 after the return of the band to the studio and concert stage after a break up that lasted more than a decade. If you are looking for a bunch of rarities this collection is probably not for you. There are a few included here and there, but this is mostly previously released stuff with the addition of several new recordings on the first disc. If you are looking for a great overview of the band's career up through "Black Moon" album, this collection may be right up your alley. One interesting thing that they do is not have the tracks in chronological order. Tracks from throughout their career are mixed and matched so you might have a track from 1971 next to a track from 1993. It makes for some interesting back to back sequences.

The fist disc contains the new recordings. First Emerson Lake and Palmer re-do "Touch And Go" the single from the short lived Emerson Lake and Powell version of the band. It is pretty much a rehash and not much is changed. The band also does covers of bands that each individual member was in prior to ELP. The Nice's "Hang On To A Dream" (Emerson), King Crimson's "20th Century Schizoid Man" (Lake), and The Crazy World Of Auther Brown's "Fire" (Palmer). The disc also includes a new studio recording of "Pictures At An Exhibition" which had only been previously released live. There is also a re-recording of Greg Lake's "I Believe In Father Christmas". Since most consider the original a classic I am not sure that I understand why they chose to re-write this. The rest of the first disc contains a live version of "Peter Gunn", "Tiger In A Spotlight", "Toccata", "Trilogy", "Tank" and "Lucky Man". As was ELP's career the quality of these tracks vary significantly.

Disc two has only one unreleased track a live version of "Rondo". This is fine I guess, but do we really need another live version of "Rondo"? It also contains the epic "Tarkus", "From The Beginning", "Take A Pebble" (the 20 minute live version from "Welcome Back My Friends......), "Knife Edge", "Paper Blood" and "Hoedown.

Disc three concentrates on shorter tacks. Only one previously unreleased track on here as well with a version of "Bo Diddley" which is nothing spectacular. Also included are "The Barbarian", "Still...You Turn Me On", "The Endless Enigma", "C'est La Vie", "The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirits", "Bitches Crystal", "A Time And A Place", "Living Sin", "Karn Evil 9", "Honky Tonk Train Blues".

Disc four again has only one unreleased track, "Prelude And Fugue". This disc also contains two tracks from what is considered one of ELP's weakest discs "Love Beach". The single "For You" is here as well as the 20 minute epic "Memoirs Of An Officer And A Gentleman". "Memoirs" is actually pretty good for the most part, but kind of peters out towards the end of it. The rest of the disc consists of "Jerusalem", "Fanfare For The Common Man", "Black Moon", "Watching Over You", "Piano Concerto No. 1 Third Movement", "Pirates" and "Affairs Of The Heart".

All in all this box set is a very good overview of ELP's career which is why I picked it up. If you already have all of the previous albums though, this one probably will not be for you, but as a career overview it is great.

This boxed set is an extraordinary example of the collection of ELP's work. The sheer power and emotion of their work is staggering alone, but combined with the energy to do unusually long songs makes their work truly special. Given the mass of work ELP has put out, it should be unsurprising that each disc has over an hour of music. It is a pleasant change to hear a best-of album that is worth the money. ELP's music is a fascinating blend of orchestral talent and the use of synthesizers. Their songs go all the way from the maniacal to the calming, from social commentary to epic stories. As "Karn Evil 9" says "Welcome my friends to the show that never ends." This is the best way do describe this boxed set. You can listen to this album set as many times as you like and never get bored with it. Furious instrumentals combined with emotional lyrics make this album a must for all rock fans.