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| Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Live At The Royal Albert Hall |
 Released: 1992/1996 Label: Victory / Rhino Cat. No.: 383 480 011-2 / 72236 Total Time: 68:26 | |
Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, December 2002 After the release of Black Moon in 1992, ELP went on tour to support the album. One of those tour stops was the Royal Albert Hall in October of that year. As you might expect, the band opened with a bit of "Karn Evil 9," as the memorable lyrics themselves seemed destined for that role. But the band launch quickly into a medley of themes from Tarkus. In fact, only three pieces from Black Moon appear on the CD, the title track, "Paper Blood" and "Romeo And Juliet" (the Emersonian take on Prokofiev's "The Dance Of The Knights," here slightly different). The performances on Live At The Royal Albert Hall are very good, though not perfect. The sound is very, very good however, as you can hear Emerson's keyboards, Palmer's drums and Lake's bass with such clarity as to pick out individual notes. How much of the actual concert this captures I can't say, but on single disk it spans just over an hour -- an a quick hour it is, too. (Apparently the DVD of this concert features some different material, so that's some indication). Emerson seems pleasantly insane during parts of the Tarkus medley, during "Iconoclast," more so than on the studio version, as sqeaks, pips, shreaks, etc. "Knife Edge" sounds menacing at first, owing to Lake's deepend vocal tones, matched by the darker bass tones. By contrast, Emerson's keys seem much too happy... not a complaint, his tone of choice is a bright, brassy sound. And even the mentally unstable have moments of euphoria, yes? And, the song is "Knife Edge"... one can get delirously happy right before they crash (mentally). In this context, "Paper Blood" does fit in with the ELP oveure quite well. I wonder if when they were laying out the set list, they realized that both "Knife Edge" and "Paper Money" made reference to "silver wings" ... ah, they had to have ... the first lyric of "Paper Money" is "Livin' on a razor's edge / Sharper than a knife..." Anyway, I digress. The other instrumental is the solo piano piece "Creole Dance," which is followed up by the Lake ballad "Still...You Turn Me On," here is an all acoustic guitar setting. That familiar nasally "wah-wah" is absent, making this rendering a little more intimate. But Lake's voice sounds very good... as on "Lucky Man." The bulk of the live album is taken up by "Pirates" at 13-plus minutes (as with the original on Works, Vol 1.) and the 14-plus minute finale medley of "Fanfare For The Common Man" including "America" and "Rondo" (it is here that Emerson ends up playing his prone Hammond --keys facing him, but now opposite -- from where he has joined the audience at the edge of the stage). Not being overly familiar with the Works version of "Pirates," I can't compare the two, but I do like this rendering. Many folks seem not to like Lake's deeper voice, but I'm not one of them. There isn't a moment where the performance lags, never a moment where you really want them to "get on with it" already (maybe a for a bit during the finale, I suppose). As I said, at an hour, this CD zips by rather quickly, the pieces they've chosen keep things moving, even during the still "Still..." It is a live CD that wears well after repeated listenings, which isn't always the case. Rating: 5/5 More about Live At The Royal Albert Hall: Track Listing: Karn Evil 9 (1:45) / Tarkus Medley: Eruption - Stones Of Years - Iconoclast (9:33) / Knife Edge (5:27) / Paper Blood (4:10) / Romeo and Juliet (3:41) / Creole Dance (3:17) / Still...You Turn Me On (3:18) / Lucky Man (4:38) / Black Moon (6:33) / Pirates (13:23) / Finale: Fanfare For The Common Man - America - Rondo (14:41) Musicians: Contact: Website: www.emersonlakepalmer.com Discography
Videography (VID/DVD)
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