|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
 Classical rock by progressive masters Feb 19, 2010
Showcases the depth of this trio. The classical roots of Keith Emerson combine with the writing talent of Greg Lake and the power of Carl Palmer....
The ultimate prog-symphonic effusion Jan 21, 2010
ELP would go onto have much more success playing Fanfare for the Common Man, but right at the start of their career they were already proving that 3 men could do what was supposed to be done by an 80-piece orchestra. And it's not just that they could do it well - they did it brilliantly. Somehow they rehearsed and put together this sprawling suite soon after forming - it was recorded (live) long before Tarkus, but the record company refused to release an album that was a classical music suite on a pop label. Only after the huge success to Tarkus did they agree to it, and to this day it is only the only album-length classical piece that has reached the heights of pop charts.
Equally disturbing to its sad release history is the fact that the artist put a picture on the cover called `Promenade' - but that's an entry hall, not a painting. What were they thinking? All this ridiculousness aside, Pictures is a mind blowing album that holds up flawlessly after all these years. Lake is at his best singing The Sage, a ballad equal to his later, brilliant, acoustic works (Still You Turn Me On, Cest La Vie, etc.) and his lyrics are just effusive and evocative (and, of course, strange - you know this is prog, right?). The way that the suite weaves through lingering acoustic work, the arresting fanfare of the promenade sections, and the insane, deranged electronica of Emerson is radically original and truly enthralling. It leaves this album as a peerless expression of what music can achieve when it stretches far beyond itself.
Three men are not supposed to be on a stage doing anything like this - it's insane. But the thing about insanity is that it works on a logic all of its own - and in this case at least, the result is beauty. Inspirational beauty.
This album is a total anomaly in music. Yes, it is by Mussorgsky, but it is also by ELP. It's not really a prog epic (or super-epic) because it is a classical music suite, but it is unthinkable that any classical music fan would claim ownership of it. I mean, come on - it has lyrics and overdriven synthesiser effects. Pictures stands on its own as an art rock masterpiece, and it came out a time when attempting such a thing was truly innovative, unthinkable and rebellious. Something happened between 69 and 72 - an effusive explosion of technology and talent that we look back at and call prog. It was, at that time, truly avant-garde - in the most sublime sense, in fact. And it could be that the raw virtuosity and evocation of those works (Schizoid Man, Close to the Edge, Tarkus, Supper's Ready etc.) will never be matched and can never be exceeded - rather music will just move through new vistas and to different loci of creativity.
But one thing is certain: The music lives on, and is still easily available for all to cherish. And that's great, because the closing movement of this suite - The Great Gates of Kiev - is just spellbinding. Here I am trying to write some review, but words can't describe it - and religion just can't do justice to the spiritual evocation of a song like that.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
emerson lake and palmer trying something different May 20, 2008
I'd say for the most part, if you like the classic sound and style of Emerson, Lake and Palmer (with the angelic vocal melodies and interesting keyboard playing and drum work) this is a pretty good album. However, it's a mellow album for the most part, and lacks some of the more intense moments of the band that can be found on the debut and Tarkus albums (which are masterpieces). It can drag at times, and it adds up to a bit of a mixed bag of an album in my opinion.
While the classical influences are nice, and the way the music sounds like it's being played live in front of a classical-loving audience is interesting for a rock band (and influential, I believe) the actual music is just very good, but not as pleasing to me personally compared to the debut album and Tarkus.
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Magnificent interpretation, very memorable... Dec 07, 2007
This was actually one of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's early performances, and it was released because of the fans' demand for it (it debuted between Tarkus and Trilogy). Many purists were outraged by this reinterpretation of Mussorgsky's masterpiece, but having heard this version, a classical guitar version, and a traditional, orchestral version, I am not offended. I think this version is amazing, better than the take on the In Concert/Works Live album, and the studio version that appeared on The Return of the Manticore box set and In the Hot Seat (same version, just released on 2 seperate albums). And considering this was one of ELP's first performances, it's even more remarkable. Some of Emerson's distortion can get annoying (especially during The Great Gates of Kiev), but most of his playing is exemplary, Lake's voice is magnificent (a far cry from the shambles it became later), and Palmer's drumming is, well, f***ing amazing as usual. Some have complained about the audacity of some of the songwriting credits (for example, the passage The Old Castle is credited as Mussorgsky/Emerson), but it still doesn't detract from the music. I like Lake's solo contribution here, The Sage, even though I love the later studio version (with a beautiful classical guitar passage and a choir). The album ends with a fun number, a take on Nutrocker, which is actually a lot of fun. There's video of this performance, and all 3 of the boys seem to be really enjoying themselves. If you're a fan of prog rock and/or ELP, you really need to buy this one, but do yourself a favor. Buy an authentic orchestral version as well. I think it will enhance your enjoyment of this.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 In a category of its own Sep 07, 2007
could this really work -- a Hendrixian B-3 power-trio playing classical? Could Mussorgsky really be mixed with Jimmy Smith licks and sci-fi movie-soundtrack synth?
You'd better believe it could, and here's the evidence -- 33 minutes of continuous performance. ELP's high energy pushes Mussorgsky's material with such unbridled enthusiasm we can't help but be pushed along. Yes, at times it can get a bit silly -- that's part of the charm; ELP never intended to be taken seriously. If you can't have fun here, where can you have it?
I probably enjoy it more now than I did so long ago as a teen. PICTURES hasn't aged at all, still full of the youthful vigor that went into making it. So good it doesn't need bonus tracks ;-)
|
| |
|
![Firefly: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51734pRq2%2BL._SL75_.jpg "Firefly: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]")
![Gattaca [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VfE5rU9OL._SL75_.jpg "Gattaca [Blu-ray]")
![Resident Evil [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51m8P3lO%2BnL._SL75_.jpg "Resident Evil [Blu-ray]")
![Run Lola Run [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51gTXpHYF7L._SL75_.jpg "Run Lola Run [Blu-ray]")
