Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Pictures At An Exhibition (Cotillion CD Edition) CD Track Listing
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Pictures At An Exhibition (Cotillion CD Edition) (1972)
Originally Released 1972\nAtlantic/Cotillion CD Edition Released 1987 ??\nRhino Remastered CD Edition Released May 21, 1996\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: (Cotillion Edition) One of the seminal documents of the progressive rock era, a record that made its way into the collections of millions of high-school kids who never heard of Modest Mussorgsky and knew nothing of Russia's Nationalist "Five." It does some violence to Mussorgsky, but Pictures at an Exhibition is also the most energetic and well-realized live release in Emerson, Lake & Palmer's catalog, and it makes a fairly compelling case for adapting classical pieces in this way. At the time, it introduced "classical rock" to millions of listeners, including the classical community, most of whose members regarded this record as something akin to an armed assault. The early-'70s live sound is a little crude by today's standards, but the tightness of the playing (Carl Palmer is especially good) makes up for any sonic inadequacies. Keith Emerson is the dominant musical personality here, but Greg Lake and Palmer get the spotlight enough to prevent it from being a pure keyboard showcase. [This album was also released on Cotillion Records with a two-track "Side A and Side B" format.] -- Bruce Eder\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: (Remastered CD Edition) Pictures at an Exhibition was one of the seminal documents of the progressive rock era, a record that made its way into the collections of millions of high-school kids who never heard of composer Modest Mussorgsky and knew nothing of Russia's Nationalist "Five" or artist/architect Victor Hartmann, whose work was the inspiration for Mussorgsky. Chronologically, it was Emerson, Lake & Palmer's third LP release (they didn't regard it as an "official" album, as it was comprised of only part of a longer live performance), but for a lot of teenagers who'd missed out on the trio's self-titled debut album or resisted the unfamiliarity of Tarkus, Pictures -- which was budget-priced in its original LP release in England and America -- with its bracing live ambience and blazing pyrotechnics, was the album that put the group over, and did it with exactly the same kids who turned Jethro Tull's Aqualung and Thick as a Brick and Yes' Fragile into standard-issue accouterments of teenage suburban life. And, indeed, like the Tull and Yes albums, it worked on several levels that allowed widely divergent audiences to embrace it -- with the added stimulus of certain controlled substances, it teased the brain with its mix of melody and heavy rock, and for anyone with some musical knowledge, serious or casual, it was a sufficiently bold use of Mussorgsky's original to stimulate hours of delightful listening. It wasn't the first treatment of a classical piece in this manner by any means -- Keith Emerson had done several previously with his earlier group the Nice -- but it was the first to reach a mass audience or get heavy radio play (at least of excerpts), and introduced the notion of "classical rock" to millions of listeners, including the classical community, most of whose members regarded this record as something akin to an armed assault. Those with less hidebound sensibilities appreciated Emerson's rollicking and delightful "Blues Variations" -- which bridged the gap between Tarkus and Trilogy -- and Greg Lake's lyrical adaptations of "Promenade," "The Sage," and "The Great Gates of Kiev." It does some violence to Mussorgsky in the process, but is also the most concise, energetic, and well-realized live release in ELP's catalog, the hall small enough to capture the finer nuances of the playing by all three members of the trio, and especially the muscular bass work by Lake that keeps pushing the performance forward. It was great fun (an element missing from a good deal of progressive rock) in 1972, and it's still fun in 2005. It also made a fairly compelling case for adapting classical pieces in this way -- ELP would later succeed with adaptations of works by Aaron Copland and Alberto Ginastera, among others, but this would be the longest such work to find mass listenership, sufficient so that in the late '80s there would be a legitimate classical organ arrangement put out by the Dorian label that referred to ELP's rendition as its linear predecessor. The early-'70s live sound is a little crude by today's standards, but the various CD upgrades from Rhino, Sanctuary, and Japanese WEA have given the recording a close, powerful sound that captures the tightness of the playing (drummer Carl Palmer is especially good) and makes up for any sonic inadequacies. Emerson is the dominant musical personality here, but Lake (who also gets to play some classical guitar) and Palmer get the spotlight more than enough to prevent it from being a pure keyboard showcase. -- Bruce Eder\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nEmerson, Lake, Palmer, and . . . Hendrix? (HELP!), May 5, 2006\nReviewer: Zachary A. Hanson "Jazzpunk" (Tallahassee, FL United States)\nMore like 4.5 stars \n\nWell, Greg Lake adds some light philosophical/trippy-dippy lyrics to the Modest Mussourgsky masterpiece, and like every piece of excess ELP did early in their career, it works. Keith Emerson traipses through most every tone (jarring or otherwise)he can get from his synth arsenal; if you get the DVD of this, you can even see him make some noise by wanking the synthesizer strip on his crotch. The Hendrix of keyboards indeed! Good ole Jimi actually wanted to join the band after hearing this album, but he soon thereafter passed away. Just think! Hendrix, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (or HELP, for short). Maybe if he had stuck it through this life, ELP wouldn't've started to suck after their fourth album. We can only dream. Maybe the world is better for not having to witness the ego clashes of Emerson and Hendrix. ("No! You can't start your guitar on fire while I'm stabbing the organ. You get to do that on your song, 'Obsessive-Compulsive Robot' and I get to do the antisocial rock star thing on 'Tarkus.' Got it, Jimi?" "Uh, yeah, Keith, whatever . . ..") \n\nOne definitely hears the world-class unit that Hendrix warmed to on this album. It has more raw urgency than anything in their catalog (with perhaps the exception of their other truly excellent live collection, _Welcome Back My Friends . . ._, which is yet to come out on CD). More feedback, more swaggery groove, just more TESTOSTERONE oozing off the analog reels. This doesn't make it better than their three attested studio classics (_ELP_, _Tarkus_, and _Brain Salad_), but it makes it almost as good, and that's saying a whole f of a lot. Probably never again will we hear a power trio blast and extrapolate their way through a neo-baroque classical piece almost in its entirety like we hear ELP do here. This might be for the best, but somehow I think not. I mean, if there was a five-piece band out there with one-fifth of the combined talent, moxy, and balls as ELP has here, the rock world would be turned on its head like it hasn't been for awhile. Oh, yeah, that's right. That band is Mars Volta. Come on, Omar and Cedric, do your acid version of _Rites of Spring_. THEN, and only then, will I mention you in the same breath as ELP. \n\nThe only point of this album that is anything less than stellar is the end, not exactly the place to falter, but ELP seemed to have got it in their heads that they needed to end their heavy heavy albums on light notes (e.g. "Are You Ready Eddy" on _Tarkus_). "Nutrocker" is fun, but certainly not as memorable as the rest here. Still, it doesn't mar the album much, placing this a slight tier beneath ELP's best studio albums. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe Greatest Musical Exhibition at this Promonade!, June 19, 2005\nReviewer: David Bebernick (Warren, Michigan United States)\nThis album is GODLY!!!! I destroyed ELP's "Pictures at an Exhibition," that I had to buy another CD because I warped it by playing that CD so much! I love "Pictures at an Exhibition!" This is the greatest album they ever did in my opinion. Hell, I love this album more than "Brain Salad Surgery," really! I just love the sound Keith Emerson's 1967 Hammond C3 through those tallboy Leslie speakers. His Moog Modular system was awesome (though sometimes it sounded polyphonic, even though it was monophonic). Greg Lake's 1968 Fender Jazz Bass through the Hiwatt stacks sounded killer & loved the distortion at the beginning of "The Curse Of Baba Yaga." Carl Palmer's 1966 Gretsch drumset was small, but it was loud, cutting, & explosive (don't ever underestimate a 20" bass drum!). If there is one flaw on this album, it's "The Blues Variations." Although Emerson, Lake & Palmer are credited, it should be credited to Brian 'Blinkly' Davison, Keith Emerson & Keith 'Lee' Jackson (pick up The Nice's final album, "Elegy" & listen to 'My Back Pages' & you'll hear parts of 'The Blues Variations' in that song during the organ playing). Getting back to better things, this performance isn't complete without Emerson picking up & throwing down his Hammond L122 (with a Dallas-Arbiter Fuzzface in the connection chain) at the end of "The Great Gates of Keiv." How he gets that organ to sound like a distorted violin out of tune in one part of the noise chaos is beyond me! This is an album that you must hear from start to finish from "The Promonade, Part 1," to "Nutrocker." Ever since I bought this CD back in 2001 (I was told not to get this CD from a friend of mine because it's pompus & absolute crap), I cannot stop playing it! Hell, I might have to get a third copy of this album for all we know. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nErratic execution mars ambitious concept, May 18, 2005\nReviewer: Eddie Konczal (Monroe Township, NJ USA)\nWith virtuoso keyboardist Keith Emerson at the helm, progressive rock supergroup Emerson Lake & Palmer specialized in adapting classical music to the rock form. Their 1971 debut featured adaptations of works like Bartok's "The Barbarian" and Janacek's "Sinfonietta" (re-titled "Knife-Edge"). "Pictures at an Exhibition" (1972), the first of three live albums ELP released during the 1970s, represented an ambitious leap from these shorter attempts. Most of the album's running time is devoted to ELP's interpretation of Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky's work of the same name. The encore "Nutrocker," a takeoff on Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" theme, brings the album to full LP running time. \n\nTo some extent, all ELP live albums suffer from the same limitation: they fail to convey the spectacle of the band in concert. ELP shows featured pyrotechnics, fireworks, knife-throwing, and a variety of other visual treats that don't translate to record. While these stage antics enhanced the experience for those present, they occasionally hampered the band's ability to deliver the solid performances required for great recordings. Later live albums like "Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends..." circumvented this problem by cherry-picking the best tracks from various shows. However, the long-form nature of "Pictures at an Exhibition" made it difficult to gloss over the dodgy bits. \n\nThere are unquestionably moments of greatness, but not enough to prevent all but the most diehard ELP fans from resorting to the Fast Forward button. The intro and its reprise ("Promenade") and finale ("The Great Gates of Kiev") are appropriately majestic, and Greg Lake delivers a lovely vocal performance on "The Sage." "The Hut of Baba Yaga" brilliantly showcases ELP's kinetic fury. Beyond that, there's way too much bluff: unfocused synthesizer noodling (on "The Gnome," "The Old Castle," and "The Curse of Baba Yaga"), meandering blues jams ("Blues Variations"), and Emerson's obligatory wrestling match with his organ, which disrupts the grandeur of the finale. \n\nRock purists and classical aficionados alike excoriated "Pictures" for daring to merge the two genres. Such criticism represents the height of snobbery. The real problem is that with a work of this ambition, there's little margin for error. Unfortunately, ELP's desire to please the crowd left them with a highly erratic recording, unworthy of the lofty goals they sought to achieve. \n\nELP would go on to fine-tune and arguably improve their interpretation of Mussorgsky's work. Check out the underrated "Works Live" for a condensed, more focused version of "Pictures," or the highly polished, stately version from the 4-CD boxed set, "Return of the Manticore." While this record is a must-own for diehard fans, newcomers to the world of ELP should approach the original "Pictures" with caution.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nELP Do Mussorgsky---Sort Of---With Very Good Results, October 14, 2004\nReviewer: Alan Caylow (USA)\n \nA controversial 1972 live album by Emerson Lake & Palmer, "Pictures At An Exibition" finds ELP tackling Mussorgsky's all-time classic---sort of---and interspersing it with their own compositions. Classical purists have balked for over 30 years that ELP desecrated Mussorgsky's original work with this album. I say let 'em balk. Okay, so this is not a faithful, note-for-note rendition of "Pictures." It is, instead, a rock adaptation of the piece. Who the heck knows what Mussorgsky himself would've thought of it. All I know is that *I* think ELP's version of "Pictures" is very, very good. It's not perfect, but it sure is a lively, entertaining prog-rock take on it. The trio play the material with great passion, and the band's own bits fit in with the "Pictures" stuff just fine. Especially memorable are "Promenade" (music by Mussorgsky, lyrics by Greg Lake), Lake's beautiful acoustic ballad "The Sage," the tight instrumental "Blues Variations," the rockin' "Curse Of Baba Yaga," and the triumphant closer, "The Great Gates Of Kiev." And the "encore" track that ends the album, "Nutrocker," is great fun. You gotta hand it to Keith Emerson, Greg Lake & Carl Palmer for doing something no other prog-rock group would dare to attempt. I won't argue with anyone who doesn't like ELP's "Pictures At An Exibition," as it's not for everybody. But for all you open-minded listeners out there, this album is a classical/rock treat. As for the classical purists, feel free to move on. There's a whole ton of traditional recordings of "Pictures" available to you. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nWas it Lake who said,, April 8, 2003\nReviewer: RS "maiala"\n"They call us pretentious and pompous - so we are!" Indeed. One must be quite adventurous to put one's name next to Mussorgsky's, co-authoring his masterpiece acclaimed for more than a century. The good musicianship softens the blow somewhat; not to confuse with good music, it was more of a fashion statement. With regard to the vogue of experimenting with classics, Deep Purple's Concerto for Group and Orchestra was the most honest effort of them all (albeit futile too). While its musical and compositional merits could be debated, the idea behind combining rock with classical (in this case, rather pseudo-classical) music was of much greater ingenuity.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nSo what if they rearranged the orginal?, April 4, 2003\nReviewer: Michael Topper (Pacific Palisades, California United States)\nRock critics and classical fans who love to [dismiss] this record always point out that ELP "raped" this piece by playing only certain portions of Mussorgsky's original composition, and by adding their own songs into the mix as if they were "equals" to the composer. In my opinion, this kind of irreverence and cheerfully creative re-engineering of the music is exactly what makes "Pictures" so refreshing. A lot of rock covers have toyed with the arrangements of the original song, why should ELP be judged any differently for doing the same for a classical piece?\n\nIn any case, the group never even wanted to release "Pictures" at all, live or studio (considering it merely a cover that they used to warm themselves up on in the early days, albeit one they liked very much), and when they did it was only as a budget release. Which makes its quality even more amazing, because this is one of the most ambitious and well-recorded live works of its day. The album opens with the "Promenade" theme stated religiously on church organ, before moving into "The Gnome," an early synth-fest with Lake and Palmer providing excellent support. Things quiet down for the second "Promenade" and "The Sage", perhaps the most enjoyable part of the album, with Lake singing angelically to quiet organ and acoustic guitar accompaniment. His acoustic guitar work in "The Sage" is extraordinary and marks an early high point of both the album and his career with ELP; even detractors of the album find this piece soothing and atmospheric. "The Old Castle"/"Blues Variation" medley which follows rocks things up again with more jazzy synth and hammond workouts, although a longer and better performance of this (with the band *really* heating things up) can be found on the "Pictures" DVD film filmed at the Lyceum in December '70. The second side reprises the "Promenade" theme with all three bandmembers now, then moves to triple speed with "The Hut Of Baba Yaga" which is interrupted by "The Curse Of Baba Yaga", where fuzz/wah-wah bass, synths, organs and drums create enormous waves of crashing sound and furiously flying notes that most likely left audiences with mouths wide open (and parallel the "Tarkus" suite recorded at the same time). It all finds release in the stately "Great Greats Of Kiev", which is performed similar to the original piece, although it features an ear-piercing organ feedback instrumental break which does not make sense unless you were there to see Emerson's theatrics on display.\n\nThe only weak points in Pictures remain these oft-cited feedback moments (also the ribbon-controller squeaking at the beginning of "The Old Castle"), which only made sense in the live context, perhaps leading some to conclude that "Pictures" might have been better as a studio release (with the possibility of more overdubs of guitar and piano as well). "Nutrocker" is also a forgettable jam that was purely a clap-a-long audience pleaser; I always click the album off before this one starts.\n\nOverall, "Pictures" was a great piece that--in some shortened version or other--remained in the band's setlist throughout its career. It is a trippy collage that moves through moments of meditative quiet, encroaching fear, jubilant jamming, intense\nhard rock pummelling and symphonic grandeur without ever resorting to an orchestra or mellotron; although the sound could have been bolstered by overdubs, it is still quite huge, with Palmer's drums/gongs/bells/chimes, Lake's fuzz/wah-wah bass and acoustic guitar, and Emerson's massive organ and Moog sounds creating a highly unique and distinctive style. It is actually quite a lean and mean rendition, almost punk-ish in places (and especially so given the aforementioned "raping" of the original), so it is almost ironic that it was so reviled by punk acts. No, it's not three-chord guitar thrashing--but "The Curse Of Baba Yaga" sounds angrier than anything in rock, be it Black Sabbath or The Sex Pistols. ELP proved that they were master musicians here; the only weakness is that this is not the ultimate performance of the piece--the Lyceum show was better in the jamming department, and the Buffalo '74 show (on "The Original Bootleg Series Vol.2") features some extremely advanced synth work. This all leads back to the fact that "Pictures" should perhaps have been recorded in the studio in 1971/72 rather than in 1994, when it was finally given that chance (and even then, a creditable version of "The Sage" resulted).\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\n"Pictures" Puzzles, October 25, 2002\nReviewer: David Eniz (lombard, il United States)\nThis is ELP's live recording of a handful of sections from Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" piano suite. They get points for taking the piece on *at all*, and more points for actually doing some portions well, but if you're familiar with either the original piano version or Ravel's orchestral transcription, it sounds like a band wiping their behinds on a beloved piece of music while simultaneously trying to siphon some second-hand "high-cultural seriousness" from it.\n\nFirst, the positives: The opening "Promenade"/"Gnome"/"Promenade" work really well... arranged with color and imagination. Greg Lake sneaks in an original comosition, "The Sage", which is really quite lovely. "The Hut of Baba Yaga" and "The Great Gate of Kiev" also, by and large, make the leap from classical repertoire to rock-a-thon successfully, aside from an unfortunate segment of you-had-to-be-there organ feedback in the latter.\n\nThe negatives: Emerson masturbates his Moog synthesizer far too often, and when he actually plays *discernable notes* on it, it is glaringly out-of-tune. "Old Castle-Blues Variation" is actually an incredibly dull "blues" rhythm with Mussorgsky's melody plopped insensitively over the top of it, while the rest of the band lazily thuds along. The recurring "Promenade" sections---in the original version of this piece, the harmonies are varied in each repeated movement, giving each one a distinct musical flavor, but here they just repeat it the same way every time, only with Palmer beating his drums a little louder in each repetition. I get put off by the general air of "We're going to play this time-honored piece of music, and you should percieve us as serious musicians for doing so, but please ignore the fact that we are really just using the score as toilet paper."\n\nThe real value of this stage of their development as a band, is that playing "Pictures" provided them with a structural prototype for Emerson's own original, truly progressive compositions that would surface on their next two albums, "Trilogy" and "Brain Salad Surgery", which are truly 5-star efforts. (TRILOGY'S, "Endless Enigma", especially, is like a condensed "Pictures".) Ultimately, "Pictures" is merely transitional for ELP, and doesn't do Mussorgsky any favors!\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nEarly live recording with a decisive piece to ELP, October 8, 2000\nReviewer: A music fan\n"Pictures At An Exhibition" was played on ELP's official debut on August 29, 1970, at the Isle of Wight Festival. From that time to this Newcastle City Hall live recording of March 26, 1971, the growth was just amazing. This Mussorgsky piece is one of the most played on ELP's career, and an indicative of the artistic moment of the group. Hence, at Isle of Wight or the December 9 1970 performance at the Lyceum Theatre, you feel through it that ELP members are still getting along, sometimes overly fascinated with some effects (synths, improvisation or jokes). On the other hand, in 1977, during the Works tour, you have a tremendous richness of sound in a (unfortunately) reduced version, perhaps too much richness for the bizarre (in the best sense of the word) Mussorgsky world. Their 90's versions of it are somehow boring, slow, and tone lowered because of Lake's deeping voice (the key transposition after Palmer' amazing solo was painful), exciting only for the historical partnership between group and the piece.\n\nAll this to say that, thinking about the registrations of performances of "Pictures" by ELP, this one is certainly the best. I think "Pictures" is the most dangerous risk of excess for the group, sometimes too much Hammond destruction, sometimes too much Moog or ribbon controller, and during the 90's too much midi doubling. But here, ELP was able not to fall in temptation to make moments last more than they should, or to overweight them, making unrepeatable music. Because of that, you have the perfect timing for Moog solos, wild Hammonds, crazy drums and Lake's vocal, softer than in any other record, but aggreessive sometimes. It's unforgettable the synth lines and sounds during "The Gnome", or during the second "Promenade". "The Sage" shows Lake's poetry of the early 70's, not easily achieved later, just a guitar with metal strings and voice - a minstrel among two medieval dragons. It's wonderful to see the peaceful features of the audience during this song on the video of the Lyceum performance. The first "Promenade", more than ever, is really affecting - solemnly rock and roll. "The Hut of Baba Yaga"is one of most tense moments in rock history, and about it, I should say that the "Manticore" video version (1973) is still more dramatic because of monstrous Carl Palmer's sonority. The third "Promenade" makes a furious return that the original piano version didn't show - again ELP's arrangement powers. The first CD release (Atlantic/Cotillion) had fade out and fade in at the time of turning sides of original vinyl, but later CD releases fixed it. The art cover is wonderful, and conceptual (note that the ground of "The Hut Of Baba Yaga" inner picture has the same style of the "Tarkus" art cover). The last track, independent from "Pictures", is "Nutrocker", ELP's cheerful music with wonderful clavinet parts.\n\n"Pictures At An Exhibition" is the wildest ELP record.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nFrom a keyboardists point of view, May 31, 2000\nReviewer: Lance Armstrong (USA)\nELP's electrifying interpretation of Pictures of an Exibition is a great piece of work! The strength of Keith's Hammond B3 and Modular Moog performances really brings the piece to life. I think the original composer would think he'd died and gone to heaven if he ever heard it. It's quite an accomplishment to create a composition, or an interpretation of one, that will stand the test of time, one that you can listen to over and over again. Pictures qualifies as one of those. It's works like this one that has spawned imitators worldwide and raised our expected level of performance. Pictures tells a story, all the way from the organ intro through to the climatic ending. The excellent musicianship along with all the dynamics and unheard of mystical sounds, for that time, takes you on a ride to another universe, keeping you captivated to the very last note. This album really is an experience, a trip to another world if you will. One that begs you to return and ride it again. Two points of interest really make this album stick out, from the keyboardist point of view. These are Keith's use of the Hammond C3 organ, and the visually stunning modular Moog Synthesizer. On the Hammond, Keith displays an incredible amount of speed and percussive touch. He creates this sound from a bigger than life beefed up percussion sound on his Hammond, and tasteful use of the Hammond's Leslie speaker cabinet, which provides the right amount of biting distortion and rotational sound effect. Second, and for those times probably the most noteable and mysterious feature of the album, is Keith's impressionable use of the Modular Moog sythesizer. Not only does this instrument sound futuristic and fantastic, it's visually absolutely stunning on stage with all of it's patch panels and cables. One might think Keith had a degree in electronics to have the skills to know how to use it. At least we know that for years after this release, synthesizer companies were configuring their synthesizers like Keith's cable patches, the best known to be the MiniMoog synthesizer, it's ribbon controller and drum unit accessories. Keith popularized the use of the ribbon controller on Pictures. It can be heard on the album creating those almost Thermin like pitch changes. Keith likes to attach pyrotechnics to it in concert, which further mystifies that instrument, and burns it into your memory. Of course, besides Keith's amazing performances, there is that incredible and most distinguished voice of Greg Lakes. No other voice would work here besides his. His bass and guitar work also fit where none other would. (Can't imagine how this one would have sounded if Hendrix had accepted the offer) And not to forget, Carl Palmer made drums an instrument, and not just the beat. Well, that's a keyboardists (and ELP copycat) point of view.\n\nHalf.com Details \nProducer: Greg Lake \n\nAlbum Notes\nEmerson, Lake & Palmer perform Mussorgsky's "Pictures At An Exhibition".\n\nEmerson, Lake & Palmer: Keith Emerson (keyboards); Greg Lake (vocals, guitar, bass); Carl Palmer (drums, percussion).\n\nMuch was made of early prog-rock's fusion of rock with classical music, but ELP was one of the only bands to take that task seriously, and never more so than on PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION. The well-known Mussorgsky piece is a staple of the classical music diet, and a prime example of "program music," where related sections of a piece combine to tell a story. True to the spirit of the times, ELP attacked "Pictures" with both classically trained respect and rocker irreverence. The album, recorded live in 1971, finds the band turning Mussorgsky's work inside out, not just restructuring it but reinventing it for their rock audience.\nWhile sections like "Promenade" and The Hut of Baba Yaga" are essentially electrified, rocked-up versions of the original melodies, the band injects plenty of their own original (but not unrelated) motifs into the piece, including Greg Lake's moody ballad "The Sage" and the self-explanatory "Blues Variation." ELP is to be commended as much for its brash ambition as for its achievement in attempting a Moog-ified revamping of such a well established piece as PICTURES.
This rock cd contains 2 tracks and runs 37min 50sec.
Freedb: 0b08dc02
Buy: from Amazon.com
Category
: Music
Tags
: music songs tracks rock Progressive Rock
- Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Promenade, The Gnome, Promenade, The Sage, The Old Castle, Blues Variation (19:01)
- Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Promenade, The Hut of Baba Yaga, The Curse of Baba Yaga, The Hut of Baba Yaga, The Great Gates of Kiev, The End - Nutrocker (18:46)
