Search - Emerson Lake & Palmer :: Live at Royal Albert Hall

Some very good, some bad, but mostly boring

kireviewer | Sunnyvale, Ca United States | 09/19/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is a live album to support the Black Moon album after the group got back together in 1992. It is 70 minutes long. I doubt that it represents the whole concert, because the group usually plays for 2 hours. There are only 3 really good tracks on this album.



The sound quality is pretty good, but there is a buzz that comes and goes. It is most pronounced at the beginning. The dynamic range is OK but could be better. Sometimes the mix is muted and at times, you don't get to hear Palmer the way he should be heard.



Don't be fooled by the first track, Karn Evil 9. It is only a one minute excerpt where there sing Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends. It is how the group always starts a show, just like Roger Waters always starts with In The Flesh.



The album moves right into a fantastic 9 minute excerpt from Tarkus. This is one of the best things ever by the group. It is very lively and much better than the studio version. It sets up high hopes for the rest of the album, which are soon disappointed.



Next is Knife Edge, which is fairly good, but rather short and not the best version of the song.



From there, the album becomes boring until the end. The new material is not very good, and the band plays it just like the studio versions. For those who hated the acoustic version of Lucky Man on Welcome Back My Friends, here is a complete version with the Moog solo at the end. But, it is played just like the studio version.



In the middle is one very nice track, Creole Dance, that is an interesting keyboard solo.



The second to the last track is Pirates, which sounds like a boring show tune. It wasn't good on Works, and nothing is done to change it on this album. The group should leave this kind of thing to Gilbert and Sullivan.



The last track is a medley of Fanfare for the Common Man, America and Rondo. It's start out fairly routine, just covering the main themes of Fanfare and America. It gets very lively when it breaks into Rondo. America and Rondo come from Emeron's days with the Nice.



This album is definitly better than the dreadful Works-Live. But, Welcome Back My Friends is far superior to either. Another great album to get is Nice-The Swedish Seesions. That has a really raw, energetic version of Rondo."

Emerson Lake&Palmer-'Live At The Royal Albert Hall'(Rhino)

Mike Reed | USA | 06/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Maybe not as brilliant as their earlier live album,but '...Albert Hall' is a damn fine piece of work.Total of eleven tracks with a duration of 69:18.I was so excited when I went to see the progressive power trio on the eve of this very tour.Reunions are great,aren't they?Most of the older cuts were present that I wanted to hear,like "Karn Evil No.9(1st Impression-Part Two)","Knife Edge","Still...You Turn Me On","Lucky Man",the thirteen minute epic "Pirates" and the fourteen minute "Fanfare For The Common Man/America/Rondo".Whew!Thanks for the ride.A couple of new(at the time)tunes seemed to fit well in with the rest of the set,"Black Moon","Romeo&Juliet" and "Paper Blood".WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS TO THE SHOW THAT NEVER ENDS!COME INSIDE!Long live Keith Emerson,Greg Lake and Carl Palmer."

Good but not great

Guy Campeau | Stoneham, Québec Canada | 07/05/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I am a casual listener of ELP, I use to listen to ELP cd more often when I was younger. For me, the band has not succeed in the time test. Their music has not aged very well. I still apreciate classic like "Tarkus" and some "Brain Salad Surgery" stuff (which is under represented on this cd)and songs like "Still, you turn me on" or "Lucky Man" but when half an hour of ELP has been playing in my house, I feel the urgent need to listen to something else. Good album, but not great."