Track Lisiting:
1. Promenade
2. The Gnome
3. Promenade
4. The Sage
5. The Old Castle
6. Blues Variation
7. Promenade
8. The Hut of Baba Yaga
9. The Curse of Baba Yaga
10. The Hut of Baba Yaga (Pt2)
11. The Great Gates of Kiev/The End
12. Nutrocker
Best Track: Blues Variation or The Great Gates of Kiev
Proof that classical and rock are compatible
One of Prog Rock's greatest achievements was to mix more classical/jazz elements from music into the more blues dominated rock style. Pictures At An Exhibition is perhaps the greatest example of this, as it is an adapted version of Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition. Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer were all virtuoso musicians in terms of skill, so the playing wouldn't be a problem. But would the "rocking" up of the classical sound and the addition of lyrics butcher the original piece's charm? This was the risk ELP took in 1971.
The recurring theme of Promenade gets us going, with Emerson doing the honours with his organs, giving the starting atmosphere a heavy medieval ambience. The Gnome immediately jumps back into a more conventional ELP sound with massive drum rolls from Palmer breaking up Emerson's screeching keyboards and Lake's bass thudding. Then Emerson gets his Moog going, which throws another curveball into the sound. Forget medieval, the atmosphere has jumped into a futuristic setting. This particular part is very similar to the many keyboard suites in Tarkus, but the rapid change in mood really hits and would perhaps shock a listener unacquainted with ELP's previous work.
Promenade returns, with Lake providing some soothing vocals to return us to a more intimate feeling. But don't get too calm, Emerson decides to burst out in The Sage with some synthy blasts, before Lake takes control again with some more intimate acoustic guitar work and mournful lyrics. Reflecting on the human race in a classical-orientated piece? Interesting, and not at all boring or too pretentious.
One forgets this is a live album until you hear the applause at the start of The Old Castle. Emerson decides to amaze everyone with some of the weirdest sounds you've ever heard from a keyboard; sharp twitchy wailing that the crowd loves. The drums hit in providing a beat for Emerson to solo around, with some superb flexible playing shown. Blues Variation reverts away from the classical and instead gives as an organ-led rocker, that is funnily enough bluesy. Who would have guessed hey? As per standard Emerson makes up for the lack of a lead guitarist with some hard organ funk with chunky basslines beneath keeping him from doing something too crazy. But that doesn't work; Emerson blasts everyone away with a Moog synth explosion at the end, finishing the song with a metaphorical bang. (And hearing problems)
The next Promenade is features very heavy almost metallic drumming from Palmer. One feels the theme is getting a bit tiresome, but they are trying to keep true to the original as much as possible in terms of form. Squeeling organs slash through The Hut of Baba Yaga, before the craziness hits in with a wah-wah sounding synth workout from Emerson blurting its way around in The Curse of Baba Yaga. Being a keyboardist myself it's hard not to listen in awe at Emerson's skills. Lake is back on the vocals again, though this time it's a harsh shout rather than a soothing whisper. The drumming and keyboard interplay is again quality, which manifests itself more in the second part of The Hut of Baba Yaga. The Great Gates of Kiev features much better voice parts from Lake, providing a stirring vocal grace against Emerson's dense organ background. The ending drumroll is spectacular and quite epic as well. Also the part where one of the three asks, "Do you want some more music?" Pretty cool uplifting stuff. Nutrocker is a nice fun piece thats diffuses some of the emotional musical extremes from the earlier songs. Granted it's not quite as satisfying as the others and the solos aren't as good, but it certainly ain't the worst closer to go out on. The roaring crowd testifies this.
Honestly despite my liking of this album not everyone will like what ELP did to this classical piece. Some would argue that the solos get overblown, and others may say it gets a bit repetitive. But overall I'm very pleased with this album. Certainly if you are interested at all in some top notch keyboard work then this album may be one to have a good listen to.
12/15
