Reviews (page 5 of 8)
what the fuck did i just listen to
Unnecessary, self-indulgent, pretentious prog rock, crap. This album explains the Sex Pistols.
205
I might have been generous w a star.
Mye lyder
Not really sure why I needed to hear this before I die.
Fucking insufferable.
Rip off of the Mussorgsky piano suite of the same name. Write your own stuff!? It wouldn't be so bad if the piano suite itself wasn't so good, or the later Ravel orchestration even better. Seems to be a Keith Emerson vanity project, spoiled by the needless earaching spaceship sound effects reminiscent of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's work on 1970 episodes of Dr. Who. Needless to say I didn't think that much of this at all.
Vaguely fun slowly coming to the realisation that it’s an interpretation of some classical stuff that I’ve definitely heard before and trying to work it it was familiar due to being a motif from an earlier track or if it was a “cover” Also big up another Newcastle live album after motorheads
NEWCASTLE MENTIONED PART 4 This was really weird, but not like it a good way, more of a this was a bit of a chore to get through way. I almost enjoyed the great gates of Kiev but they kinda ruined it. Nutrocker was pretty good though, even though I wasn’t actually going home 2
1971. Live album.
Honestly, I'm glad it's on this list for being audacious. I hope their audience was high as F. Not a very good listen as a recording.
In one way, this is incredible. This would be a great album to trip to. I appreciate what they were trying to do. But it just doesn’t make me want to listen to it again.
W T actual F? Beyond the fact that it's bad, it's also just dumb. I'm annoyed that I had to listen to this. But I feel really bad for the people who bought a ticket and had to sit through this in person.
This is like listening to a band doing 12 covers of the Dr Who theme music. It's interesting, I'll give that. Not sure if I'd have paid money to be part of the audience who saw it live though.
This is what alien farts sound like. Emission, (wind)Break and Farter. No thanks. I like the drumming, and Great Gates of Kiev is alright, but this arty farty keyboard stuff is just naff.
The type of art school pretentious garbage I'm glad has fallen out of favor in the last fifty years
2.5 spoko nie dla mnie
I heard it all in the first track ... meaning I didn't need to listen to the whole thing. Perhaps it's age, but I'm losing whatever patience I had for 'real' prog rock. Bring on the next selection, please!
5/10
Wasn't the keenest on this one. I usually dont mind 70s prog but I didnt vibe too much with this one. I'm a big fan of King Crimson but not so much this. I think its cuz this is alot less guitar driven (there is none). I just ended up a little bored and felt the songs were a little meandery. Wouldn't listen again but I didnt think it was shit.
the fact this was recorded live is so funny bc i cant imagine sitting down to listen to this in a concert hall. "WANT SOME MORE MUSIC" into nutrocker is comical
Gotta copy paste this review because it is true: "I hated - and I really do mean HATED - so much of this. Yet it avoids a one star review because it was also really interesting, intriguing, impressive and even enjoyable in parts. A bizarre album"
i gotta be honest, i let this play while i worked. I did zero active listening. I might enjoy it if I gave it another chance in a different setting, but I was not a fan.
oh god i mean fairs ig whatevs 5/10
like I can see what they're going for, but its just kinda mid
4/10
That was something, somehow listened to all of it. Weird.
Am I at the symphony? Is this music for a video game? Is it a rock concert? Who knows. I can’t say I’ll revisit it but it was something and the crowd sure seemed to like it at the end. I can’t imagine this was very culturally relevant but the 70s were a weird time. 2.4
Really not my type of music but its cool and very progressive sound for the time.
I think I'd rather listen to Mussorgsky than whatever this was. I appreciate their experimentation, but not enough of a fan for this one.
5/10
There are eleventy million, let alone 1001, more prog albums better than this one. ELP are what gave this sort of stuff a bad name. Nice bass tone, though. 2 stars for that
Absolute wank.
This sucked but ig it was cool experimental
Do not love progressive rock.
Pretty cool in places but those awful early 70s synths were just too grating.
Very experimental, almost too experimental for me
This was an enjoyable listen but not enough to put on regularly. I favorited one track #3 I believe. Feeling neutral - I guess that means a 2. 2/5
Only know a little bit of ELP from whatever radio songs would’ve heard over the years. This seems like something different. Prog Rock at its least entertaining? Don’t mind the organ, but it’s really just a lot of prog rock organ/keyboard take on classic music. It’s interesting at times, but overall doesn’t do much for me. The Sage was an interesting song, but doesn’t sound like a lot of the rest of it with its acoustic guitars. Overall, a lot of the solos just don’t do it for me. Closing track is fun. This is a 2. It’s not great as a whole and doesn’t seem to hold up but it has some moments and it’s interesting.
Rock progresivo…le genero que peor ha envejecido.
okay
Who would have thought you couldn't trust a group that couldn't even come up with a real band name to create a compelling prog rock adaptation of a 100 year old classical composition nobody has ever heard of.
Not my music. I think I just don’t get it. But that’s also ok.
I won't be able to top this review, "It's a live album of a keyboard-driven progressive rock band covering a 150 year old Russian romantic composer, and it sounds like video game boss music." This 2* album should be replaced by another, better pseudo-prog rock supergroup album A Perfect Circle's Mer de Noms, which is a clear 4* album.
Some of them are pretty cool sounding when it is rock-ified. Some of them are awful and its just sounds. I fear there are more bad ones than good ones.
If I'm being brutally honest, I found this album interesting, not exciting. This really didn't give me anything at all while listening to it. I think that compositionally, these are really interesting and well-put-together pieces of music, but I just didn't like listening to them all that much. But again, that doesn't mean I haven't acknowledged the musicality of it. I didn't really have any 'favourites' per se, but there were definitely ones that stood out more than others. Stand-outs: The Gnome Promenade, Pt.3 Nutrocker The Great Gates of Kiev
Awwwwwww, WHAT? Symphonic prog???? Ewwwwww!!!! I jest of course. I don’t like prog in general very much but this is only 38 minutes so maybe it’ll be alright! Let’s see. Well, I wasn't incorrect about how much I would like it, that's for sure. Thank fuck this is only 38 minutes, it would be downright torturous were it any longer. Well maybe not torturous, because the big sin here is that it's really fucking boring. The entire first side is really just not anything very good at all. Nothing awful, but just so boring and detestable. Obviously I really don't love this type of music, and easily the best thing that this album ever did for the world was supply the excellent sample for "Katz" off of Lice, which to this day is probably my favorite EP of all time (Solace by Dar Qness is close behind though). The sample play for 10 seconds from 50 seconds into "The Curse of Baba Yaga" to the 1 minute-mark. That REALLY threw me for a loop though, wow. I like froze for a whole 5 seconds and then paused the song and then went to whosampled and realized. Anyway so most of this album is more or less worthless until it gets to the Baba Yaga part in which it's kinda interesting for like 3 songs... I'd like it a lot more if the guy didn't sing, but whatever. I don't dislike "The Great Gates of Kiev," in fact it's pretty good! I like the places where it goes, and it's... y'know it's an acceptable prog rock song! I honestly also like the outro with the super feedback-ey guitars and stuff. And then the transition back to the actual song... my man can't sing, but it's fine because the song's still dope. Then it goes into some bullshit about “death is life” though and then it goes into a prog version of… nutcracker… I… the only good this album ever did for the world of music was that Katz sample and that’s it. Sorry, not my thing. 4.5/10
I like ELP's hits, but this seemed a little "extra". But I suppose that's what ELP do.
Ehh
Though I absolutely hated listening to this, at least it was interesting and unique
The epitome of self indulgence, only for the true fans I suspect 2*
This is not what I had anticipated at all. The entire album seemed like making noise instead of making music. I can’t imagine paying to go to a ELP concert only to hear this being played. Not a good first experience for me, but maybe I’m missing something??
Listening to this felt like reading the technical detail section of an owners manual. Complicated and uninteresting.
As much as this is a great concept for a live album, the synthesizers in the early 70s sound terrible and grating to my ears.
It was fine. Parts of it were interesting but there were a few parts that were totally out of place. They would do something pretty accurate to the original piece then go off on a random tangent without any regard to the theme of the original work or what they had just played.
No es pa mi
0/28 bekannt 4,5/10 Beste Songs: the Sage, the gnome, the curse of baba yaga Eine Mischung aus sonntags zu Kirche gehen, ein bisschen roundabout und Gegenstände die Töne von sich geben
de entrada que solo lo tengan en versión live no me gusta ni 5, aparte está más bien maluco
I'm really torn about how to rate this one. On one hand, it's fairly decent. It's interesting, but it's also kinda annoying. I'm not sure if this was influential to anybody, but it doesn't really strike me as anything extraordinary. Technical? Yea, for sure, at points, but not really anything crazy that I would want to add it to a list like this.
don't like
Was honestly having a good time until the Old Castle when they started messing it all up by sounding like ELP. Blues Variation continues this nonsense. The Curse of Baba Yaga... cannot be sensibly designed for enjoyment. You ever hear a bar band play a cover but in a weird style? I rarely want to listen to classical but in this case, I'd much rather just listen to Mussorgsky. These guys didn't even try tackling Night on Bald Mountain, but I bet you any bar band can nail Float On.
Its a weird one, perhaps a little too weird.
picks: the sage, blues variation
Not my style of jam bands. Do appreciate the modest attempt.
★★½
Album No. 0181 on my list. Emerson, Lake & Palmer is one of these bands that I always wanted to listen to because they have a very good reputation and are considered to be once of these bands whom you should just familiar with. I know they were a progressive rock band, but had no actual knowledge about their music. Hence, I was pretty curious what "Pictures At An Exhibition" hat in store for me. Unfortunately, I have to say, I didn't like the album. I've always had a troubled relationship with the whole progressive rock genre: on the one hand side, Pink Floyd is among my favorite artists of all time, and "The Dark Side Of The Moon" is probably one of my Top 3 all-time favorite albums. "Pictures At An Exhibition" however represents pretty much everything I dislike about the genre. This is certainly ambitious, interesting and one can discern the musical talent of all members of this supergroup. The result is just pretty boring and pretentious. Even with the knowledge that this is an adaption of 19th century orchestral music, I found there was too much doodling and too much boredom to this. Do I get why this is on the list? Certainly. Is this interesting and unique? Definitely. Do I like it? Unfortunately, no. I'll add "Blues Variation" (the coolest song and an interesting variation of the classical original), and "Promenade" to my playlist. In the end, it's a very narrow decision: one or two stars? I think I'll go with the two star rating, in appreciation of the innovativeness and uniqueness. 2/5 stars (generously).
2.5 stars.
De band degradeert de Notenkraker tot een 8-bits Super Mario versie. En dan hopen dat het toevoegen van een paar instrumenten het geheel laat rocken....Nope...
Net als het andere album dat we kregen te horen van deze progrockheren, is dit ook wel echt een albumervaring, waar er met name veel gepriegel op toetsen voorbijkomt. Ik kan me het album Tarkus niet echt meer voor de geest halen, behalve dat ik er 4 sterren voor heb gegeven. Ik denk dat ik deze iets waziger vind en af en toe wordt het tempo er vakkundig uitgehaald. Het kan op zich best een goed idee zijn om stijlen te combineren, in dit geval klassiek en progrock, maar ik ben hier niet kapot van.
It's well done and a cool concept. Very proggy. But the keyboards sound too synthetic. The Moog was revolutionary as technology, but the specific sounds it produces haven't aged well. Nobody hears that sound and thinks "timeless". They think 1971. Compare that to a Hammond organ, which also has a very distinct sound but still gets used because it has warmth. The early Moog just sounds clinical. If the sound was so awesome, people would still be using it. They don't. If this had been done with a piano or regular keyboard, it might get 3 stars from me, maybe even 4? But as it, I will never listen to this again and be glad for it. (It's a shame the Moog messes things up. The beginning of "The Sage" is awful, but the middle is very well done.)
I know im supposed to like this. And maybe I would, but i gave it a go and felt a bit meh
I’m not a fan of the keyboard as lead instrument so it was overwhelming at times. This is clearly the work of talented musicians and I’d probably love this if the keyboards were guitars instead. Everything from Blues Variation on is fantastic until the keyboard overwhelms the bass and drum work.
Oddly christmas forward with synth? And why does it repeat?
As a grown up looking back on my instinctive allergy to prog rock as a kid, I think I was right to avoid it. There is no way the young me would have had any tolerance for it even if I had tried. As I’ve matured my already eclectic tastes have progressively (lol) broadened and I have inevitably found myself with an urge to at least scratch the prog itch. To be fair, my dabblings have been largely successful and while I may now have made some shelf space for Yes, King Crimson, Genesis and some others, my only attempt at ELP, which happened to be this album, was proof if it were needed, that I am still capable of despising prog given the right material. This album epitomises all of what I consider to be truly awful about the genre. I might not be much of a classical music fan, but I like it a whole lot better than virtually any rock music that tries to incorporate classicical. I actually have a lot of time for the Hammond organ, but unfortunately, from all the sound settings of which it is capable, Keith Emerson manages to choose all the ones I find irritating. The drums are nicely recorded and the majority of what Carl Palmer plays is decent, so I’m happy to bump up to 2 stars instead of 1, but even the drums piss me off when they get to the unbearable closer. Why anyone thought it was a good idea to resurrect the cringe “foot tapper” version of The Nutcracker, I will never know, but it is a decent way to summarise everything that is wrong with this for me. So, there may still be a vinyl copy of this somewhere in this house. I had a quick look but couldn’t put my hand to it. It’s in a sell/trade box somewhere. I wondered if today’s listen might change my mind enough to decide not to get rid of it, but instead, today’s listen will be my absolute last to Pictures at an Exhibition. If I ever find the vinyl, I might just burn it ceremonially.
Heard Before? Yes. Notes: - ambition, virtuosity, dynamism. what's not to like? - well, "The Sage" is very dull and kills the momentum. and I've never found him to be a convincing singer. - the goofy Moog sounds haven't aged well. hard to believe they ever sounded less than silly. - the live production is fine, but almost too dynamic. I can live without the crowd noise. - still, I'm happy that for a good two years in the 70s, wanky keyboard players were rockstars before all these albums headed to the dollar bin. Verdict: Impressive on first blush but ultimately hollow and rather cheesy. Easily outdone by any orchestral recording of the pieces they are paying tribute to. Listen Again? Nope, but I've queued up a Harmonium album to remind me that I still love prog.
A lot worse than the fine Tarkus. Why this is here, I'm not sure.
the original pictures at an exhibition was an entry point into classical music for me, recommended to me by my guitar teacher when i was young. this sucks though, especially when there are other much more fun and imaginative synth adaptations of classical music, wendy carlos' switched-on bach being the obvious choice (and a glaring omission from the list)
They still aren’t winning my over, not a fan of this
I thought it was interesting. This is definitely not my favorite. It is way too prog rock for me and the piano work, while impressive, is just not my style. It was kind of hard to follow what was happening. Everyone here is talented, this just isn't great. Actual rating...2.5. "Nutrocker" was kinda fun tho. Liked Songs: "Promenade, Pt. 1" , "Promenade, Pt. 2" , "The Sage" , "Blues Variation" , "The Hut of Baba Yaga, Pt. 1" , "The Hut of Baba Yaga, Pt. 2" , "Nutrocker"
Sounds like I'm at someone's fucking funeral. Boring shit that shouldn't be on this list. Almost fell asleep listening to it. 3 / 10
I'm probably more of an ELP fan that most here, but I'd steer folks clear of this one. I'm very skeptical of live albums making this list in general, but this one just shouldn't be in consideration.
Like Rush but without all the stuff that makes Rush cool
ok
I love how polarizing this is. Personally I found it goofy. Frantic organ power noodling. I understand the term "prog" and I hear it used a lot, but if this is peak prog I don't think I want to stay on the ride. I saw another review talking about boss music - that is kind of how I felt listening. Like I was at the end stage of the game where you're frantically dodging fireballs and hammers and having a full body seizure trying to save the prince(ss). Unrelaxing. ETA Nutrocker isn't bad. Still feels arcade-y.
not my favorite. could not take this seriously. sounded very video gamey/UFO takeovery. I liked the the songs the sage, the great gates of Kiev, and nutcracker, but if they weren't in it, I would've given the album a 1 star. peculiar to say the least! 3/10
It’s impossible to listen to this without imagining a group of long haired musos sitting down with a besuited record exec and saying “Listen man - we’re PROPER musicians - we play CLASSICAL music now”. It’s ok, I guess, with some interesting use of early synthesisers, but it’s not that much more sophisticated than those novelty records with classical pieces played on a Bontempi organ with a disco beat. On the positive side it made me want to go back to listen to Mussorgsky with more conventional arrangements.
I'm not the biggest fan of progressive rock anyways, and this one topped the cake of why.
Was never a big fan of this album
Tänk ändå att detta kunde ta sig rätt högt upp på topplistorna, vilken tid! Jättekul grej, och visst kittlar syntharna mig lite, men soundet överlag är för platt för att jag verkligen ska svepas med. Var är det mäktiga?
Meh
stundom mäktigt, mestadels…… ja det bara pågår
The idea is cool and there are some bright spots but the problem is the orchestral work is far better and far heavier. So this just feels like a knockoff that doesn’t contribute much.
Interesting and groovy - 2 stars because I won’t be going back to listen probably.
I usually like prog but this was a bit drab
There a couple of good grooves in this album, but that's as much as I feel like I can say for it. Got bored, DNF'd. 2 stars because it's not actively grating.
Funky and jazzy I like
Weird
There's a part of me that wants to like this, but I don't. This album provides a lot of ammunition to anyone who wants to criticize prog rock. This would feel more fun to see live.
Pretentious and annoying to listen to.
Honestly I can’t stand this album like it’s basically an Alina invasion and robot invasion sound track I struggled to get through every song and keep interest but maybe it’s just me
Lame, Lame & Lamer. I'm the first guy to ever make this joke. Cheers.
Worst kind of live album. Self indulgent with solos and weird sound effects. Was not a fan.
ugh. it's like if aliens only heard RUSH and though that was how music should be. only redeeming section is the blues song w the organ solo
How much prog is too much prog? Impressive, ridiculous and exhausting (2.5)
I actually quite like them but this kind of sucks. Lsd is likely required
It might be Prog Rock, but that doesn't mean that it's a good idea to add a Live album to a list of 1001 Albums in ANY reference... With the exception of Classical music and maybe 8 other Live albums (7 which I doubt you put on this 1001 list). Stop adding Live albums!!!
Experimental (derogatory)
2.5
I wasn't really feeling this one. There was a bit of fun synth, but it felt lacking in large places.
It is a fine album with a nice idea, but not something I would personally replay. Favourite songs: Blues Variation, The Hut of Baba Yaga (both parts)
I wanted to like this, but I found it so unrelentingly annoying.
Another one that I liked more back in the day. Pretty dated at this point.
At first, I was excited for a live album again. Then the keyboard and organ kicked in...am I in a video game? Watching a wonky, fever dream wedding from the pews? The British are strange, but this is just...what are we cheering for here? Because now I'm getting Scooby Doo vibes. This is still the first song, too. Please make up your mind. The rest of the album isn't like this...right? It took 2 songs before someone started to sing...I thought this was all the same song wtf. It's foggy out, badly, and The Sage only adds to the Silent Hill vibes right now. This album confuses me and I'm not sure what kind of experience I just had, as you can see above my reactions when they occurred. Not my normal was of reviewing. This was just....strange.
Not quite sure what to make of this. I don’t really think this works as live album, nor as an adaptation of classical music, nor as a must listen. I can’t say I really disliked it, but it feels kind of cheap and silly in a not so endearing way a lot of the time
Ugh. Prog rock, plus live album, plus "look how high-concept we can be"? UGH. I listened to the whole thing, but at what cost.
I know they’re good but this album isn’t it for me - it’s too neckbeard Jacob collier and not enough epicness and grandeur from what I expect prog rock to be Some cool synth sounds ig And it’s cool how much they could do with 3 instruments
I refuse to listen to 2 hours of this
Very unsure of what I listened to... Apparently it's a live adaptation of a piano suite for a prog rock band. I did appreciate some of the very futuristic aspects of this performance from the 70s, but I can't say I really enjoyed it. There definitely are some interesting tunes, but in terms of appreciation I'd probably listen to the original one.
A little too chaotic for my taste.....guess I'm just not cut out for that prog-rock lifestyle.
the hammond organ on this one goes insane. they were really cutting up on this. Every ELP album tells a story but idk what this one's was...still kinda a jam in sections Top Tracks: Blues Variation, The Great Gates of Kiev
2.9
I wanted to like it but just didn't.
Какой то непонятный лайв рок группы по русскому композитору, хз как оценивать
Definitely an interesting concept and these guys are talented musicians but this mostly falls flat for me. A super pretentious take on classical music that ends up sounding like video game music meets an organ grinder. “Nut rocker” and “the curse of baba yaga” were most interesting.
4/10 It's kind of odd, but this largely feels like novelty to me. And that is weird because they were obviously talented musicians, but performing classical music on synthetic and electric guitar is just naff. Don't know if this is partly because I'm looking back, but I don't think so. Mad to hear the crowd going so crazy for it!
I do appreciate the gimmick here but it was t a thing I really liked.
It’s ok. Synth rock?
It's becoming more clear to me over time that I am not really a prog rock kind of person. This is no exception. The album improves as it goes, but it is not for me
Creative for sure. However the execution was lackluster in parts.
And people wonder why prog gets a bad reputation for being pompous and overblown! The evidence is all here
4.5/10
mostly new age jazz with no music
Never again
ehhhh the name of the band is the best thing here
Sorry Mr. Emerson! The interpretation of Isao Tomita (1975) is much more impressive (if you like to compare Synth - interpretations of Mussorgskij's piano work). Personally I prefer the the version created by Maurice Ravel.
A lot of organ noodling not a lot of songs
Not for me. I don’t get the live version. I guess I see how the event is fun but why record there? Both pretentious and stupid in here.
Like most prog of this era, it is cool to listen to and entertaining in spots, but in general wears a bit thin and the vocals are not interesting
I’ll never get this 38 minutes back
ELP were talented but this is pretty bad in both concept and execution
Hard to hate, hard to enjoy. Some interesting explorations into symphonic prog rock which bounds about the place with great enthusiasm but never really delivers a clear vision which balled me over.
Not exactly one to return to
Finally thought I got a good track so I went to check and see what it was, turns out the album finished and shuffle took me to some Jethro Tull track. This album is shit. 1.5
Dad music couldn’t get into it
Two stars for Nutrocker, otherwise I didn’t understand what the hell was going on.
This is an album that I listened to.
I guess it’s kind of interesting but I just can’t
Almost a 3
A little artsy and experimental for my tastes.
Well that was some weird shit. I don’t think I particularly liked it, but I’m also not sure I really disliked it. At least it was generally interesting, but not something I think I need to hear again.
Live Prog rock + me = nope
Wasn’t crazy about this one…another 2 star album.
Interesting sounds. I’m sure it was new and exciting at the time of release but didn’t do much for me today. Didn’t hate it but wouldn’t revisit that soon.
Quite pleased that I wasn't at this gig, tbh. No shade on the idea or the musical proficiency, it just didn't sustain my interest.
That's not my taste in music - Too confusing
Pass
This album made me irritable. Too mixed up and confusing
No live albums. Especially from ELP.
Poor Greg Lake sandwiched between two towering overactors. Yes it is accomplished and dextrous but boy is it tedious. There is some joy, the jolly and bop-along final track.
I’m giving extra credit because I like the underlying concept and seems so hard to pull off, but this was annoying!
I like prog. I realize prog is extravagant. This is just excessive though. It's just too experimental and out there. Half the time, they seem to be just trying to top themselves on how weird the sounds can get. At that point, it pretty much stops being music. There are a couple of good parts, though, so it doesn't get a 1.
Tough listen. Nothing to hate but very little to latch on to.
Very self indulgent but still listenable
At least the audience seemed to like it
Not my favorite flavor of prog rock
I am partial to a bit of prog rock but it turns out maybe “lighter” prog! This turned the proginess up to 11 and don’t get me wrong, it is amazing how much sound 3 people can make but on occasions it just wasn’t nice, cohesive sounds.
Prog rock that drifts dangerously close towards the “pretentious and obnoxious” side of the scale. Add in the live crowd noise and I’m gonna have to pass.
Moc to nebavi
To me, the prog rock music of this period was far too self-indulgent and baroque to be enjoyable to listen to. This is no exception.
The soundtrack to a D&D campaign I do not want to play. The components or whatnot that comprise this album are all part of other music I love, but for some reason it just doesn’t work for me on this album.
I really wanted to like it, but it disappointed me.
Bleurgh. Good job I didn’t know about this before watching ‘Yes Minister.’ It would have put me off a classic.
Not a prog rock fan.
Not so strange that it's a one, but I just don't see myself playing this again
I don't know the original piano suite of Pictures At An Exhibition.. But this was o.k.? The crowd seemed hyped. Some good noise here and there, but not super catchy. Probably some higher art than I am able to take in...
Very dull and uninteresting. To me, this record comes across as a technical exhibition of how well they can play without having any real feeling or flavor. Not saying that I can't appreciate musicians with high control of their instruments, is just that I'm very picky with it. In addition and very important. It seems like this record is an interpretation of a piano suite of the same name by Modest Mussorgsky. It is an interesting fact that I have just discovered after three listenings, but doesnt't change my feelings at all. To end this review, I'll say that I didn't dislike it as much as to give it a 1 star.
Extremely talented musicians, but annoying as an album.
Nope. Just one song I could listen to again.
I wanted to like this, because ELP is one of the few prog bands I generally dig. Hell, their other 1971 album that’s also in this book (Tarkus) is pretty damn good in my opinion. Greg Lake is a great vocalist, and between his sick bass tone and Emerson’s killer organ work, they usually just sound like a great hard rock band to me. Additionally, I am nowhere *near* a classical music expert, let alone a Mussorgsky completist, but I know I really like “Night on Bald Mountain”. As I suspected, though, this doesn’t really work for me. I tend to have a disconnect with this style of prog that’s *very* classically influenced; I reeeeeally don’t want to use the “p” word (pretentious) because a) I like hundreds of artists that could be described as such, b) I don’t want to denigrate the effort these musicians have put forth, and c) I don’t think that word necessarily needs to have a negative connotation. So instead, I’ll just say it sounds…a bit hammy? Stilted? It’s most likely a product of me wanting different things out of classical music and rock music, both of which I enjoy on their own. There are moments on here I dig, but I won’t be itching to return to it. 2.5/5
Some interesting sounds in there. It took a while to get to something I could actually groove too. Vocals were subpar.
Method man tical slkutunnari. Sähköurkuja. Live levy.
Another album I question why its on this list
Hammond, alternativ kombination af klassisk og psykedelisk rock. Jeg foretrækker nok almindeligt klassisk, når det kommer til stykket.
A prog rock homage to a classical piece is a good use of prog rock.
This is exceedingly boring to me. 2 stars or D.
Interesting concept, but the album drags on a bit. Didn’t hold my attention after a while. 2.5/5 Probably won’t listen again
Emerson, Lame, & Yawner
Lots of squeaky screechiness mixed in with some actually enjoyable sound. It's a shame because there were elements we actually enjoyed, but just too much that we found unpleasant.
Tried to give it a chance as a chaotic time but it just wasn’t my jam. The solos were cool but not much else
Ooft - this was a slog. The guitar I'm Sage Man redeemed it (but not much)
84/1001. "The album continues to evoke a highly divided reaction among critics." I think I used to own this and even listen to this. Now I don't really see why. A lot of the early electronic stuff is really boring — there are some interesting sonical experiment things done for sure in radio workshops and by some pioneers, with buchla and tapeloops and all sorts of weird machines, but using a moog to recreate classical music is nowadays imho was and is mistake. Sorry Walter / Wendy Carlos, sorry ELP. I guess this album has created highly divided reactions even within me. There is some groove going on at places and some beautiful moments, so a 2.
Yeah, no. I love me some good prog rock, but this isn't it. As I already wrote when reviewing their album Tarkus, stringing together solos does not make for good songs. This record does have its moments. Blues Variation slapped. But I guess you had to be there. The quality of 55-year-old live recordings doesn't help this record's case either.
Eh no this is pretentious af
Intriguing at parts but not as a whole
im not weird enough for this yet. feel like i got fucked up at a carnival
This didn't work for me. I like the idea of taking a suite and adding their own flair, but I found many of the songs to be annoying. There were a few redeeming qualities though. 4/10
While I can appreciate the musicality and technical prowess of this....it reminded me of Spinal Tap without the humor. It's the kind of album that led to the reaction of punk music. I would have rather heard something from ELO if you want a merging of classical and rock. Just left me cold without any emotional connection to it.
When I was younger, I thought that I liked prog. As time went by, it turns out that I just love Rush, Pink Floyd, Collegium Musica and some Genesis/Tull - everything else falls into what I felt and found to be interminable wank. ELP are one of the major kings of that wank. You know all the cliches, so I won't babble on about how they're technically superb but emotionally absent or whatever. Well executed but soulless. Live energy is more acceptable than the studio stuff, but also invites some wanking. Thank goodness that Mussorgsky wrote the music for this one - probably my favourite thing I've heard from ELP! Still fundamentally bored, though. Favourite tracks: the theme from The New Statesman
..
Annoyingly hard to find; the version I did is live. Automatic 1 star. 8/10 for the organ though.
This isn't for me, but I can imagine music critics eating this up. 2.
Mmmm hmmmm…
Prog rock... cool i guess. I'm getting fatigued by these though. Why a live album? Does creative really mean good? Does old mean wise? The Great Gates of Kiev is good.
I had hopes for this, since their s/t debut was a pretty good album, and I know the classical piece pretty well, but this was not very good. Surprisingly, their debut is not part of our 1,001, but their second album, Tarkus is.
I'm just not a fan of live albums.
A bit odd
Oh great, more '70s prog. Sigh.
Interesting album. I like some ELP but this isn't exactly up my alley. But I can definitely enjoy the talent and skill involved in making this album.
Weird
Fun to listen to
This alternated between "unlistenable chaos" and "meh" for the whole album. The synthesizers were over the top and screechy for the most part and the album's largest detractor. And then fucking Christmas music at the end? I'd rather have tinnitus than listen to any type of Christmas music ⭐⭐
Normally I like a bit of prog rock. But this... this doesn't work for me. Next.
Absolute gratuitous prog rock wankery and its a live album too so it just feels endless and the crowd are eating it up as they cheer so loud at the beginning when they announce what they are about to do... It insists upon itself.
an album of classical music covers performed live. not great, but not awful.
Fine...
Ein überambitioniertes Live-Album, das mehr Eindruck schinden will als musikalisch überzeugt. Die Adaption von Mussorgskys Werk verliert sich in bombastischen Synthesizer-Soli, überladenen Arrangements und einem unstimmigen Mix aus Klassik und Rock. Technisch brillant, aber emotional kalt – ein Paradebeispiel für die Selbstverliebtheit des frühen Prog-Rock. Zwei Sterne für den Mut, nicht für das Ergebnis.
If not for the technical nature of the music being played I would give this 1 star. It's pretty chaotic and sounds more like an action sequence to a movie than music that I would want to listen to. Also, it's not varied enough in tone to be interesting.
why
Really wanted to like this one, since the idea of adapting classical music to rock like this is a neat one (albeit I'm admittedly a philistine who doesn't have the patience for most classical music). Unfortunately, it kinda ended up sounding like a generic prog jam? And as someone who's jam-averse, that obviously doesn't work for me!
Please no.
The ways I was not in the mood for this today were comical. That being said, it made me laugh, and I can see myself liking it well enough on another day. K thx byeee
Okayish
A live, organ-heavy prog epic. I mean, it was always going to hit its own ceiling and it does so pretty early on. Most of it sounds much of a muchness, it sort of smears into one long prog-fest and doesn't really try and be any more than that. It's probably a lot cleverer than it leaves you feeling it was, but clever isn't always fun, and I had enough fun in one play through to not need to hear it again, thank you.
Not so much bad as it is useless Oh wait it is bad Oh dear it is bad
The word noisy screaming parts were the best parts.
3/10 Bands in the 70's had way too much time on their hands. plus this is a live album for no reason. 6-15-2025
Meh.....sounded like a live experimental funkadelic miss
It absolutely does sound like video game boss music (track 6) I appreciate the creativity but bleeeeeeh. Please generator gods just give me an album from the 90s
I mean, I like Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, so maybe I would get a small kick out of a band performing amped-up versions of them at a gig. Trouble is, this kind of technically proficient noodling almost always serves to make the original compositions sound worse, especially when they’re performed using the most budget sci-fi keyboard sounds imaginable.
It’s rare that I find myself agreeing with rock critics, but in this case the ones quoted in the Wikipedia article are spot on. So much unnecessary and unjustified self-importance.
Des trucs affreux avec quelques trucs franchement intéressants au milieu. Je réécouterai jamais ça, mais j'ai pas complètement détesté non plus.
Didn't care for it.
Never heard of this. Like the fact that it's a live album. Some research (google lol) says it's an adaptation of a piano suite. Ok. Let's go. Oh ok The beginning of The Gnome was weird (derogatory) but I might be starting to like it. Yeah no that was a false alarm. The Sage is pretty I guess. I'm sorry but the synths here just... what? I like some parts of these songs, right now the second half of The Old Castle is cool but man... Ok I'm vibing with Blues Variation, that's fun. Wish this and the second half of the last track were one full song but oh well. I Liked The Hut of Baba Yaga! The next two tracks, while sometimes interesting, just did not leave much of a note on me. This 6 minutes song towards the end, while epic in scale and instrumentation, just does nothing for me. And yeah, that last song left the same taste of meh in my mouth. Well, I'm glad that the people at the concert seemed to be enjoying the music! I sure wasn't, but hey, who am I to dim other people's light. If you like this, good for you! It just did absolutely nothing for me, besides a few interesting spots here and there. I still can't get over those synths... yeah, not for me. Bye
The original "Pictures At An Exhibition" is approximately 34 minutes long, which is about the same length as ELP's. I feel like ELP could have done this song in about half the time, and kept about as much of the punch. Maybe it's because the live versions I have heard (or seen) are about that, maybe 20 minutes. Parts of the performance that I had not heard live include "The Sage," which I always felt worked. I wish they had done that more live when I had seen them, although there is a studio version that includes it. The boldness of doing this piece live as a three piece as opposed to with an orchestra back in 1971 is something to applauded, but quite frankly I never liked this version. It drags for me, and really the only part I come back to is "Nutrocker." The point is, the piece cut down to 15-20 minutes is effective, but this is really not for me. It's not an album I come back to at all. "Death is liiiiiife" indeed. Top tracks: "Nutrocker," "The Sage"
First, ELP didn't need two albums on the 1001. Tarkus was enough. Second, this album demonstrates all the excesses of ELP (usually held up to represent the excesses of prog - which is a shame because I'm a prog fan and even I think ELP is too over the top). It may have been groundbreaking (and popular) at the time, but it hasn't aged well. In general, I wasn't a big fan of Side 1. Mostly Emerson showing off (as per usual). Lake's original The Sage wasn't bad, even if he lifted part of the acoustic guitar line from King Crimson's Epitaph (which he co-wrote, so I guess there's that). I liked the first section of Side 2 a lot - the full band Promenade followed by the three Baba Yaga tracks. Those tracks rocked and show that Mussorgsky was metal 100 years before metal (at least his composition style was). This sent me down the rabbit hole, learning about the original Mussorgsky composition (originally composed for piano) and Ravel's famous orchestral arrangement. I then spent time listening to recordings of both versions. Definitely had a preference for the orchestral version. The Apple Classical app recommended an amazing version by the Berlin Philharmonic (conducted by Sir Simon Rattle in 2007). Absolutely amazing - go listen to it, especially The Gnome, The Catacombs (you want metal? The second part of the Catacombs is titled in latin, "Cum mortuis in lingua mortua" - "With the dead in a dead language" - raise your metal horns!), The Hut of Baba Yaga, and the Great Gates of Kiev. Why am I talking about all this in my review of ELP's album? Because you're wasting your time listening to ELP's version. It pales next to the original. As an example, I got chills listening to the symphony version of The Great Gates of Kiev but was underwhelmed listening to the ELP version (yes, despite all the explosions). It probably didn't help that Lake's singing was particularly weak on this track and the lyrics were cheesy ("Death is Life"? Whoa, deep, dude). I can appreciate the skill it took for ELP to play this, and the audience sounds like they went wild for it, but this is one case where I can see why people crap on prog rock.
Meh.
Not a fan of live albums
I'm sure it must have been fun to be there.
Uh.. whatever! I even have this on CD, but cannot find the appeal, sorry. The audience seems to really enjoy it, though... better live than as background music while I work, I guess.
I tried to like this, but I just couldn't. 2/5
Standout Songs: The Sage Blues Variation The Great Gates of Kiev
I like ELP when they're more rock than classical, so his one is meh to me. ⭐⭐1/2
What people who don't like prog rock see prog rock as.
This album had a decent number of moments that I liked, but overall there weren’t any songs that I enjoyed. I did appreciate the keyboards and the tight drums, but for the most part, I either found it unpleasant or of little substance and I wanted more.
It was cool, some interesting tracks, but i dont see myself returning to it
I could feel my enjoyment for Prog Rock being tested for a good majority of this albums runtime. Every time I could feel myself coming around to enjoying something on this album it would start to overindulge in some way that left me scampering, only for it to lull me back into enjoyment later down the line. The potential ratings I was tossing around in my mind initially were very mixed, but I was considering being a bit generous with my score until around the middle/later portions of Blues Variation where it started to just feel a little too gratuitous, The Baba Yaga stretch towards the end did win me back a bit but good god those synthesizers really are a fucking blight on a lot of this album. Promenade and The Sage was my favourite stretch of the whole thing overall though. Still probably never listening to this again, I'm also really starting to fucking loathe any album I see on here that is credited to a super group
This album made me think that maybe I don't actually like prog rock that much, that I just like some songs from certain artists. Either way, as novel as this was (classical music as interpreted by prog rockers), this album was pretty boring. Don't get me wrong, the instrumental work here is great and all members of ELP are superbly talented (I like these guys a lot) but there isn't much here that grabs me to say "you NEED to listen to this before you die". As far as albums go, it's mid and as far as live albums go that I've seen on this list, it's not anything to write home about (despite the length of this review). Fun, but never listening to this again. Highlights: The Sage, Nutrocker
I invoked Emerson's name in my review yesterday and am Wondering if I summoned him as a Prog-Rock Spirit... Also wondering if ELP were drawn to this piece on account of the Proggy titles..The Gnome, The Old Castle, The Hut of Baba Yoga, The Great Gates of Kiev. Part of the middle rocked but overall as an interpretation of Mussorgsky I think I prefer SNFs Night on Disco Mountain.
I'm a prog rock sucker, so there were many elements in this "album" that were cool to me. They definitely have insane talent, and I'm interested to listen to more of their work. That being said, I think this listening experience should be on an "interesting music things to check out maybe before you die but maybe not idk" list instead of the 1001 albums you should listen to before you die. With this being a live cover album, I'm dropping it to a strong 2.
Good musicians, bad choices 2/5
This was very jarring to the senses and seemed to ramble on with no purpose or direction. On the plus side it was short and picked up towards the end.
A live progressive rock adaptation of a Mussorgsky piano suite is certainly NOT what I anticipated today. Having zero familiarity with the source material probably affected my overall enjoyment of this record. But as a counterpoint, I'm not convinced that progressive rock makes anything better. The encore "Nut Rocker" was unexpected and interesting at least.
Some interesting/cool songs. Some really weird stuff.
I've never specifically listened to ELP and I can say I have missed nothing by doing so. Prog rock is extremely hit or miss and this one was a big miss for me. I had it one in the background at work and I was able to completely ignore it. Nothing caught my ear AT ALL.
I have room for ELP amd enjoy prog rock proper. This record however is what gives the elitist snobby prog rock album trope life
That was certainly an experience
1. What the hell is this? 2. This is great! 3. Make it stop!
Thiis is exactly the sort of prog-rock nonsense responsible for the punk rock backlash. It's barely listenable.
This is too geeky for me. Crosses the line. I don’t actually find it objectionable enough to give it 1⭐️, but this is a HARD round up.
I did not enjoy this.
Well this is why people hate jam music. It’s just way way way too much. I liked the jamming on “The Old Castle” and some of “Blues Variation” and the real highlight for me was “The Curse Of Baba Yaga”, but it doesn’t all work but for people who don’t like jam music this like having a stroke. My biggest critique outside of it just being too jammy is that if you are just gunna jam for 38 straight minutes, you have to put in severe tonal shifts. This album is just way too much of the same crap over and over and over again. By promenade pt3 I was vomiting into my lap and asking the ride operator if I could get off please?!? The only reason bands like Ween and KGLW get away with so much jamming is that have such a vast wheelhouse of sounds. They both have really heavy songs both emotionally and in the metal sense, but then they also have country songs and other wild genres so that they can mix it up. Honestly I didn’t go into this album with any kind of prejudice towards EL&P, honestly this is the first and only album that I have heard of theirs and I wouldn’t be opposed to hearing more, but I know I won’t be listing to this album anytime soon.
Look ma I discovered the synthesizer. Stand-out: Nutrocker
5/10 I guess I could recognize there being some sort of greatness to it that would’ve been impressive in the 70s, but it really just isn’t shit now lol get me away from British prog for now please
It’s an interesting idea, but I can’t say I really liked this. I like progressive rock. I’ve given 5’s to Yes, King Crimson, and Genesis, yet something about ELP just doesn’t really appeal to me in the same way. Favorite song was Blues Variation.
Después de Tarkus, que me gustó, intenté escuchar este y entre que era en directo y que era muy experimental no me gustó. Vamos por otro intento. Vuelto a oír y me ha parecido aún peor. No le voy a dar una estrella porque la reservo para los grandes bluff.
Ei tälle tosissaan voi kahta tähteä enempää antaa, vaikka huvittava olikin. 70-luvun kiipparit… tekee (varmaan tahattoman) koomiseksi, Nintendo-peliksi. Siitä vain plussaa.
I just do not have the space for this in my life
A bit to prog for me, some of the stuff if there’s that shuffled after this album were much more my taste.
I expected.... More,I guess.
First thing in the morning, pre-coffee, this was about the worst thing I'd ever heard. Listened to it again later in the day and it improved slightly.
Prog rock can be many, many things. One thing I never really considered it could be until now was being relatively straightforward and a bit boring?
2.5
2.5
Started off kind of slow but got pretty interesting. Still nothing I was very drawn towards except the nutcracker song. The applause at the end of Great Gates of Kiev was way too long and a little unrealistic. High 2.
4/10 - Prog rock and also just all over the place. A lot of the pieces sounded not the most musical, especially at the beginning. But Nutrocker kind of went hard
I liked the organ thats about it. Rating: 1.6
Not only is it English, live.... but it also sounds like the Main Street Electrical Parade
i'm normally all for just noodling around on a synthesizer but i found this to be a chore to get through. yet another live album that did not need including
I really did not get this one. It's peak prog rock, in that you get the sense that these guys think they're the greatest musicians to ever walk the face of the earth because they can jam away on their goddamn pipe organ and synthesizer for 38 minutes. Like I'm sure they're talented and all, but it feels like they're doing this to get some '70s art school student to write something nice about them in their school newspaper, not create something actually enjoyable to listen to. Just do classical music if that's what you want to do, it's really fine. One extra star because the singer's voice is decent and it shines on "The Sage" once the synth nonsense dies down. That and "The Great Gates" give you some sense of what they could be at their best, but the rest falls flat. It ends with a Nutcracker "cover" (?) called "Nutrocker". I have no clue whose idea that was. Totally unnecessary. Favorite song: The Sage Other: The Great Gates 2/24/25
Never cared for this band, and that impression hasn't improved with age. They're just plain boring.
Not sure what this was.
There were some good bits but they were heavily outweighed by the bad bits.
Nunca me han gustado ELP, virtuosismo instrumental, largos temas, largos desarrollos... no so para mí. Como anécdota siempre se ha dicho que se iba a incorporar Jimi hendrix a la guitarra (tocaron juntos en algún festival) pero su desgraciada y prematura muerte frustró la inclusión de la H en ELP. Este disco es especialmente difícil, reinterpretación de Modest Mussorgsky en clave de Rock Progresivo. Muy buen trabajo de los componentes pero prefiero otros como su debut, Tarkus o Trilogy. A mediados de los 70 se hicieron demasiado indigestos y sus últimos discos fueron detestados hasta por sus más fervientes seguidores. A destacar la cristalina The Sage.
I'll cop to the genius of ELP. However, not having listened to this back in the day I don't have a built-in love for this album like I do for say, Brain Salad Surgery. This did not stand up to the test of time, just sounds too dated to me to burrow into my "likes".
Particolare ma mi sto stordendo i timpani.
Look this kind of prog stuff is never going to satisfy me. It's just hard work and a bit nerdy, but not a way I like. Just tiresome! It sounded like the crowd were loving it though
The prog bois just fuckin around. Don't know how I feel about it being keyboard driven. Interesting concept but flawed, boring execution. Feel like it should be harder to make prog rock boring. 3.5/10 Favorite Song: Blues Variation
Great musicians... but ridiculously self indulgent and naff
What!? Another ELP album!?
Wibble. Simultaneously joyous and also the sound of a hippo sitting on the organ keys at the Royal Albert Hall
Someone had to do it
A little too heavy on the keys for me.
2
A lot of instrumental High fantasy rock. Could picture older animation happening during most of the album. Nutrocker was kind of cool, but I can't picture ever being in the mood to listen to the album again
This one might be a bit of acquired taste. I didn't love it, though it did have some parts I enjoyed some.
This kind of psychedelic noodling is not for me, but an extra point for the sheer weirdness of it all.
I get these guys might have been at the forefront of progressive something something, but this was painful to get through. And they didn't even sing welcome back my friends in the show that never ends step inside step inside. Some of it was just clumsy and shrieking noise. Giving this a 1.6 due to name recognition only and their contribution to something at some point.
Sounds like they hijacked a church organ and played a concert as fast as possible while the clergy worked to bust down the doors.
Holy Organ