Reviews (page 6 of 8)
W sumie to nudy. Nie wiem czemu ten album trafił na tę listę.
I don't think this is *bad*, necessarily, it's just really not for me, and I struggle to think who it is for.
Other than it being massively presumptuous, pretentious and ponderous, it's just about as perfect as a complete and utter bludgeoning of several of the classical world's most memorable motifs can be.
I was quite excited to listen to this album because the premise seemed so novel. A prog rock adaptation of a Romantic piano suite? Count me in! Well, save that Nutcracker cover at the end, count me out. Alternatively boring and annoying. A mix of slow strumming, mid vocals and "hahaha synth go brrrrr" Self-indulgent in the worst way that prog rock can be. If you listen hard enough, you can hear the baby punks gestating. I can appreciate the concept in theory, but sorry, this ain't it. Fav track: Nut Rocker
this was completely average and I don't remember a damn thing
The 3 Promenade songs I didn’t care about but the rest is good. This live is tolerable because it’s only 38 minutes long.
Enjoyable 3.5
1 star
3 stars for being weirdos, how is this a big famous album what the fuck
I didn't hate it but came close. Some of the messing around stuff is too much for me
Chönt no nice sii, aber da hets mi glaubs uf em falsche experimentelle fuess verwütscht
Try to be experimental, which it is, but basically just bad. Bar 1er songs, sporadisch mal e 3er passage. Ha nööd würki plausch gha bim zuelose :)
tönt chli wiene looney tunes rock opera spooky witch hunt version hans nöd fertig gschafft doe chöntmer maybe lose zum fangis spile?
trotz langem sueche irgendwie nur en live version devo gfunde und die hed richtig trümmlig tönt… nach de erste 5 min hani's nümm usghalte und han mi rasant duregspuelt definitiv zu experimentell für en dunschtig nami, mi scusi
I have two opinions on this album depending on whether or not I’m listening to an instrumental or not. Instrumentals: I wonder if they practiced being this terrible before they got up on stage or did they just wing it? They’re somehow pretentious. I don’t enjoy these ones. I will say the production, although good on both types, was fucking impeccable on the instrumentals. Especially when you take into consideration that this is a live album. Non-Instrumentals: For the few of these that there were, they were fine. Good lyrics, singing, writing. Nothing too epic, though. Overall not at all thrilled by the whole thing. 2/5
emerson lake and palmer? more like asserson asse and asser
A few songs are really interesting, but even with my head down at work I found the rest of the album to be largely boring.
3.5/5
I enjoyed this a lot. Definitely the good side of prog. Totally pretentious, overblown and unnecessary, but still very enjoyable despite, or perhaps because of that. This album felt a bit like a rich dessert, too much would make you feel sick, but in smallish amounts (which is why I avoided the extended edition like the plague) it's very enjoyable. A high 4.
++: Promenade, The Gnome, Blues Variation, Promenade, The Hut of Baba Yaga, The Curse of Baba Yaga, The Hut of Baba Yaga, The Curse of Baba Yaga, The Great Gates of Kiev +: Promenade, The Sage, Nutrocker 9,4/10
Not for me…
Parece ser um clássico, mas para mim não funcionou. Não curti muito. 2/5
Love ELP. Hated this album.
Progressive and rock-ish to a masturbatory level. Cool to hear so much Moog and Hammond B3. Bold and pretentious, the perfect fodder for a rock opera parody like Spinal Tap. I enjoyed this, for what it is and I'll probs never listen to it again, thanks.
excellent zone out music
Well that was… dull. I know this style of rock has its fans, and I appreciate the musicians' skill, but I just can't find anything to enjoy in it.
Cool live performance. It was like medieval rock, jazz, and a little bit of electronic music mixed together. I can’t remember the lyrics, but the vibe was good. Standouts: The Gnome, The Sage, The Curse of Baba Yaga, and The Great Gates of Kiev.
This was uniquely stupid. But it was short. And half of it was wasted time. My dad has some Emerson, Lake & Palmer on vinyl. They have cool jackets. But the music is crap.
"I've got an idea. Let's cover some Russian classical music in our style! I think that could go over well" "Yea, I think that's good. No one's really done that before, and these classical songs can still sound really good." "But it's missing something..." *band members think for a minute...* (in unison): "MORE SYNTHS!!! ALL THE SYNTHS IN THE WORLD!!!!!" Ugh, this one was a chore to get through. It’s everything people hate about prog rock all in one package. Felt so much longer than its 38 minutes.
Not my bag.
"There are simply too many notes." It might be progressive but this isn't rock.
I played this a second time, so I have to rate it at least a 4/5. There's some cheesy "futuristic" keyboard sounds and a bit of cringey singing, but there's also a lot of really cool stuff and really impressive technical playing. Yeah, I like this pretty well. Best track: The Old Castle
I had 2 goes at this, one yesterday when I was half listening in the car and I found it agitating. Had another go this morning sitting at the airport. It's weird but funky and dramatic. Not sure how I feel about it
Indulgent rubbish.
Weird. But I appreciate the 38 min run time.
Random noises
1. I don´t like the synthe and doodle-doodle-sound. 2. I question live-albums on this list. positive: it has only 38 minutes running-time.
3.75
meh, I can' twith this .2 stars
ELP does their usual prog rock schtick, but occasionally intersperse Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" to show that they're cultured or something. I still hold that ELP is one of the weaker bands amongst the popular prog rock acts of the '70s, and while this certainly isn't bad by any stretch of music on this list, it's not all that good either. Often times during the runtime I found myself wanting to either listen to the actual Pictures at an Exhibition or some other prog rock band: Yes or Genisis or Camel would be better than this. Is Camel even on the list?
Pocos directos me agradan
An amazing piece done with an interesting interpretation. I prefer the modern studio version that came out in 1994, but it is ELP doing what they know best.
Over-long, overly dramatic, over-indulgent and over the top, are just some of the words with the word "over" in it to describe this epic live album from ELP. A rock adaptation of a piano suite by Modest Mussorgsky is anything, but modest in their progressive rock presentation . I really don't care about the subject or the lyrical content for that matter, but I'll admit the musicianship and performance is incredible. To perform this complete piece live in front of an audience is a feat in itself and if you're into this type of thing, it's near flawless and enormously overwhelming. There are some nice sequences and interesting musical choices, but overall it's too much to handle all at once (I listened twice to make sure) and you have to be a hardcore Prog fan to fully appreciate this journey.
Tiresome prog nonsense for people who wank to pictures of themselves
Boring. Why is a live album on here anyway?
some good songs in here but overall nothing super notable
I like the organ but the rest is a bit meh for me
Not usually a prog fan, but that was pretty rad
This sounds like what happens when my kids used to go into my brother's studio and mess around on the keyboards. Unlistenable.
Mussorgsky spinning is his grave can solve the energy crisis
Very good.
This is a wild thing to listen to but is so good to have on the list. You had three stellar musicians who decided they wanted to get really experimental on everything they did and one of their albums is just a classical work in a prog style. The encore is the nut cracker suite. This barely makes sense and it's great.
I have never listened to ELP, so this might be a kind of insane way to start. I can see why this would be polarizing in the mainstream. Cool concept. I do look forward to hearing more of them. I like what prog brings to the table, it activates my synapses. They play like they never stop playing. The recording is so good. The sound of the strings is perfect. I need more time with this in the future. Needs a trumpet or french horn.
Prog rock with organ sounds. My cup of tea: 2/5 Deserves to be on this list: 4/5
one or two were nice.
I liked nutcracker tbf
2 - Honestly don't get it. Kinda feels like really wanky music. The fact people started clapping when they were trying to make my ears bleed, really made me think I was missing something
This seemed like a nice idea in concept, but just another scruffy live recording. I don't get why these are on the list. Fave Tracks: Promenade (Pt 3), Nutrocker 2.4./5
I'm of a couple minds about this. First off I hate Pictures At An Exhibition from the time I played it in concert band. But I love classical music in general, and prog rock covers of classical music sounds like a great idea. But I don't like live albums. Haven't listened to ELP before. Overall ok. Curious to listen to a different ELP album though.
I guess it is september and that is why we are getting halloween music ok it is not so halloweeny as it goes on the blues variation is good
Got very repetitive very fast
Again, not something outstanding, but a nice sound! Some songs reminded me a bit of Deep Purple but more chill
Meh
Likes the occasional organ, interesting instrumental parts and solos. Not super memorable
Nowadays (maybe because of the last 900+ new albums in my life), I have mixed feelings about prog rock. This one was nice to listen to, but I still don't know if I can say that I LIKE it.
Recorded their cats walking on a synth
This was pretty boring but to their credit it still made me want to put on Karn Evil 9 afterwards. Nutrocker was cool too.
Meh
I enjoyed the start of this with a more traditional classic piece and then followed up with the more modern interpretations of the rest. I dug it
Thought it was church music at first. Later on felt like they were just button mashing the keyboard. Interesting collection of sounds that I can't say I'd seek out again. It is a good example, however, of my struggle to rate some of these albums. I am pretty tolerant of a "jammy" album even if I don't love the actual music because it provides good background music.
Haven't heard this in a long time. Bought the studio album when it released originally because I was really into this band at the time. For a live recording it wasn't bad. Some criticise it for being pretentious, to the modern ear maybe it is, but progressive rock was innovative and exploratory. ELP were very different, there was nothing around like them. Emerson's keyboards and moog synthesiser sounds were set apart. This is a band that you either got or didn't and I got them, or at least I had an appreciation for the music they produced.
Very cool
The first half sounded like a weird, but unique progrock album, but as soon as they started trying to add their twists to some known classics it started to sound incredibly cheesy.
Pretty standard prog rock, didn't really do anything to impress me but wasn't bad in the same sense
Live English rock…guess I get the day off.
ELP always a treat, I have this album and do enjoy it, but not sure I always knew it was a live album. That docks it a little bit for me, but I really enjoy the concept, and there's some great music on here as you'd expect. Fun to revisit this one. Favorite tracks: The Gnome, The Sage, The Old Castle. Album art: Well, it's certainly pictures at an exhibition. A few blank canvases hanging in ornate frames on a nice wooden wall. Continues onto the back of the album as well. I've always dug this one. 3.5/5
This is just weird… no thank you to most of it. - maybe it was very special back then, and that’s why it is historically important. The guitar playing om The Sage is nice though
I enjoyed this more than I would expect to enjoy this type of music. I also really don't enjoy live albums most of the time, but this one was different, you forget it's live until you hear the crowd again. Very fun!
I liked this more than I thought I would after reading the description. Though I'm a weirdo who likes video games soundtracks. This must have been very cool at the time.
Nah, I'm good.
I admit it. I like prog. But I don't like this and I've never been an ELP fan. The recording sounds like it was taped in a warehouse and I don't care for classical pieces done up rock style. The playing is good as these are talented musicians but this was a mess otherwise. Pass.
I didn't care for Tarkus but this was decent. I enjoyed the pipe organ and Moog synthesizer sounds, and the Nutcracker-inspired "Nutrocker" was fun, too. Maybe more of a 3.5.
Meh album. This is total prog excess in the form of a live recording of classical music. It's not that it's bad, but it's definitely not good and is completely unnecessary. **
Too weird for me, to be honest. Can’t say I enjoyed myself, but I didn’t get bored so there’s that.
Wasn’t what I was expecting, but I jammed. Simpsons: Yes
Bloody mad album.
I was trying to find something positive about this album, but it's just noise on top of noise, and a few of the tracks are unlistenable and all recordings of them should be destroyed. I would rather be taken and eaten by Baba Yaga than have to listen to this again.
The whole album sucked apart from the last song which was an absolute joy to listen to.
First listen Saved 1/12 Top track: The Sage
First listen it didn't click. Second listen I was blown away. 4/5 only because I can't see myself listening all the time, but a great prog rock/classical fusion live album!
I get that it's technically good, but I just don't like it.
Ratings: 5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background Brings me back to high school concert band. Pictures at an Exhibition was one of the more enjoyable pieces I remember playing. I knew the EL&P version existed but had never listened to it until now. Interesting, but I don't know that I'd ever come back to it.
A weak four because even though I usually dislike masturbatory rock music like this, I'm a slut for old synths.
I don't think I even know how high I'd need to be to enjoy this
What
This is a deeply silly album but I had fun listening to it on a Saturday afternoon.
ELP… clearly a bushel of talent. Yet there songs either sound spliced together, or written for some theatrical accompaniment. Big sounds, some great notes of jazz, mixed with some spaced out stoner vibes. Reminds me of my brother growing up, and not in a good way.
I was never a big fan of ELP. I tend to find them a bit too much showmanship and theatrics, and light on actual music. I did enjoy this album very much though. It is incredibly overblown and pretentious, but that's almost part of the charm.
6/10
This album had no chance for me, unfortunately. Cons: it's a live album, the song titles were hard to read, there was too much focus on kind of tacky-sounding keyboard for me, the songs were mostly just a bunch of noise jamming interspersed with low-volume vocals that were telling a story I couldn't quite hear and wasn't that interested in. Leave this one on the shelf for me. They seem like skilled musicians so +1 star for that.
Do one. Go away. Stop. I hated every second of this from the moment it started to the end of the world's stupidest encore (with the exception of about five seconds of The Sage, which I thought was OK). Imagine being this smug.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer is one of those groups I rarely see brought up nowadays. As much as this trio were pioneers of the early 70s progressive sound, they really aren’t all that popular. They have their die hard fans, but they aren’t held to the same acclaim as many of the other more famous bands. I’ve never heard a ELP song before. And I’ve never really had the desire to dive into their music. With this being a live album, I figured I would need to have some service level knowledge to enjoy this. But none of these songs are from an actual stupid recording of theirs. This is the trio’s symphonic prog rendition of a piano suite of the same name, created by Russian Romantic composer Модест Мусоргский [Modest Mussorgsky]. Now I want to preface this by saying that my intention for this review is not to break down the careers of these three men, and attempt to make the argument as to why they aren’t good. All three of them are undoubtedly masters in their respective fields, and deserve the fame they have received. Albums and ideas like this are what progressive rock is all about. But I’m not a huge fan. What this ends up devolving into most of the time just sounds like the musicians noodling about to me. There is very little direction and actual purpose to the sections. It comes off as if they were frantically trying to cram as many unique ideas as they could into a performance that doesn’t even last 40 minutes. But those unique ideas really do nothing for me. At least in the first half. Blues Variation is decent, and is the first notable song. And I enjoy The Curse of Baba Yaga, and the two parts of The Hut of Baba Yaga that come before and after it. But the rest falls totally flat. It’s a great example of how overly excessive the genre can be. Keith Emerson might be a fantastic keyboardist, but I’m not interested in hearing him fly across four keyboards at the same time. Just because you have a group of people who are talented enough to execute an idea, doesn’t necessarily mean they should execute that idea. It’s a lesson many progressive rock bands did not learn. Rating: 5/10
I get the concept. Same song, different flavors and venues…but…Nope.
This is apparently a seminal “classical rock” piece that was huge in developing the prog rock movement in the early 70s. OK, I just didn’t get it despite liking a lot of prog… 🤷🏽
2/5
they really made a symphonic prog rock cover of a Russian suite from 1874, and all the music on it sounds like SNES music (it came out in 1971 pre-dating the SNES by like almost two decades). Truly a one of a kind of a kind experience that I'll probably not want to experience if I'm being entirely honest. Cool album though. The synths sound really dated and silly, but in my opinion it makes this record more charming. I'm not going to get much replay value out of this for me unfortunately.
It's not mine style of music
Groupe connu, par contre album inconnu. J'adore les longues plages instrumentales, les impros, comme dans les autres albums, en particulier Trilogy qui m'a fait découvrir le groupe, et ... qui reste mon préféré. Dons pas la note max mais pas loin ! =>4.5/5
It’s commonly accepted that 1986’s Dragon Quest was the first role playing game to feature distinct boss music when fighting The Dragonlord, but most people don’t know the genre was accidentally invented 15 years earlier when ELP performed a prog interpretation of Mussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition
I bet Dennis Nilsen murdered people to this record. 1/5
Nope
Not my kinda vibe.
Het is maandagochtend, mijn eerste werkdag als ik dit album beluister. Bad timing zou ik zeggen. Iets te experimenteel naar mijn goesting. Klinkt als een soundtrack van een retro videogame ofzo. 1.7*
Experimental classical is probably the best way to describe this? It was fun, but ultimately not something I would actively come back to.
I love ELP… except for the synth noodling. Everything else is fantastic but once those high pitched bleeps and squeals start the dog in my brain starts to freak. Unfortunately, synth is 1/3 of their makeup, and this was no exception.
A cool concept but pretty unlistenable, like their other album.
A virtuosic prog reimagining of an iconic orchestral piece. It’s incredibly impressive and I’m sure it would have been astounding to see live but it just doesn’t carry over too well to the recording and I’d honestly rather just hear an orchestral version of it
Ok
Not as good as I expected it to be
Never heard this before. Wow. I guess this is fine for those who enjoy it? I guess it's interesting because they rip off, I mean, are inpired by, classical music? Maybe because they paved the way for Trans-Siberian Orchestra?
Hmm, interesting, but I didn't need to hear that before I die, and won't need to hear it again. Nutrocker was interesting.
What the heck. I'm going to go with if you don't have anything good to say....
Yes, I'm probably a weirdo, but I'm a big ELP fan. Not necessarily of Emerson's treatment of his instruments, and I laughed at the conditions placed on him for using the pipe organ at Newcastle, but I actually had this album (CD) in college.
Guessing only hardcore EL&P fans would find this one stimulating.
Certainly a high energy, large enterprise recording. The crowd sounds huge and enthusiastic. Many of the sounds are unpleasant and experimental for their time.
This was a different kind of bad. I really thought this was like country jam band music from the south, but surprisigly it's not! Instead, it's whisper quiet prog rock stuff from England. Which it's now apparent that I enjoy even less than country jam band music from the south.
“Tarkus” was my least favorite progressive rock I’ve ever heard, and “Pictures at an Exhibition” doesn’t do anything to change my view of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. I’ll give them credit for going for the concept - a rock adaptation of an 1870s piano suite? Not something you hear everyday. I wanted to be mad because I don’t think live albums belong on the list (granting exceptions for the way they allow for meaningful compilations of work by the early rock n’ rollers, or for Johnny Cash’s seminal prison performances), but “Pictures” is a unique one-time-only performance of unique material, so I let it slide. Instead, I’m mad at every single thing Keith Emerson does with a Hammond organ, a pipe organ, and a Moog synthesizer. These instruments don’t have to make awful music, but in Emerson hands, in these arrangements, they torture poor Modest Mussorgsky’s composition. That’s a great name, though, and now I want to hear Modest Mouse’s version of Modest Mussorgsky.
Mostly boring frankly. The prog organ/synth/clavinet sound kind of cool at first but ultimately feel like a gimmicky crutch.
Halfway through the first song and I'm already exhausted by the pretentiousness of this album. The organ is grating on the ear. This is like a novelty album. And to finish off, the ELP version of the Nutcracker Suite.
'this is the kind of shit we should be doing, complicated shit' - Superhans But really a touch too much what an old band mate of mine would call 'wanking off' 2.5
I like prog but this is pretentious rubbish. Brain Salad Surgery would have been a better submission.
Pass
I was prepared to like it from the first few tracks but it didnt fully deliver
Not for me.
I was ready to dislike this. Pictures At An Exhibition is one of my favorite classical suites and it’s a live album, so I figured it would just be odd and sound like shit. I was right about it sounding a bit like shit (though not anywhere near as bad as it could have) but the interpretation of the work is really quite good. Adding lyrics and singing is always a risk when you’re using someone else’s music but it’s kept to a minimum and the singing is good, which I should’ve expected. There is a bit of what I would consider an overuse of the piano/synth/organ but you can’t just do everything on a guitar as much as I would like that to be the case. That said, the organ in the various calls to the promenade theme get more powerful as the album goes on (as it does in the original piano composition) as they go on and by the last one in the beginning of “The Great Gate of Kiev” brings it all home beautifully. The three part interpretation of “The Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga” is a highlight of this for me. All three of them shine technically throughout it and the timing of such a technical piece is constructed incredibly well without sounding robotic. The dissonance at the end of the middle section matches the original which is cool. I never knew this existed before today and I’m glad I got to hear it. What a turnaround from expectation to reality. Bit of a laugh at the last track which is not part of the suite but is another (goofier) interpretation of Russian classical music. I wouldn’t have put this on the album but otherwise it would’ve been really short so I get it.
Boy howdy, I did not care for this. It felt noisy and unstructured to me. Could not get into it, did not finish the album.
Pretty unique piece of art, it does have a young adult white girl vibe, but I'd recommend everyone to give it a try. Favorite track: The Hut of Baba Yaga
Bit too much at times
No
man, prog rock rules so hard
Cool proto prog sound. Odd to think it’s live cause there’s hardly any crowd noise
I like the idea of making an adaptation (of Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky), but in the end it does not show any emotion or urgence. It is just a very clever prove of concept.
a live album of a classical piece - two reasons not to be on the list in my view. for classical, performed by rock musicians, it's pretty accomplished - but messier than if they had taken the time to record it properly, and the crowd noise tramples the start and end of a few tracks. three geniuses combining to be far less than the sum of their parts.
Day188 - obviously very musically talented and mozart probably would love them but does ever song have to have a synthesizer solo? extra star for the album concept
Oh no. No no no. I don't like it. It seems pretentious, and it is.
A musical wank
It’s like if you gave a classroom full of boys a bunch of fisher price instruments and a load of sugar and told them to make some noise. Total chaos to my ears
Rock adaption of some parts with additional parts.
Well that was interesting! I can see why it’s controversial because at times it does seem like they are just screwing around with the synthesizer, but when they really get going and jamming it’s not bad
pretty good but not something i’d listen to again
Sounds like it would’ve been fun to be there
Live album
Felt like just noise
Just not my jam.
It’s all about the synthesizer. This is a good live album if you like synth, don’t listen if ya don’t like synth. Best number is the final song on the album; Nutrocker (which was used as the Boston Bruin’s theme song for couple of decades.) Pictures At an Exhibition had a strong finish which brought it up to a (2.6*s)
This album was oddly intriguing and I can't say I'd ever hear it if not for the list so there's that, it could be the soundtrack on a video game for all I know. It contains moments of decent artistry before it goes back to sounding like they're just making it up as they go along. It's a lot of guys on synths doing interpretations of what a UFO sounds like. It was a fun listen and no doubt even better live but it's a bit too much "noodling" and not really my style to ever revisit.
Listened to the original score by Mussorgsky and I will say that ELP did make a more fun version; however, I'm not overly impressed by the band. Old Castle had the most groove and uniquness. Some early prog rock that prob got some music nerds going at the time. Wouldn't be terrible at an art show opening...2.45.
I can imagine seeing this live at the time would have been a hell of a ride. Pretty cool progressive rock project that I'm sure made a splash. There's some great organ and synch work all throughout the album that definitely scratches an itch. I don't know anything about the original piano suite but the ELP adaptation seems like a pretty cool project. I have to agree that this is one of 1001 albums I had to listen to before I die. Another good selection even if its something I never go out of my way for again. 2.82 stars
Old-school progressive rock. Lots of synthesizers. Gets annoying quickly
Very of its time 1970s and at its worst a bit silly but at its best reminiscent of Wendy Carlos clockwork orange soundtrack. Some very daft and uncool space sound effects but an interesting idea
How are live albums on this list? Why would I want to listen to this version rather than the original Mussorgsky? Who did this influence or inspire? This really should be a 1, but the guys can play…
The kind of person who likes this is the kind of person I would not want to be stuck with at a party.
OK, wasn't expecting classic but pleasant enough
Cannot handle the organ on this wanking album
Jazzy Jammy
Very cool live album. It is mostly instrumental, but the synth on it is super cool.
Spennende
You know, I hated this at first but then I started pretending I was listening to video game boss music and it got a lot better.
I like it It's not like songs It's very "look at us doing weird shit with instruments". But they're having fun. You can feel it. I disagree with the notion of it being pretentious. I don't think they're showing off for showing offs sake. It was the early 70s. There was a lot of drugs around man. Several tracks on this I could listen to over and over. It brings me joy in dark places. I'm glad I found this.
Is there anything that screams 70’s prog excess more than a prog rock adaptation of a classical piece inspired by an exhibition of a dead painters art. This may well be the absolute embodiment of why the genre became hugely uncool and died. It’s not that it’s bad it’s just getting so high on the smell of its own farts that you can almost taste it now. I bet the audience in Newcastle still have folk asking “who dropped one” when they walk into a room the stench is so great.
perfect huwelijk tussen klassiek en rock...
Enjoyed this. Wonderful concept executed flawlessly
Not the best example of ELP’s work, but still much better than many of the 1001
I enjoy classical music interspersed with modern music as much as the next person but this was a little too surreal for me.
Terrible.
Mussorgsky was better
As a child, I thought ELP was the be all and end all of popular music. It was for me a way to separate myself from the Osmonds, Tom Jones, Lobo, and Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep. The brilliant songs out there suffered from guilt by association (hey I was barely 12). Prog excess wasn't a term anyone knew (let alone experienced). Our parents listened to the same radio station we and everyone else did. Promenade, on the other hand, was a road away from such--normalcy. And no one I knew wanted to be "normal," or "uncool," or what the older kids would have called square. These were the days "Go Away Little Girl" was a top ten hit of the year. If I'm sounding a little defensive, well, I'm just trying to argue for a little leeway for folks who were out there on their own and for those who, like me, tried to support them.
Too cerebral.
Why??? Give me the original Mussorgsky, thanks. Not horrendous but pointless.
This is badass. Carl Palmer is among the great drummers in rock, he's got chops for days but doesn't overdo it — he always plays in service of the music. And while the music here is ambitious, he's just so tasty. Greg Lake was also a force, and it was nice to hear some of the various timbres of his vocals in this live performance — not to mention his mean bass tone. And Keith Emerson ... one of a kind. Clearly, this material speaks to his classical inclinations, and he handles it all with mastery.
I don't know what's worse: the concept or the execution. Scratch that. It's definitely the execution. This album makes me feel like a music store employee driven to murder from having listened to twenty years of wankers noodling away on shitty Casiotones.
fucking prog rock
I've put off listening to this LP long enough. Never been an ELP fan. Let's see how it goes. Very dramatic (of course). Excellent musicians. Nice vocals. But I just wasn't into them at the time and am not into them now. Q: Was this the first R&R / Pop record to employ the MOOG synthesizer? NO! Looked it up and, very weirdly, it was the Monkees! I'm giving this ⭐⭐⭐ because, while I don't hate it and will never listen to it again, it served as a solid base for future prog albums. ________________________________ 🎧 LPs reviewed: 55 🎧 LPs left to review: 946 🎧 LPs I found great/relevant enough to be mandatory listens (5): 12 🎧 LPs I *might* include in my own list (4): 17 🎧 LPs I will certainly *not* include in mine (1-2): 15
Complete and utter wizardry, I cannot even begin to imagine what it would have been like in that crowd experiencing this live!
I’m developing a worrying interest in prog rock. This is quite something, and you probably had to be there, but I actually kinda liked it.
Very rock opera
"Pictures at an Exhibition" is a live album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer. The album is an adaptation of the classical piano suite "Pictures of an Exhibition" by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky performed at the Newcastle City Hall. The band is composed of Keith Emerson (organs and synths), Greg Lake (guitar, bass, vocals) and Carl Palmer (drums, percussion). Commercially, it hit #3 in the UK and #10 in the US. The album was reviewed favorably in the UK while the US critics were harsh citing prog overload. The album opens with "Promenade" and Emerson on the pipe organ. Jeez, I feel like I'm at church. Drums rolls end the song which then goes into "The Gnome." A start/stop pace with a deep bass. Very dramatic and very prog. The band creates a blues, prog fusion in "The Old Castle and "Blues Variation." These songs woke me up. Definitely prog overload here but I didn't mind it too much. The second side features three songs with Baba Yaga in the title and they are all pretty much prog jams with the drums, bass, organs and synths all flying at a pretty fast pace. No doubt, impressive musicianship here. The album ends with "Nut Rocker." I'm assuming this is based on Tchaikovsky's "Nut Cracker." Hey, the band is playful and seems like they're having fun. A Christmas-esque song on speed and one of the better songs on the album. I didn't know what to expect when this album popped up as next. I'm still not not sure what I heard. The only classical areas I heard were when Emerson was solo on the organ. Otherwise, this was a prog music exercise class. Some parts reminded my of Rush's "2112." Overall, I'm kind of neutral on this album since I'm pretty neutral on prog rock itself. But, if you're a prog rock fan, this is for you.
Ughh yeah... this absolutely did not need to be here. I don't even think it's that impressive listening to it. Just live prog-rock wankery.
Just not it at all. Cute idea but terrible execution
Emerson, Lake and Palmer are a Prog rock band that sometimes sound like they are from 2003, sometimes 1984 and sometimes 1678. If I was on enough drugs to leave the solar system, I might enjoy this 3.7/10
Very strange, but not horrible.
I’m sure at another time I would have enjoyed this a lot more but tonight was not it so I’ll give it 2* although I’m sure it would have usually scored higher with me. 2*
A curious album, at times engaging and at times tedious. Thumbs up to The Sage, Blues Variation, and The Hut of Baba Yaga.
What is this a participation trophy? That sucked.
This is one of those albums I had already heard before it came up through this generator. I already had a lot of respect for this album, mainly from the perspective of it being an early innovative progressive rock piece with heavy use of early synthesizers. Now that I’m looking deeper into it and learning that it’s really a progressive rock adaptation of a well-known classical suite, I have even more respect for their attempt to bridge classical music and early experimental progressive rock. It was a highly innovative endeavor for its time.
I liked this album, but there's prog out there I'd rather listen to. Possibly my favorite thing about prog is how much it makes people mad. My favorite review someone wrote of this album was just: "Not fun at all. Weird and boring." God, I love the simplicity of that. "This music is yucky to my ears, it made me feel bad :("
Classical
Soooo pretentious.
fine ig
I wasn't a fan of this album. It was hard to get through.
Just didn’t get it. Saved a 1 star by the last song and how hilariously mental some of it was.
As prog rock as it gets. Thanks for pushing the envelope.
something something British experimental pretentious music. Wah wah wah i'm too uncultured to get it... no just because it is experimental does not make it good.
I love ELP. I hate this album. I’m a huge fan. They were always one of my favorite bands growing up. I saw them live in thx 70’s. But this album is horrible.
I’m sure prog rock versions of classical compositions are for someone…but not me. To their credit, it’s unique and the audience seems to be having a good time.
Very cool sounds. I like the amount of instrumentals and the tone. Interested in more.
I didn’t get it, just not my cup of tea
I enjoy a bit of ELP from time to time.
Not a whole lot of percussion, but this one undoubtedly goes to the beat of its own drum. A compelling combo of orchestral arrangements and acoustic ballads. There are some very pretty guitar passages infused with a Basque flair. Wild instrumentation to the point where it gets difficult to venture a guess at what’s making a certain sound. Great quality for a live recording from the 70s. Listened to: walking around holy cross cemetery. Favorite tracks: The Gnome, The Hut of Baba Yaga, The Curse of Baba Yaga
C'est weird comme album. On se croirait dans un jeu vidéo. Belle symphonie éclatée, mais peu mon style.
This made me wonder how tastes change, and whether such a super nerdy call to play air organ could ever be hip again. I had fun with this, though it felt like the volume knob had been possessed by malign spirits at times. Fried keyboard blasts particularly pleased me.
Now this is more like it! I will always have a soft spot for the "Promenade" theme thanks to The New Statesman (hilarious, if you don't know it), the Madeleine of my staying up late on a Sunday school-night. Shameless overblown and pretentious prog indulgence gets the approval of this old B'Stard. And "Nutrocker", perfect from conception to execution; as someone observes in the reviews, how did they make it out of Newcastle alive?!
Not in the mood for this today
I'd give it a 2.5 but I can't. I'm in a bad mood today so I'm going to round down.
Prog rock on a good day is still an affront to my ears. And today is not a good day.
The soundtrack of the “jerk-off” hand motion
One of my favorite live albums
That was a waste of time.
Hardly music
Interesting
Interesting enough from a cultural edification perspective. It has some exciting moments, but my first listen it didn't really pull me in fully.
Such a prog-rock album; songs are long, musicianship quality is high and some patience is needed. If you're in the mood it's great but some people are never in this mood. I mean, I like it occasionally but I know many that do not.
Ah yes, live prog rock. What could be better? I will admit, Nutrocker was pretty sick.
Some cool futuristic sounds, mixed with a bit of dad rock. I don’t hate it.
This is easily forgetable and won’t be listened to again
I like a live prog album as much as the next ex-punk rocker who shifted metal, but I have never liked the keyboard driven noodling. Give me the heavy prog of 21st Century Schizoid Man and the driving intention of something like Roundabout (shout out to Chris Squire's bass tone) over the best ELP track any time. Sorry if this feels like a diss on Keith Emerson, I recognize this is just a difference in taste. They can play. But it's not to my liking.
I never want to hear this again
This is a level of "commit to the bit" that I had previously thought unattainable by mere mortals. Did I enjoy it? No. Was it an unforgettable experience? My brain is still in knots. 3 stars.
Prog rock is a funny game. At the time, it was sincerely meant to be forward thinking and futuristic, challenging the conventions of the day etc blah blah. But 50 years on, it sounds more dated than a lot of the music that came before it. Here of course, much of the material is covers, and the band has reamaginged it into something arry. It's tempting to rate it higher because it's trying to be different but the brutal truth is it's just a load of rubbish. Just think of all the enjoyable music that you could be listening to instead?!
Hmmm… that was… interesting?
Weird, kept doing some little skit thing. Didnt interest me that much, sounded waxy and obtuse.
Crikey. This is truly horrendous.
Walk the line precariously between novelty album and serious prog rock statement and then nosedives into the novelty camp. A pointless album.
Pretentious wank!
Ik durf te wedden dat deze zaal harder naar wiet rook dan de woning boven mijn eerste huurwoning ooit. En daar woonden liefhebbers kan ik je vertellen. Hier zijn een stel stoners enorm aan het experimenteren en het stoner publiek stond waarschijnlijk met open mond en half dichte, rode ogen te kijken. Dit klinkt als het vleesgeworden fenomeen waarbij je stoned danwel dronken denkt dat je de meest geniale ingeving ooit hebt en dat je deze dan opschrijft omdat je dit vaker hebt meegemaakt en je vergeet altijd wat de ingeving precies is. Een dag later lees je nuchter wat je hebt opgeschreven en het blijkt totaal kansloos te zijn. In the heat of the moment klonk dit waarschijnlijk virtuoos, maar als je er nuchter naar luistert heb je af en toe toch ook wel het gevoel dat ze maar wat liepen te pielen eigenlijk. Tussen de 2 en 3. Ik ga omhoog afronden omdat ik het wel grappig vind. Het is een beetje debiel en dat maakt het wel een leuke ervaring. Voor een keer.
3.5/5
That is a lot of synthesizers. And silence
Not a bad a album but overall a failure to really do something new.
Just not really my thing.
I played several songs from the orchestral version of Pictures At An Exhibition with my high school band, so this album was nostalgic for me. It was interesting how the album started fairly close to the original source material and then seemed to deviate farther and farther into "rock" as it progressed. Also "Nutrocker" is an absolute Christmas bop and I think it should be on way more Christmas playlists.
Excellent musicianship, but not for me 1/5
Where are the song? This was just awful noodling, couldn't get through it. Yuk.
Levyn ensimmäinen puolisko oli hidasta ja tuskallista kännistymistä, mutta toinen puolikas olikin hauskaa tykitystä. Toinen puolisko vaatinee ensimmäisen hillityn osuuden noustakseen näihin korkeuksiin, joten siinä mielessä kokonaisuus on toimiva, mutta ei hyvä.
Paikoin melkosta sekoilua, mut sai siitä just ja just kii
Riesco a capire dalle canzoni che sono di qualità per il loro genere folk, ma a me questo tipo di musica proprio non dà niente purtroppo, non mi piace. Alla fine riconosco che è un album fatto bene. Secondo ascolto: musicalmente mi piace di più, la canzone "the sage" mi piace e sono rimasta sorpresa dai pezzi dopo, che non sono folk come dicevo prima, ma sono interessanti. Anche "the great gates of Kiev" mi piace. Mi piace la sua/loro voce.
This was a fun live performance, just like I'd suspect most prog rock performances to be. Really impressive instrument playing all around.
A prog version of The Nutcracker? Give me a a break.
I love ELP, but to add this album on this list is just dumb. It's far behind on the list of their best works imo.
Of all the ELP available, Pictures At An Exhibition was chosen for a reason I don't understand. It's kind of a "proghead only" door to open. I enjoyed it as a fan, but can't see why it's here.
Come back to this
Ew no.
Incredible album! I really need to listen to more of their music!
Loved this album when it came out but now, not so much. It's gotten a bit tired
- emerson, lake & palmer sounds like a law firm
Bit weird. Bit intriguing. Bit boring. Bit good. 2 stars would be too harsh. 53/100
Too experimental. 1/5
I can certainly see this not being to everyone’s taste but it’s still a pretty impressive piece of work
Pretty cool if you're a fuckin' nerd or on drugs
Just want my kinda music honestly
1/5
Too far out for me, man
I did not enjoy this. Way too proggy and then they finish with a weird Nutcracker cover? I don't know...
prog with no heart
Если бы Мусоргский был пришельцем - то его "Картинки с выставки" звучали бы так...
Not my thing
Basically fine, I guess, not my jam
I went in with such dreams of enjoying this and I swear this is Ross Gellar's "sound." This was so unpleasant. Then there would be a really brief moment of great vocals and bam! back to community center laser show music for 19 mimutes.
It’s always pleasant to be generated an Emerson, Lake & Palmer album. I’ve listened to a few already and they always tend to make me feel warm and cosy inside. I think we’re in for a good one today! Let’s listen. Songs I already knew: Nut Rocker Favourites: Nut Rocker, Promenade Pt 3 I did it again. I got Emerson, Lake & Palmer mixed up with Crosby, Stills & Nash. I was quite surprised when all the synths kicked in and thought, “Well this is certainly not what I expected!” Well yeah, there is a good reason why. Anyway, this album was a trippy experience. It kind of made me crave sitting in a planetarium and watching a movie about the universe being created. I’m not sure what that says about the album itself, but there we go.
A lot of music nerds shit on this band because they think ELP is pretentious, just showing off for hours and boring their listeners to tears. But that's just showing off. That's not pretension. They're all about setting a mood; it's about building a sonic environment in which one can play and explore. The people at the concert seem to dig what ELP is doing.
A different kind of album, and I must say I really enjoyed it. From what I have read this is an adaptation of a classical music piece but I did not know this piece and I felt it still sounded like it's own thing. I can see people feel a bit iffy some really like it some don't like that it isn't their piece but I don't mind that. I can especially imagine the people who knew what they were in for seeing this in concert really enjoying it. I listened to it on my walk to and back from Tesco's and it ended right as I walked back up to the front door. Coincidence or did I just become one with the music? Just kidding I don't believe in that but it did make me extremely happy waltzing up to the door to the end of Nut Rocker, which I did know but I don't know why or if it is even their song I am assuming not but it was a great encore and ending. I am a bit stuck on what rating to give it, I was not keeping up with which songs were where as it was obviously one big experience but I can't tell if I am just not seeing the faults. I do wish he had sung more he had quite a fitting voice and it really made for some good moments. I am going to give it a 3, I think the fact it is live but recorded and put out as if it was it's own album is just a thing I haven't seen much of and was a great find. I can't tell if I would be wanting to listen again which is why I can't give it a 4 but maybe I will listen to some more of their work and see if it compares. All being said it was a pretty perfect listen for my walk. I would say there are no stand out songs but actually I noticed some points I was actually checking what was on because I was really enjoying it so I will list those songs even if it was a snippet. Blues Variation The Curse of Baba Yaga (Maybe if I remember right) The Great Gates of Kiev
Wow, nostalgic. This was in my dad's vinyl collection that I explored after wearing out his Beatles records. Found it odd - found it fun, listening again was quite odd. Blues Variation definitely very fun, but the rest is peak wankerdom by prog monsters
Well played, though I’m honestly still trying to wrap my head around why we need a great classical piece played by these guys. The “Pictures” tunes are at least not bad. The Tchaikovsky abomination “Nutrocker” at the end is a joke, however, bordering on unintentional parody. Almost docked a full star for that one.
This album was weird and bad
It’s fun, but I wouldn’t need to come back to it. I enjoyed the encore “Nutrocker” more than the main performance.
Hold up, this is a thing? I freaking love Mussorgsky's piece + the Ravel orchestral adaptation, so this will be incredibly biased if they do it justice. Honestly super refreshing. Adding lyrics is kind of interesting, but also kind of works. Sucks that the oxen, my fave movement, did not make it. Highlights: blues variation, curse of baba yaga 3* because of a fresh take on a classical fave of mine, but not all great. Lyrics were not necessary.
I was really excited about the concept of this album and appreciated the idea. At first I found I struggled because I had in my mind what I thought the pictures should look like so I went back and tried to visualize them in my mind. It was better, but still some just didn't make sense in my mind. Overall I appreciated the idea behind the album (and would love to see the pictures they created in their minds) but overall not a winner for me.
Prog rock can be a bit of an acquired taste. I have to put my jazz ears on when I listen to it. The album definitely has it's moments. Greg Lake has some phenomenal bass playing. I did not to expect to be listening to a boogie woogie version of Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker was a little out of season but... okay. They kind of rocked it. It's going on the Xmas playlist.
Interesting. I guess I thought I would be semi-familiar with Emerson, Lake & Palmer but apparently not. Maybe you had to be there. The Great Gates of Kiev wasn’t too bad, but overall this was sort of a yikes for me.
Just crazy. They really get into it with these renditions, especially Emerson on the keyboard. Not my favorite prog ever but you can't deny the energy and passion they put into this performance!
Música clásica tocada como rock progresivo con teclados. Curioso. Un 4.
Órgano de feria.
Just sounds like 3 talented people who are just complete tossers. Trying to show off to each other about how great they are. It just leaves you with a pile of steaming self indulgent shit that reeks of arrogance 0.4
Not Chicago. Not really digging the frenetic upper range electric keyboard.
Un bon album live de ELP, très progressif, mais rien qui m'a tant surpris ou que j'ai trouvé mémorable. 6/10
I like EML, but not this album.
NO ONE beats the skins like Carl Palmer ....
What the hell
Got bored, turned it off
This album seems to be a quirky take on established classical music, which in ways make the classical movements more interesting.
more Yes vibes than the last ELP album on here but still super good. definitely an album where you listen to the whole thing rather than single songs though
cool
wouw.. what a trip. Getting too weird for my taste
I like the original a lot, so it was a surprise to see there was a prog rock version. And it was actually good, it was a nice cover with the same feeling as the original while giving its own spin. Point docked for the singing, though. Did not add anything.
Mix of classical and rock! Pretty cool!
A non-trivial look at Mussorgsky. Great ideas and unprecedented quality of execution.
Sometimes this album reminds of what it sounds like inside a music store. Sometimes relatively quiet, sometimes a lot of sounds, in your face drums next to what sometimes sounds like someone testing each of the many settings on the synthesizer. Occasional strains of familiar melodies. When the musicians are playing together, abrupt stops and starts and stylistic changes on a dime. The only throughline here is that the every musician uses every moment to beseech you to appreciate their chops. In fairness to them, I can hear the desperate psychology behind this music because I have been more generous than most in dedicating my youth to a similar cause. Another take: the difference between ELP and the Allman Brothers explains the difference between UK and USA. Thirdly: Where is the ELO-ELP supergroup? Finally: I'm razzing them, but any band that has an album titled Brain Salad Surgery deserves some respect.
Well, this was *not* what I was expecting when I saw that the selection was ELP (which I confusedly thought was yet another Yes album, since Bruford/Wakeman/Howe is more less the same words as Emerson/Lake/Palmer in my mind). I'm guessing there will be more ELP in our future, as this sort of gimmicky album can't possibly be their only album to make the list, right? I'm sure this is a very creative take on Modest Mussorgsky's composition, but it's fallen on deaf ears, sadly. Kudos to them, though, for adding a few new "pictures" all of their own to the exhibition ("The Sage," "Blues Variation" and "The Curse of Baba Yaga," I think, plus of course the excruciating "Nutrocker" encore), and for Emerson dragging a Hammond organ across the stage to get feedback. The whole thing reminded me a bit of the more noodly aspects of Jethro Tull's music, plus (oddly) some sort of bastardized prog-rock version of Sting's truly impossible-to-enjoy "Songs of the Labyrinth" (which came out much much later, I know). I wish I could say I enjoyed this, or even appreciated it beyond a very abstract respect for a full album-length adaptation of a classical suite, but this didn't really resonate with me (beyond the Promenade theme becoming an annoying ear-worm). A rare 2-ranking for me. :(
I'm giving this a 4 because I appreciate the attempt, and it made me laugh, and it didn't last all that long. Also because I suspect if I were on acid it might have blown my mind.
the gnome, nutcracker
appreciate that they were pushing boundaries. But didn't sound great to me.