WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS TO THE SHOW THAT NEVER ENDS

I debated in my mind for a little bit whether this was a 3- or 4-star album, taking into consideration what each one means. I was originally leaning towards a 3, but I realized that any real ELP fan must have this. It is essential for ELP fans. Bam, it becomes an excellent addition to any prog music collection.

Now, this is one of the great live albums of the era. For me, the greatest live album ever is probably Yessongs, but this stands up fairly well. The songs have an energy that isn't found on the studio tracks. That being said, I still prefer most of the studio cuts of these songs, but that's just my tastes. I believe that Jerusalem and Toccata are better live, but that's about it. I also find that it is almost pointless to review a live album song by song. All there is to say is that Hoedown is about 5000 times faster than the studio version, and while unnecessary, it's still pretty good. And, as I said, Jerusalem and Toccata are better here than on Brain Salad Surgery.

I've also seen reviews saying that the live version of Tarkus is better than the studio version. Hmmm, I don't think so. I don't think anything can beat the Tarkus studio version. The same goes for Karn Evil 9.

Basically, ELP fans must have this. If you are not an ELP fan, then, obviously don't buy it. But if you're looking to get into them, I don't think that this would be a bad place to start. It gives a good view of early ELP, and it gives you a taste of every album (excluding Pictures, of course).

And oh yeah, the ending to The Sheriff is amazing.

4/5 stars.