WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS TO THE SHOW THAT NEVER ENDS

The 70´s were the time of the great live albums.Almost all major band of the decade released at least one classic live album during the period. think of bands as diverse as Deep Purple, Yes, Genesis, Thin Lizzy, Almman Brothers, UFO, Wishbone Ash, Rainbow, Scorpions, the list goes on forever. They all released a brilliant live recording that showed them at their height. With prog power trio Emerson, Lake And Palmer it was the same situation. But their Welcome Back My Friends... triple vinyl output not only displayed the group at their very best, but also indicated the style´s (symphonic rock) peak. All could only go down afterwards, and it did. It is quite unbelievable today to thin that that kind of complex music was so popular. Some sources say this record was certified platinium status in less than ten days!

I bought this album onle recently. At the time I had not enough money to buy such expensive LP. I heard it at a friend´s house and I remember two things: they plyed great and the overall production was not good. My double CD copy however, has a great remastering and you can hear everything quite clear (and they still ask me why I rather have CDs than vinyls...). Although the band at the time was quite a good example of rock´s excesses of that era, they had the chops to do so. Overblown, egoccentric, self indulgent and all, ok. But they were able to to handle it and still deliver fine music. I heard the whole 105 minutes of music and didn´t get bored once. Even the piano impovisations were good to my ears. Unfortunatly, these kind of noodling and explicit display of technique became a fashion or a rule at the time, and very few artist had the skills and/or the talent to do such thing without sounding tedious or simply awful. ELP was a rare breed indeed.

Recorded during the tour to promote their Brain Salad Surgery LP, the track selection is great and the band was in its prime, as several parts prove themselves better than their studio counterparts. Even Carl Palmer drum solos are an exemple that should be followed by others: interesting and short. lake´s voice was also very warm and powerful live. Emerson manages to show off as usual, but always with elegance, style and good taste. I´m really glad I bought this CD after all these years. It still sounds fresh and exciting as when it came out, pehaps even more so today.

One of the classic live albums of all time. If you like keyboard driven rock music this is an essential buy.

Five stars.