WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS TO THE SHOW THAT NEVER ENDS

As soon as you put this 109 prog feast on, you are instantly transported in to the bombastic, virtuoso world of ELP. Hoedown rips through the speakers with a frenetic pace and time signatures are off the scale throughout.

Jerusalem slows things down a bit to prepare for an absolutely wonderful version of Toccata, with Hammond stabs and screeching sounds that strike at the heart of mainstream pop. It is alienating but so captivating.

There is nothing mainstream here and the average pop fan would have been frightened off by now. Then a blistering version of bonafide classic Tarkus clocking in at just under 17 minutes cruises along effortlessly. This is so huge it requires a second CD to finish it.

Also on CD2 we have one of the greatest ELP tracks. Take A Pebble is superb as usual and I love Lake's vocals here, the instrumental is decidedly different and blends in to Still... You Turn Me On and Lucky Man effectively. I could listen to this all day. Emerson has a chance to shine and show his virtuoso musicianship in Piano Improvisations, all 11 minutes of it feature incredible piano playing and includes Friedrich Gulda's Fugue and Joe Sullivan's Little Rock Getaway. Awesome is the word that comes to mind. Jeremy Bender / The Sheriff (Medley) is next and though I have never taken to these its a nice interlude in between 2 masterfully executed classics.

One CD left and it is full with a 35 minute epic, the quintessential ELP track, Karn Evil 9. I had never heard it played so well live since. Every moment of it sizzles with accomplished musicianship and Lake's vocals are incredible throughout.

Virtually every moment of Karn Evil 9, this multi-movement suite, is awe inspiring. Rarely have a band been so precise, so in sync, so brilliant than this track. It moves through a series of impressions in the same way as a classical piece is structured. Like the astounding 'Tarkus', it is a long, highly complex example of virtuoso playing and showcases in particular Emerson's incredible talents. It's frenetic pace transfixes from beginning to end of the first impressions. It slows in the 2nd impression so that we have room to breathe within the wall of sound that is at times suffocating, but then picks up the pace again in the 3rd impression with Lake's vocals dominating. I love the huge finale with the robot voice that seems to explode.

The booklet is informative and features some good photos. 3 CDs packed with the best of progenitors of prog ELP is irresistible.

I cannot recommend this more highly. It's a masterpiece of rock, a masterpiece of live music, a masterpiece of prog.

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