ARS LONGA VITA BREVIS

Actually a 2,5 stars. This album is weaker than the previous one and shows The Nice as a 3- piece band. As Hugues Chatraine pointed, David O'List's departure from The Nice left Emerson without a musical counterpart. Brian Davison and Lee Jackson are good musicians, although they're not as good as Emerson and pale by comparison to Palmer and Lake and Jackson is really a bad singer and his bass playing is a bit old-fashioned, more appropriated to a psychedelic band, not a prog one. The "Ars Longa Vita Brevis" suite is still a primitive attempt of a classical music/rock fusion, featuring some great moments and a bit underdeveloped at some times. "Intermezzo from Karelia Suite", IMHO, is the great track at this album, the one which I always listen to it more than one time when I play the CD. But overall this album is primitive ("Daddy, Where Did I Come From" is one of the most embarassing moments in all prog-rock history!) and appeals only to Emerson's fans and proggers interested at the roots of progressive music.