ELEGY

For my money, this album, which was released after the Nice had disbanded, is the best of the lot of their original 5 releases. It has been re-released many times (as Keith Emerson with the Nice, a double album that includes "Five Bridges". Hang on to a Dream and My Back Pages are only marred by weak vocals (a frequent problem with this band), but this is a great opportunity to hear K.E. improvising freely on the piano and organ. The Pathetique is better represented on Five Bridges with a full symphony and at a better (slower) tempo. America is a brilliant live document revealing K.E.'s Hendrix-like experiments with noise and feedback. Not easy listening, this track, but it shows off a side of the Nice that really got them attention as a live act. The bonus tracks included here are all from much earlier releases, recorded while Davy O'List was still a member (guitar), and are a sort of trippy pop music - not in keeping with the live nature of this mor mature album. In my opinion, these tracks do not belong on this album, but then, they can always be skipped.