BEYOND THE BEGINNING

This video collection has some disappointments. To quote the background music on the menus (The Endless Enigma), "Why do you think I believe what you say...?" That's exactly the message this DVD is trying to provide.

First of all, those Tarkus segments from the Japan concert are VERY BAD. They are makeshift videos and not the original. There is a full version of Tarkus from that concert - complete from Eruption till Aquatarkus - that, whoever put together this DVD together, should have taken as source. Tarkus is such a fantastic piece from ELP and there is no proper video of it from being performed between 1972-74. What a shame indeed.

The Japan 72 bootleg video shows Eruption with more closeups on Lake and Palmer. Unfortunately again, Emerson is very hard to see, but at least he can be seen playing one hand on the Hammond C-3, and the other one on the Hammond L-100. Nothing of this appears on the DVD.

Toccata is another disappointment. Now I do not know if there is a full video of this fantastic piece. I was hoping that this video would have it. The 2 segments containing Palmer's solo only are very dull.

The only rescuable item is the California Jam, as they got a much better source with more clarity. But, again, it was butchered. This original show was televised as part of one of those "Don Kirschner Rock Concert" presentations. The DVD shows the ELP sequences cut off without the introductions. It could have been more interesting if they'd just put the entire tv show as it originally was, a true time machine and an example to current young viewers of the magnitude of 70's tv rock concert shows.

I am positively sure that the band has, in their personal vaults, fantastic full videos of their performances. Why they don't release them? Is there any video from the full Brain Salad Surgery Manticore tour? The band released a series of audio bootlegs which I believe it was a very wise move; they opened their audio vaults to delight of all ELP fans to posterity. I can't believe that there is no video whatsoever from the whole BSS tour; there must be a full Toccata video somewhere... I must keep looking, because it's worth it...