THEN AND NOW

I always preferred the studio albums, 'cause live records -many times- don't reflect all the musical potential. In the case of once great ELP, here we have two cds recorded at different tours of the band history. The first part of the first cd -from 1974, time of ELP apogee- show us pretty decent versions of band's classic themes. Second part and second cd -from the last years of '90 decade- give us noisy moments and the actual and pathetic Lake's voice, with a forgettable version of KC "21st Century Schizoid Man" closing the album. If somebody, rookie in the prog world, ask to me if this double cd can demonstrate what ELP music was, I must say absolutely no. Ok, here we have more than two hours with the authentic Keith, Greg and Carl, their most well known songs, etc., but listening the first trio albums and comparing them with this, the musical and quality difference is notorious.

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that ended a long time ago (1974) and the one that just ended (1997/98). The double-disc "Then & Now" combines the two into a single generous helping for the insatiable appetites of ELP fans everywhere, with some tasteful packaging and liner notes by Bruce Pilato that faithfully re-create the unique environs of The California Jam Concert (the venue for the '74 side). Unfortunately, there are two problems with "Then & Now" that may temper your enthusiasm: 1) the "then" side sounds poorly miked much of the time, dampening an otherwise fiery performance, and 2) the "now" side is miked extremely well, which underscores just how froggy Greg Lake's voice has become.

It's not the worst of both worlds, but it ain't the best either. I find myself either wanting to soar with the early show and being pulled back by the grave condition of the recording, or cavorting in the instrumental excellence of the new shows only to be stopped cold in my tracks by Lake's voice. Sometimes, I succeed at enjoying myself despite it all: "Karn Evil 9" from the 1974 show, "A Time And A Place", "Take A Pebble" and the breathtaking "Blue Rondo A La Turk" from the '97 tour. It's a lot to sift through for a handful of nuggets, but fans will hardly count the exercise as work. The historical significance of the early show, combined with the warm feeling that comes from hearing ELP tear through old classics twenty years on like it still matters, is a reward in itself.

Instrumentally, ELP has conceded nothing to age; "Hoedown" and "Bitches Crystal", for example, possess an evergreen ebullience. Keith Emerson's keyboard sounds have changed with the advent of new technology, but what's more noticeable is how little they've changed. The years may have sapped some of Greg Lake's golden voice and a fraction of Emerson's celerity, but it also removed many of the distractions: the elaborate stage sets, the feeding of three separate egos with meandering instrumental passages and acoustic ballads, the strain of constantly trying to exceed expectations. In its place stand three supremely talented musicians who can celebrate the past with the conviction that it still means something today. And it does, although now and then we can use a reminder like this. Caveat emptor: I've seen this set sell for less than ten bucks (in supermarkets, no less) and for four times that amount online, so be penny wise and not pound foolish (or euro'll be sorry).

I Am a Big fan of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, but when I purchased this album, I was expecting another "Welcome Back My Friends..". This album isn't nearly as good. The 1st Disc is a bootleg from '74 I think, and the quality is terrible, Tape Recorder terrible. The 2nd disc was from 1998 or around there, and the sound is fine, but their playing isn't up to par. Keith Emerson seems to make many mistakes, and Greg Lake sounds strained. This just isn't a very good live Album, but I still Love ELP!

Clanking, jangling and The Blues Brothers

"Then and now" is a rather odd combination of live ELP recordings from 1974 and the late 1990's. The tracks from 1974 ("Then") are from ELP's appearance at Cal Jam in Ontario, California. The recording quality is poor, with little if any stereo separation. Given ELP's passion, some would say obsession, with the recording quality of their studio albums, this is something of a disappointment.

In terms of the music, there is little in the Cal Jam recordings which cannot be enjoyed on the infinitely better "Welcome back my friends.." live album. The opening "Toccata" seems needlessly chopped off at the start and finish, while the "Take a pebble" extract begins half way through.

The "Now" section, which is significantly the longer, is far better in terms of recording quality. These recordings come from various performances by the band in 1997 and 1998. By this time, Lake's voice had of course broken, making it immediately apparent which tracks are "Then" and which are "Now". There are some interesting tracks here though. "A time and a place" from "Tarkus" is give a fine workout, the band announcing it is the first time it has been performed live. The song actually suits Lake's new voice well. The Third movement of Emerson's "Piano Concerto" (without the orchestra of course) is also here, sounding rather clanky if truth be told.

"From the beginning" sounds truly superb, Lake's jingle jangle guitar and Emerson's sympathetic orchestration making for one of the high points of this collection. "Tiger in a spotlight" sound like the band have decided to change their name to "The Blues Brothers".

The 22 minute combination of "Fanfare for the common man" and "Blue rondo a la Turk" is a superb excuse for Emerson to take centre stage on synths and organ. If this album is worth seeking out, this is the best reason to do so. If nothing else, it demonstrates that the band could still play the wonderful prog of the early 1970's. The rendition includes a fine variety of classical and modern references. On the downside (for me), it also indicates that Palmer retains his penchant for a lengthy solo workout on the drums. The album closes with a medley of a quick verse of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid man" and the Nice's interpretation of "America".

In all, a diverse and interesting collection. The newer recordings fare far better than the old ones, primarily because A) they are a of a far better recording quality, and B) because the old recordings can be found on the far superior "Welcome back my friends..".

The Retro Gold re-release omits two tracks, both from the 1997/8 recordings. These are "Karn evil 9, 1st impression part 2" and "Take a pebble", presumably because both have already appeared in the 1974 recording. Nevertheless, as the these tracks are not replaced with other material, it simply makes the CD shorter. It is poorly packaged, with no details of the source of recordings it contains; the 18 page booklet simply offering a few random quotes and an elementary track list. That track list also claims that "Karn evil 9, third impression" features Carl Palmer, whose solo is of course a part of the "Second impression". The lack of attention to detail is symptomatic of the inferior quality of the package, especially when compared to the "Then and now" presentation.

This one is a strange bird but ultimately in the end is a clearing of the shelves to get a few more bucks. While the idea of releasing the CalJam experience on audio seems good the truth is it is strange given that it was TV recording and the audio is horrible. Given that CalJam was ELP's coronation as Rocks biggest band for sure their own personal high water mark by closing out this one day festival with over 500,000 people ELP was as majestic as they were pretentious and none of these recordings give you any glimpse of that at all. They are badly mixed and edited and couldn't even be passed off as bonus tracks. It is much better to purchase the video that makes the show more in context.

The latter material starting with A Time and a Place off disk 1 while well played (although slowed down and lowered) and the sound is good marks the end of Greg Lakes voice. What a tragedy just when this material from Trilogy and other overdubed songs could actually be played because of MIDI Lake is in the tank. On top of that except for 21st Century Schizoid Man and Bitches Crystal it can all be found elsewhere. Really this just for fans and completionists. two stars.

This was the second ELP live album that I bought and listened to in the late 90s. The first was Pictures at an Exhibition of course. And the first impression was completely different from what it is now. At that time, I liked the Now Tour '97/'98 concert more, due to the better recording quality and a larger number of diverse songs covering the entire classic period of the band's work. In addition, the 1974 concert was full of improvisations, which at that time seemed too complicated to me.

Probably, combining two concerts in one album wasn't the best idea. Although for fans of the band in my country it was a real gift, considering that the mp3 format was not widespread then, and it was difficult to get discs with such music in Ukraine then. But I ignored the 1974 concert for a long time, and listened more often to the second part of this album.

But over the years, my perception has changed, and now, I think, we can try to make an objective review of these two CDs. It is in the first part, at a concert in 1974, that we are offered real progressive rock in its original form, exactly that signature ELP sound, thanks to which they entered history. The concert opening Toccata with the signature heavy guitar sound of Greg Lake, the enchanting psychedelic synthesizer special effects of Keith Emerson suddenly gives way to the melodic Still... You Turn Me On and Lucky Man, which Greg Lake sings soulfully accompanied by his guitar alone. Then follow 10 minutes of keyboard magic from Keith Emerson. Well, he does not torture his synthesizer, as it happened at concerts, but plays in an almost academic style, complementing his improvisation with excerpts from the classics (the album notes mention Fugue by the 20th century Austrian composer Freidrich Gulda and Little Rock Getaway by jazz pianist Joe Sullivan). I don't know the original, but there are definitely elements of jazz here! Next, Greg Lake performs another soulful song, Take a Rebble, this time accompanied by drums and keyboards. The concert ends with almost half an hour of Karn Evil 9, with Carl Palmer's improvisation on drums, incredibly fast and energetic. I found a video of this concert on YouTube, where the moment when he simultaneously plays the pedals with his feet, hits the timpani, and even strikes the bell, hooking and pulling the rope with his teeth, stands out. Who else has done that? In general, the live performance of this masterpiece of progressive rock looks even better than the studio version, it is longer and more powerful, and gives the musicians more space. If Greg Lake worked on the guitar in the songs, then here Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer compete with each other, and I don't know who won. The concert ends with the theme The Creat Gates of Kiev from their concert Pictures at an Exhibition, which also sounded more large-scale and with excursions into other musical themes. As a resident of Kyiv, I am especially pleased that ELP performed this theme. But in modern transcription, its name is correctly written as Kyiv. The video shows how Keith Emerson, while performing the final chords, along with the piano, was lifted above the stage and turned over several times. It is incredible how he never stumbled or went out of tune!

Excellent concert. I enjoyed listening to it again while writing this review. Maybe there were better ones, I don't know. (But only because of the length. After all, 40 minutes for this kind of music is criminally short.) But it's good that it was released on CD. Many people were able to listen to it at a time when music was not as accessible as it is now. Hopefully, if YouTube works in your country, you can find this performance under the title Emerson, Lake & Palmer -- California Jam (1974)

The second part consists of fragments of concerts from 1997 and 1998, and takes up about 13 minutes on the first CD and the entire second CD. In total, about an hour and a half. Not very convenient if you want to listen to the whole thing. Some of the classic ELP suites are also played in snatches. For example, only a fragment of Karn Evil 9 is played here, and only the final part of the monumental Piano Concerto No. 1 is played. But there are a few surprises. For example, A Time and a Place from Tarkus is performed in a very unusual and solemn way, completely different from the studio version. I also really liked Touch and Go - in this live version it is very juicy compared to the studio recording. And of course, pure pleasure is the mighty Fanfare For The Common Man, which lasts for more than 20 minutes thanks to numerous improvisations and a medley of classical themes and another incredibly killer drum solo. Again and again I am surprised how only three people can create such meaty music? An orchestra is needed here! 21st Century Schizoid Man is also performed very well, fortunately without the manic technogenic special effects that have probably scared more than one generation of music lovers. You can also be convinced of the obvious changes in Greg Lake's voice by listening to Take A Pebble and Lucky Man from the 70s and 90s. For me personally, there is no answer to the question of which version is better. It is also strange why this concert collection doesn't include any numbers from the later albums Black Moon and In The Hot Seat. Probably, something was played during the concerts of the 97/98 tour. But we have to accept it.

After all that has been written, it is extremely difficult to give an adequate assessment of this disc. If only California Jam '74 were assessed, it would get 5 stars from me without the slightest doubt. But the concerts of 97/98 do not reach five stars. Up to four stars, perhaps. Therefore, this entire album gets the same. I think it is fair.