EMERSON PLAYS EMERSON

Keith Emerson, the very name conjures images of bombast and acrobatics, twirling in the air strapped to a piano while playing some outrageous solo or driving knifes into an unarmed organ, grand and epic themes crashing into some spectacular ending that tears must come to your eyes for the poor armadillo with cannons after he gets poked in the eye.

So then how did this simple and beautiful album come from him? Keith isn't trying to win any races here or just show off his technical skills. These aren't even songs in the traditional sense more like themes. What this is a 22 song journey into the thoughts and feelings of a man sitting at a piano. We revisit some old friends like Honky Tonk Train Blues, Creole Dance and the haunting Close to Home all released on prior ELP albums. The rest are compositions or themes Keith has written over the years. The music on this CD flows from one track to another jumping periods in time from the old bluesy jazz Roll n' Jelly to more contemporary themes like Ballad For a Common Man. I like to call the latter music for a rainy afternoon. Those of you who think Keith can't slow down and has to always be over the top needs to listen to BFaCM and others like Solitudinous and Prelude to Candice. On these types of pieces Keith shows he does have a vulnerable soul and lets his beauty come out. When Emerson decides to compose a period piece he does so with all the gusto and reverence for styles those are clearly very dear to him. Honky Tonk New Orlenes blues, 40's style jazz, even a little be-bop, Gershwin and of course even some ELP style we all know and love.

If your looking for the next epic ELP album this isn't it. It might not even be considered a prog record as that all it is a guy and a piano playing songs under 4 minutes long. It might even be something you and your wife or significant other could enjoy together on a lazy Sunday afternoon. So how can I rate it so high as a 5? Because it is a perfect window into the mind and heart of a musician simply done yet always satisfying. I love this album.

There are several ways to analyse this Keith Emerson album.

First, as a keyboard-oriented musician. As such, one will be delighted with the impeccable play, the virtuosity of the man, some subtle moments ("Solitudinous", "The Dreamer") and most will be amazed by both his classical approach as well as the jazzy deep feeling of several pieces. I guess that if you belong to this profile, you would rate this album with four stars.

Second, as a long time ELP fan who is still willing to listen to the great man and is expecting some sort of miracle with each solo album from Keith Emerson. Those ones will be again disappointed because, so far there were little great things released under this umbrella ("Changing States" was the best IMO). If you are closer from this profile as the first one, there are huge possibilities that you would rate this album with one or maybe two stars.

Third, same as second but with some sort of tenderness for the man who has brought so much musical pleasure. These people need to understand that an artist is also playing for himself and doesn't want to bother that much about philosophical contingencies. This leads to such a work that doesn't hold anything prog (as I have said, it is balancing between jazz and classic).

The latter group will be more indulgent than the second one and would rate this album with two or three stars depending if he is closer from the first or the second group. Still, they won't be truly convinced about the music discovered in this album. Was it necessary to get another version of "Summertime" for instance? Probably not.

I rate this album with two stars. I belong to the third group with a serious inclination of the past grandeur.