KEITH EMERSON BAND FEATURING MARC BONILLA

I can easily say that this is the best of Keith Emerson's solo albums. Finally, after all these years, he seems to be back to putting out the kind of bombastic keyboard albums that his fans have been waiting for.

The songwriting, for the most part, is not up to the level of theclassic ELP albums, but it sounds like Keith has finally overcome the wrist problems that have been plaguing him for decades. His attack on the ol' Hammond is as ferocious as it's ever been.

The main piece on the album, a suite of songs called The House Of Ocean Born Mary has some very good sections, but like Porcupine Tree's The Incident, it doesn't always flow well from one section to the next. It sounds like many small songs slapped together to create an "epic". And some sections, most notable Marche Train drag a bit.

Guitarist Marc Bonilla adds some great guitar, especially in Finale, and his voice often sounds, probably deliberately, like a young Greg Lake.

The absolute highlight, predictable is a Ginastera (Emerson aficianados all know that Keith loves this composer's work). Here is the piece that's as great as the old ELP works, and better than ELP's Works.