PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION

It was interesting that ELP released a live album so early in their career. They were a huge live act in the early 1970s. This concert was recorded before Tarkus was released, so the people at this concert had only heard ELP's debut. Pictures... is of course a piece by composer Mussorgsky. All the lyrics were written by Lake. A few of the songs here were written by the band. Also included is their take on "Nutrocker" which is based on Tchiakovsky's Nutcracker Suite.

Emerson must have been one of the first keyboardist to use a synthesizer on stage. It must have been something to hear his big ass Moog shake the building. As much as I like ELP's studio albums, I liked them better live. The sound here isn't too bad for a live recording from 1971. The performance is excellent. I have never heard any actual classical versions of this material. There are three versions of "Promenade" here. I don't know if that was the case for the original or not.

"The Gnome" is one of the highlights here. Great version. "The Sage" is an acoustic piece written by Lake. One of his better ballads. Starting about 1 1/2 minutes in is some great acoustic guitar work from Lake. "Blues Variations" was written by the band. More boogie- woogie than blues. "The Hut Of Baba Yaga" is played twice with the group composition "The Curse Of Baba Yaga" sandwiched in between. "Curse" is one of the best moments on the album. Emerson is twinkling on the organ while Lake plays some cool fuzz-wahed bass. Awesome Moog in this song. Lake goes back and forth between distorted and clean bass.

"The Great Gate OF Kiev" should have been a hit. Every ELP compilation should have this song next to "Jerusalem" and "Fanfare". Great vocals from Lake on this one. The set ends with "Nutrocker', one of the rare times Emerson uses a clavinet. This is a great live album but this gets a star taken away because they did not write the majority of the music. Still worth hearing. 3 stars.