Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Label: Shout Factory
Release: 2011
Runtime: 47:52
Rating: 4/5
The first authorized release of an unforgettable show by prog rock legends Emerson, Lake & Palmer at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, located in Uniondale in the heart of New York, landed at just the right moment, when even the most hardcore prog rock connoisseurs had already made peace with the fact that the famous trio would share the fate of, say, their contemporaries Pink Floyd, who only get together for the odd rare occasion or special event and haven’t existed as a functioning band for ages. That’s exactly why any official live release from these giants of progressive rock is incredibly precious and welcome, especially one coming from the seventies, when the lineup was at the height of its powers.
The setlist on this recording, captured at a time when the trio had dropped their touring orchestra because of runaway costs, is pretty much a dream for any ELP fan, and you can tell all three members were in great spirits that night, even if their hearts perhaps weren’t fully in it anymore. Despite the fact that creatively they were already going through a drastic artistic decline by the late seventies, live they were still a phenomenal outfit, if no longer a sensation, one whose mix of unbridled virtuosity, stage theatrics and symphonic pomp thrilled and stunned everyone who showed up. Until now the whole concert was only available through bootlegs that circulated illegally among collectors, but at last it’s out in the form and quality it deserves. The sound restoration from the original analog tapes is so polished that while listening it often feels like the album was recorded yesterday rather than more than thirty years ago.
The first disc opens with three immortal classics, you could call them the very compositions that defined the band, starting with the organ-driven opening assault “Hoedown”, which original author Aaron Copland himself would have been proud of, then the dystopian super-epic “Tarkus”, which still takes your breath away today, and the symphonic-pastoral-psychedelic treat “Take a Pebble”. After that the concert mood settles down a bit, first with a shortened version of Emerson’s solo piano odyssey “Piano Concerto #1”, of which he plays only the first section, continuing with the piano burlesque “Maple Leaf Rag”. The mellow stretch goes on with a reprise of the central “Take a Pebble” motif and two of Lake’s beloved ballads, “C’est La Vie” and Lucky Man”. The first disc wraps up with a condensed take on the epic collage “Pictures At An Exhibtion”, which sends the live atmosphere back into dramatic territory.
The second disc is somewhat less interesting than the first, since it features those ELP numbers written in the second half of the seventies, meaning from the albums “Works Vol. 1” (1977) and “Works Vol. 2” (1978), and while they’re still decent, if not outstanding songs, they’re mostly at least a notch below the masterpieces of the early seventies. The rowdy burlesque “Tiger In a Spotlight” is one of those songs that don’t rank among the artistic highlights of their career, yet it’s still a great performance, maybe even better than the studio version. “Watching Over You”, Lake’s lullaby for his daughter Natasha, is a welcome change of mood for the gentler souls among the fans, followed by the ever-phenomenal “Tank”, Palmer’s solo drum orgy, which for unknown reasons gets seriously trimmed this time. The peak of the second half of the show, and of the whole release, is without a doubt the monumental “Fanfare For The Common Man”, which includes the continuation of Palmer’s drum solo and a chunk of The Nice classic “Rondo”.
The closing stretch of the recording features passionate takes on the best material from “Works Vol.1”, namely the fiery instrumental “The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirits”, the nostalgic symphonic epic “Pirates”, which stands out thanks to the excellent lyrics by former King Crimson lyricist Peter Sinfield, and a reprise of the central “Fanfare For the Common Man” motif, which also makes for a pompous and triumphant finish to this live document. In between they slip in the rowdy instrumental “Nutrocker”, that “Pictures At An Exhibtion” classic which they played separately from the rest of the central body of that monumental album.
“Live At Nassau Coliseum ’78” is a great investment for every ELP fanatic, and even for the slightly less hardcore fans, since it catches the legendary trio at the peak of their live powers, and you’d be hard-pressed to wish for a better setlist from a period when everything was otherwise going downhill. Sure, the masterpiece “Brain Salad Surgery” (1973) isn’t represented by a single song, and from “Trilogy” (1972) they play just one piece, since the show mostly leans on the less interesting but then-current “The Works” era, but all the performances of classics and late-seventies material beat the ones on the live album “Works Live” (1979). Even if the rest of this excellent recording consisted only of a live take on the dreadful “Works Vol. 2”, the superb versions of the first three tracks, led by “Tarkus”, would still be reason enough for a must-buy and guaranteed prog rock heaven.
Lineup
Keith Emerson – keyboards
Greg Lake – vocals, bass guitar, electric and acoustic guitar
Carl Palmer – drums, percussion
Production
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Tracklist
CD 1
1. Hoedown (4:46)
2. Tarkus (17:28)
3. Take A Pebble (3:13)
4. Piano Concerto #1 1st Movement (5:21)
5. Maple Leaf Rag (1:30)
6. Take A Pebble (Reprise) (2:54)
7. C’est La Vie (4:20)
8. Lucky Man (3:22)
9. Pictures At An Exhibition (15:37)
CD 2
1. Tiger In A Spotlight (4:05)
2. Watching Over You (4:37)
3. Tank (2:12)
4. Drum Solo (6:49)
5. The Enemy God Dances With The The Black Spirits (2:45)
6. Nutrocker (3:48)
7. Pirates (13:31)
8. Fanfare For The Common Man (11:35)
