Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Label: Sanctuary Records
Release: 1993
Length: 70:22
Rating: 3/5
Legendary keyboardist Keith Emerson was ‘persona non grata’ at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall for almost twenty-five years, after he burned an American flag there in 1968, still a member of The Nice, as a protest against the Vietnam War (it wasn’t a real flag, just a replica). Right up until the unexpected reunion of prog rock legends Emerson, Lake & Palmer in 1991, the doors of the Royal Albert Hall stayed shut to him, which didn’t exactly keep him up at night. Still, he was relieved when tempers finally cooled after twenty-four years and ELP could at last take the stage of the famous hall without any hassle in October 1992. Their Royal Albert Hall show was their first in front of a home, English crowd in eighteen years. The result of this gig, significant in more ways than one, was the live album »Live At The Royal Albert Hall«, which nicely captured the final phase of the legendary trio’s musical career.
On management’s advice, Emerson of course had to ‘rein it in’ on stage, so no more stabbing knives between the keys of the Hammond organ, no jumping around and lying under the rest of his keyboard rig, and no burning of a (replica) flag, but the keyboard maestro was in great spirits all night anyway. Lake did a decent job on his vocal, guitar and bass duties, even though his voice had already noticeably worn thin by then, which for one of the best prog rock singers ever was nothing short of a minor tragedy, since he never got back near his former vocal level. Palmer didn’t get many chances for his grandiose drum solo spots this evening, but he nailed every performance at his usual high standard. The setlist was well thought out and well chosen, dominated by pieces from nearly every chapter of ELP history (of the studio albums, they only ‘forgot’ »Trilogy«, 1972), though it left a slightly bitter aftertaste that the two best works of their career got noticeably shortened.
The dystopian super-epic »Karn Evil 9«, which opened the show, was cut down to just the two-minute intro section with the famous »Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends« verse. They also chopped the post-apocalyptic super-epic »Tarkus« by more than half, which certainly wasn’t the wisest move and annoyed quite a few longtime fans. Among the longer epics, »Pirates« and »Fanfare For The Common Man« got off better, both played in full. Inside »Fanfare For The Common Man« they also slipped in Bernstein’s »America«, the very piece Keith set the replica American flag on fire to back in 1968, and Brubeck’s »Blue Rondo A La Turk«, which wrapped up the show in a thoroughly upbeat, pompous and triumphant way, in other words, in true ELP tradition. The energy catalyst »Knife Edge« came off surprisingly well, while from the then-current studio album »Black Moon« (1992) they picked the three best pieces, namely »Paper Blood«, Prokofiev’s »Romeo & Juliet« and the title track. Both of Lake’s classic ballads, »Still…You Turn Me On« and especially »Lucky Man«, were played with extra verve and heart, providing a nice contrast to the otherwise dominant epic, pompous symphonic arrangements, while Emerson treated himself to a short piano solo spot with »Creole Dance«.
»Live At The Royal Albert Hall« is a solid live album and one of the few bright spots of the legendary trio’s relatively short reunion, which sadly lasted only seven years before the friction between them finally got too big. In the following years the venues kept getting smaller, which surely didn’t feel great for the musical ‘heroes of the seventies’, Palmer began to have nerve trouble in his right arm (he later recovered), Emerson struggled more and more with stress and depression (which ended tragically for him in 2016), while Lake never found a way to bring his voice back to its former enviable level. After the catastrophic studio album »In The Hot Seat« (1994) and live shows that swung wildly in quality, it was already clear that the legendary trio wouldn’t last long together in their ‘second attempt’. Still, their farewell show at the High Voltage festival in 2010 left a lovely impression and closed the ELP story on a positive note.
This review is dedicated to the memory of Keith Emerson (1944-2016).
Lineup
Keith Emerson – keyboards
Greg Lake – vocals, guitar, bass
Carl Palmer – drums, percussion
Production
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Track list
1. Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression – Part 2) (1:45)
2. Tarkus (Medley): (9:33)
a) Eruption {Emerson}
b) Stones Of Years {Emerson/Lake}
c) Iconoclast {Emerson}
3. Knife Edge (5:27)
4. Paper Blood (4:10)
5. Romeo & Juliet {Prokofiev, arranged by Emerson} (3:41)
6. Creole Dance {Emerson, based on Alberto Ginastera’s Suite de Danzes Cirallas} (3:17)
7. Still… You Turn Me On {Lake} (3:18)
8. Lucky Man (4:38)
9. Black Moon (6:32)
10. Pirates (13:23)
11. Finale (Medley): (14:41)
a) Fanfare For The Common Man {Aaron Copland, arranged by Emerson}
b) America {Leonard Berstein, arranged by Emerson}
c) Rondo {Brubeck}
