November 1971 - Pictures At An Exhibition

Now my fifth album to be released this month, Emerson, Lake & Palmer released their first live album titled "Pictures At An Exhibition" in November of 1971. I do not have a bunch of live albums in my library, but similar to Hendrix's "Band Of Gypsys" this live album consists of entirely new material. It is ELP's take of Modest Mussorgsky's piano suite of the same name and the idea was suggested by keyboardist Keith Emerson. This album is their second of the year, a mere 6 months after "Tarkus" in May. This live album was actually recorded before they made "Tarkus", but their record label was unsure about releasing an album based on a classical music piece. After the success of "Tarkus", they got the go ahead to release this piece. The album is divided into tracks, but it is all one continuous piece, with ELP adding several of their own sections connecting Mussorgsky's pieces. It originally had no lyrics, but Greg Lake wrote several lyrics that fit the mood of the suite. Let's see how this classical adaptation sounds!

Side one opens with "Promenade" a recurring theme throughout the suite. It's a 2 minute solo by Emerson on the pipe organ that sounds pretty cool. The pipe organ was above the rest of the stage so the drum roll at the beginning of the next track "The Gnome" was to cover for Emerson running down the stairs to his main keyboard setup. This song is also instrumental and has some great Hammond organ flourishes, with some cool bass at the end of each one. Emerson plays synthesizer as well, but it's the organ that I really like on this one. The synths really do echo though, they are so loud! Emerson plays the second "Promenade" with the same riff on Hammond organ. We hear Lake's voice for the first time, and although it is soft, it is perfectly clear. This leads into a song that Lake wrote titled "The Sage" which has a cool synth opening by Emerson. Most of it though is just Lake, singing and playing some excellent acoustic guitar. It sounds very epic, cool stuff indeed. Track 5 is back to Mussorgsky pieces, this one called "The Old Castle". Emerson opens with some really trippy keyboards and ELP's version is much faster than the original. Carl Palmer starts a nice drum beat, and we hear a fantastic synthesizer solo! Lake is playing some great bass as well and this song sounds phenomenal. It leads right into another ELP original called "Blues Variation". Emerson has switched over to organ now, but the trio are still rockin' hard continuing the vibe of the last song. Lake and Emerson play some really great stuff, and Emerson goes back to synths for another trippy part to close out side one.

Side two begins with the third "Promenade", which has Emsrson playing the same riff, only with Palmer's drums throughout this time. This segues into "The Hut Of Baba Yaga" which is o lyrics a little over a minute, but still has some cool organ by Emerson. This leads right into "The Curse Of Baba Yaga" which has a trippy opening and some cool bass by Lake. Emerson continues to play some very psychedelic synths as Lake adds some quick singing. Emerson switches back and forth from organ and synthesizer, showing off his amazing talents. It has a cool ending as well that leads right into a second, slightly faster version of "The Hut Of Baba Yaga". Track 11 is the last of Mussorgsky's suite, titled "The Great Gates Of Kiev". It's a slow organ-driven song, and Lake adds some more great vocals. For a suite with no vocals at all originally, Lake really does a great job at making his lyrics flow with the songs. There's an interesting part in the middle with some heavy organ feedback and they play out one more epic verse in what seems like the end. Bit like any good show, they return for an encore: a rock adaptation of Tchaikovsky's classic Nutcracker, aptly called "Nut Rocker". Emerson leads with some cool organ, bit all three members play great on this one, including a fantastic drum solo by Palmer. It ends with a classic rock and roll flourish and the end of what would have been an amazing live show!

That wraps up "Pictures At An Exhibition" and I thought it was another great album by ELP. They did a fantastic job of adapting a classical piece into one continuous rock epic! "The Old Castle" was my favourite part, but there was plenty to enjoy on this live album. But how does it compare to their studio albums? Their eponymous debut remains their best work for sure I think. As much as I liked this album, I think "Tarkus" earlier this year was also really awesome and so this newest effort is my least favourite. As I've said with several others, this is not a knock on this album, so much as a testament to how great their first two were. We finally leave November, as my next release is the last of the year!