| Track by Track Review
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| Disc 1 |
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Cal Jam `74
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Toccata
Opening with a dramatic percussion segment, this piece takes on hard edged, jazzy tones as the number builds. Electronic meanderings and near chaos erupt at points in this brief song. |
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Take A Pebble Excerpts
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Still...You Turn Me On
A lovely guitar based ELP standard, this ballad has a lot of emotion. |
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Lucky Man
Another balladic ELP classic, this is a strong entry, as well. The arrangement here is quite sparse (focusing on just acoustic guitar and vocals), but works well. |
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Piano Improvisations
Starting with a piano solo that combines elements of rock, classical and jazz with silent movie era cinematic soundtracks, after a time, the rest of the band come in for a rousing old-fashioned jazz segment that really rocks. This leads to snippets of other ELP tunes. |
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Take A Pebble
The jazzy and dramatic cut Take A Pebble comes around to finish out this extended piece. It is a powerful prog number, and a satisfying conclusion to the medley. |
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Karn Evil 9 First Impression Part 2/Third Impression
Probably the most trademark ELP number, this rendition is quite energetic. A very impressive drum solo makes an appearance, before the band drops back into the song proper to end the piece. |
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Now Tour `97/98
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A Time And A Place:
A strong rocking prog tune, this one features nice instrumental work, arrangements and twists. |
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Piano Concerto No. 1
A jazzy piano solo, this one also includes delicately beautiful passages as well. |
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From The Beginning
This lovely guitar based rocker is another ELP classic. At times this one feels a bit like old Doobie Brothers, but with prog leanings. Lake`s vocals seem deeper than on the original. |
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| Disc 2 |
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Karn Evil 9 First Impression Part 2
This is another solid performance of a piece that also made an appearance on the first disc of this set. |
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Tiger In A Spotlight
Always a fun rocker, Tiger comes across quite well here. |
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Hoe Down
An instrumental rock and roll song, the performance here is fun, and includes lots of instrumental mayhem. |
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Touch And Go
One of the newer songs from the band`s repertoire, this one has a more mainstream approach, but does include some progish elements. |
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Knife Edge
Another dramatic ELP piece, this song holds up quite well. |
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Bitches Crystal
Piano starts off this jazzy prog piece, another strong number. |
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Honky Tonk Train Blues
Just as the title suggests, this is a honky tonk bluesy piano solo, with accompaniment as the song progresses. |
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Take A Pebble
Another track that makes a repeat performance, the jazzy and dramatic Take A Pebble works quite well here, too. |
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Lucky Man
The last returning favorite, this is a strong entry, more true to the original in arrangement, than the earlier rendition. Lake`s voice here, however seems lower than on the studio version of this cut. Later segments of the piece take on an almost bluesish texture at times. |
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Fanfare For The Common Man/Blue Rondo A La Turk
Always a dramatic ELP favorite, the instrumental Fanfare is quite effective here. The number merges with a drum solo that shows the power of Carl Palmer and a jazzy sort of rocker with elements of very early Yes and Hendrix` Third Stone. The piece includes musical quotes of many compositions and is quite entertaining. |
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21st Century Schizoid Man/America
A solid version of Schizoid, this one loses a little of the charm of the original by the lack of processing on the vocals. Bernstein/Sondheim`s America is performed with enthusiasm and talent to end the piece. |
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