WORKS LIVE

Maybe the hard work that ELP had between 1970 and 1974 was too much for them that they needed a rest. So, they took some rest between the last half of 1974 and 1976, before going to the recording studio to record their "Works 1" album. Maybe many fans were waiting for another album that could be as "energetic" as "Brain Salad Surgery" from 1973, or as their live album from 1974 titled "Welcome Back My Friends to the Show that Never Ends- Ladies and Gentlemen: ELP". I think that both albums represented in a way the peak of the band musically. By 1973-74 they had a lot of success. So, when "Works 1" was finally released in early 1977, many fans did not like it very much and became disappointed, because the band with that album (and also with "Works 2" which was released in late 1977) changed their energetic music for a much relaxed music very influenced by Classical Music and using an orchestra and a choir a lot. By 1978, with the release of their last studio album from the seventies titled "Love Beach" (which in fact was recorded and released only as a contractual obligation for their record labels) many fans could have been even more disappointed, because that album was more oriented to Pop Rock ballads with some references to their old Prog Rock style in a few songs. By 1979 ELP had split, but they still had another contractual obligation album to be released titled "In Concert", with most of it recorded at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal in August 1977, during their "Works Tour", and with the appearance of an orchestra and a choir in several songs. Again, many fans maybe were disappointed, because most of the material of that album reflected the music from their "Works" albums. I listened for the first time to the "In Concert" album in mid 1980, when I bought it, and I liked it.

Finally, in 1993 they released this live album titled "Works Live", which in fact is an expanded version of their "In Concert" album from 1979, with more songs recorded at their concert at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal in 26- August-77. Despite being a 2 CD set, this expanded version still has not the complete set list they played at that concert, and with the video from the same concert which was released in 2003 (titled "Works Orchestral Tour/Manticore Special", which has some other extra tracks which only were released in the video: "Karn Evil, 1st Impression, Part 2", "Pirates", "Nutrocker" and "Lucky Man", but has other songs previously released in "Works Live: "Abaddon's Bolero", "The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirits", "Pictures At An Exhibition", "C'Est La Vie", "Piano Concerto No.1- 3rd Movement, Toccata Con Fuoco", and " Tank") maybe the fans could listen to the whole set list played by ELP at that concert. The sound of "Works Live" is better than the sound from the "In Concert" album, being remastered. The songs which were previously released in the "In Concert" album were: "Introductory Fanfare", "Peter Gunn", "Tiger in a Spotlight", "C`est La Vie", "The Enemy God Dances with the Black Spirits", "Knife Edge", "Piano Concerto No. 1 Third Movement: Toccata con Fuoco", and "Pictures at an Exhibition". The extra songs which were released in "Works Live" were: "Watching Over You", "Maple Leaf Rag", "Fanfare for the Common Man", "Show Me the Way to Go Home", "Abbadon`s Bolero", "Closer to Believing", and "Tank". "Peter Gunn" and "Tiger in a Spotlight" apparently were not recorded in Montreal (as i read in some websites), and I also could listen to several differences between the video version of "The Enemy God" (played with orchestra ) and the album version of the same song (played as a trio or mixed without the orchestral parts) so i think that the album version maybe was recorded at another show or was mixed without the orchestra.

Having liked the "In Concert" album from 1979, I really liked very much this "Works Liive" album. It really was a change, maybe too drastic, from the music they released in their previous live album titled "Welcome Back..." from 1974, "Works Live", in comparison, is a more relaxed album, with some ballads written and sung by Greg Lake and played with the orchestra, and with Keith Emerson playing "Maple Leaf Rag", or with the band playing "Show Me The Way To Go Home" in a Blues-Jazz musical style. The orchestra and the choir arrangements are very good but maybe also sometimes very relaxed in some parts, but they work very well particularly in "Pictures at an Exhibition", "Knife Edge", and "Piano Concerto". It doesn`t mean that the band has not some heavy moments in other songs, still playing with a lot of energy. But by 1977 the band changed, But I still like this "Works Live" album very much, an album which maybe shows the band playing in a more "matured" way, playing very well with and without the orchestra. This is maybe the best live album done with a Prog Rock band playing along with an orchestra and a choir. They sound very well rehearsed and integrated.