WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS TO THE SHOW THAT NEVER ENDS

I always keep a copy of this album on hand for those rare occasions when people will insist that Carl Palmer was one of the greatest drummers of all time. All I have to do is play the live version of "Karn Evil 9 (1st Impression)"--end of argument. I have to laugh out loud when Lake's guitar stands alone for a few measures and Palmer comes in way too early on the first re-entry, but makes up for it by coming in way too late on the second one. All things being equal, ELP always put on a great live show (I refer you to their Cal Jam performance). In that case they should have named this album, "Well...I Guess You Had To Be There".