LIVE AT MONTREUX 1997 (DVD)

I'm a long-time EL&P fan and I was lucky enough to see them perform around the same time this show was captured. The song-selection is IMO very good. The band starts with "Karn Evil 9 - 1st imp." - they begin with the shortened "radio" version and it is apparent from the start that Lake's vocal range and strength is somewhat limited by this time. That said, he still does a very good job and plays bass and guitar very well as he always has.

Emerson is as always the primary showman of this group and one wonders how he knows which keyboard to play at any given moment when he must have about 50 separate ones on stage here! (Does he really need all of these given what technology was available by this time, or is it just for effect and/or nostalgia?) His playing is strong as usual, though I found his Hammond organ playing to be just a little bit sloppy at times - not quite as precise as we've come to expect from him. Overall, he performs very well and in fact, his solo grand piano playing on this show is as good or better than I've ever heard or seen from him.

Carl Palmer's sound and playing here show that his skills have evolved more than those of his longtime band-mates, and he shows amazing versatility going from the jazz-inspired playing he's been known for, to a driven, "heavy" sound as he easily emulates the late Cozy Powell's work with Emerson and Lake on "Touch and Go" from the mid-80's.

All-in-all, this is a very strong, vintage performance from EL&P and worth owning even for non-hard-core fans. Just another point about the keyboard technology available by this time - Emerson leaves little doubt that "techno - trance" music and "9-inch Nails" style, industrial music in general from the early 90's owes a debt to these electronic pioneers of prog excess. Rock-on EL&P!!

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to
• Report this review (#33598)
• Buy EMERSON LAKE & PALMER music online with PA partners
• Show all EMERSON LAKE & PALMER MP3/Stream
• Go to EMERSON LAKE & PALMER page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Live at Montreux 1997 (DVD) page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for EMERSON LAKE & PALMER related discussions