LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL

I bougth this album after the Black moon tour. In case you have been at any of those concert it is a good reminder. In case not, well...avoid to spend your money into this CD. Songs are played decently,but: Carl Palmer playes very mechanical, no more those sinchopathed moviments he was famous to. Greg Lake voice often reaches his limitations, and is a pity because I loved his beautiful way to sing in the early 70's. Keith Emerson is in a good shape, nevertheless a lot of MIDI tracking of his synths makes the sound more messy than straightforward, I suspect that the technological aspect as relevance in the performance more than the player itself. Listen for example the beautiful Creole dance. It is played in the usual Emerson style, fast and obliques scales, taken to the edge. To have sampled sounds of synth together with the piano doesn't add nothing to the song, rather it diminish the effect of the grand piano. This is a example of what I mean unnecessary technology. He has skills, he has a great piano sound, why need something else? This game goes around also in other songs, like Knife edge (where Palmer act as a cold programmed drum machine) and the classical interludes. Better works in the new Romeo and Juliet, really remarkable contemporary revision, and Black Moon. Paper blood adds very little to their musical experience. The closing is a good version of Fanfare for the common man. Perhaps the organ sound is a bit too distorted in some passage of the improvisations. It is good in live performance, while the shows which goes on capture your attention, less evocative in a CD record. Last but not the least the recording itself. The mixing to my point of seeing is not as great as it could be in 92. All in all I give a very small rating, honest performance, good rememberance of the past but... nothing to add to their remarkable career.