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Keith Emerson - Keith Emerson Band Featuring Marc Bonilla - Moscow CD (album) cover

KEITH EMERSON BAND FEATURING MARC BONILLA - MOSCOW

Keith Emerson

 

Crossover Prog

4.76 | 20 ratings

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uribreitman
4 stars Who needs Greg Lake? Marc Bonilla's dead-ringer performance as singer is the first thing you notice on this great DVD. And then you see how he handles his guitar duties: effortless, smooth and sweet.

This is more than ELP - this is HELP: like the trio was supposed to work, if Hendrix had joined. I'm not saying that Bonilla is on the same league with the late Jimmy. But his guitar contributions here have improved ELP's music by miles.

Although Keith's hands are not as quick and acurrate as they used to be in the glory days, he's still a master. He's got more punch, power and edge than today's keyboad rivals. And although he's not young, he's totally not acting his true age.

You get ELP's greatest hits, including a drummer who has a P in his last name (Tony Pia). Did Emerson do this on purpose? I don't care. Main highlights are "Bitches Crystal", 3rd movement from the old Piano Concerto, super-smoking working of "The Barbarian" - and a huge, long version of "Tarkus".

I've seen ELP on many DVD's, most of them too old to be fun. Most of the ELP DVD's on the market today sound plain bad. Even the new & improved version of the legendary "Pictures in an Exhibition" DVD is not as good as this.

The only musician which doesn't really shine here is Travis Davis on bass. Maybe Keith hates Lake so much, he wants his parts out of the mix, I don't know. But Davis is the only one in the band without any meaningful solo during the gig.

One of the best parts on this DVD is the original MOOG snyth, with its full body on stage. Emerson uses it very nicely, and the sound production is better than ever (you can hear the Oomph and Bang all the day to your speakers). What a joy!

When comparing this DVD to the studio album by the Keith Emerson band (2008), I say ditch the studio album. It sounds too dry and boring.

In short - it was a great gig, there in Moscow. I don't miss Lake anymore, now that we have Bonilla. And the arrangements sound much more powerful, with the electric guitar in full swing. Get this before you die.

uribreitman | 4/5 |

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