40TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION CONCERT (HIGH VOLTAGE FESTIVAL 2010)

Considering that ELP have not produced much memorable material after "Brain, Salad, Surgery" I was a bit reluctant to invest in their live performance 40 years later. Thankfully, this DVD largely contains their better (early) tunes delivered in a splendid manner.

It's an absolute delight to see Keith Emerson perform with the same skill - just like he did 40 years ago. No hint of acid, or multiple knives stuck into his poor B3, only sensational runs that do justice to the original albums published. There is not a hint that he would have become burned out and it remains a mystery as why he hasn't produced quality material in decades?

Greg Lake on the other hand has lost a bit of shine in the voice department. He still sings in key, but his vocal range has contracted somewhat. Hardly a surprise and considering his age, he hasn't become a spent force. In this performance he took liberties in altering some of the original bass lines. They come off all-right, but I would have preferred the original notes, sounds. Watching him closely how his instruments with rather sparse notes played, still deliver remarkable bulk to a trio format is just amazing.

Carl Palmer remains a powerhouse on the skins. I am not sure that I may have missed something at first watch, but I came away with the impression that his more subtle notes weren't present. But I could be wrong.

Overall, very pleasing performance. If you missed them in the '70s, or the quality of material recorded then and later released on DVDs fails to suffice, this is a worthy investment