PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION

I'm not a fan of classical music or live recordings so this album had two strikes against it before I ever listened to it. There are some great moments like Promenade, The Sage and The Great Gates of Kiev mixed in with some awful moments like the beginnings of The Old Castle or The Curse of Baba Yaga. Nut Rocker should have been left off entirely as it only detracts from the album as a whole.

What it boils down to is that I'm just not a fan of Keith Emerson's choice of synthesizer tones. Whenever he's playing organ or piano, he's usually fantastic but his taste in futuristic sounds has always been like nails on a chalk board to me.

Even though the sound quality suffers a lot from the fact that it's a live album, it isn't unlistenable and the musicianship is top notch throughout. The audience isn't intrusive to the performance and there is still a good sense of dynamics.

Overall, it's not a bad listen and its brevity keeps it focused and interesting. Good, but non-essential.