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The US version came out with a different cover and not any better than this one. The contents on the disc however was just the same on both side of the Atlantic and unremarkable but at least it did not contain any reworking of classic music that I dread so much.

The opening track is a revisting of the theme of one of their non-album single (that you can easily find as a bonus track when buying a recent remastered copy of the debut album) and the very psychic touches are still there , but it is easy to compare how much the band had evolved by this time.The Hardin cover Hang On To A Dream definitely put a lid on my expectations of this band as the vocal departement was so very average (to the point of adding a children's choir) and this explains why so much of their later music was instrumental. Diary stiil has a few traces of psychadelia and the last track of the first side is a lenghty work out withimprovisations limited to Emerson's solo KB .

The second side has two lenghty tracks , yet another version of Blue Rondo (but not quite as good as the original version) but still holds some interest mainly on the bass works and a Dylan cover She Belongs To Me which leave no real traces in your mind as the needle lifts off the disc. For a twelve min track , this tells that there is a problem.

For confirmed Emerson fans!

Thankfully the first thing to report here is that the prodcution quality is way better than 'Ars Longa Vita Brevis'.As a 3 peice band The Nice were now making strides in developing their 'sound'. 'For Example' is my favourite track as they take a theme through different musical incarnations from jazz to Hendrix power trio via Gregorian chanting.Unique and very clever and extremely well played.In particular 'Blinky' Davison is on fine form on the kit.There's also the brilliant adaption of Bob Dillon's 'She Belongs To Me' featuring masterfull keyboard work from Keith Emerson.The only thing that stops me giving this a 5 star rating is the lack lustre live version of 'Rondo' which is a 'filler' if ever there was one.

Well it's strange that Emerson & C. chose this title for this work!! After all it wasn't their debut album, but perhaps it was due to the increasing successful feedback (in front of their previous interesting albums) of some music critics and the audience as well, which recognized the quality features within the contamination of styles regarding their first two issues (apart from their ingenuousness).however this "The Nice" is less ingenuous than "Ars Longa Vita Brevis" and probably closer to their debut album, sometimes even more immediate, but it's clear that often also a super group makes itself more visible and above all appreciable when They have been able, by promoting their all their works, to perform some important gigs at least. it's the situation of this ensemble from the UK, the real precursors of the progressive rock in the form We still know and that's quite important!! At the end I have to repeat the same evaluation as in their previous albums, even though also the present issue is better than their most famous "Ars Longa Vita Brevis": a "3 stars" rating once again.

Prog Explorers must have this legendary album!

For those who really want to explore prog music, I advise you to enjoy this CD and try to understand thae subtleties of the music and how they later influenced the further advancement of prog music. The music might not really favor your ears for two reasons: sonic quality and (probably) excessive use and improvisations of keyboards by the maestro: Keith Emerson. Remember, the Nice was the embryo of what later became ELP (Emerson Lake and Plamer) and Refugee (which comprised of Lee Jackson, Brian Davidson and Patrick Moraz who later joined Yes). So, the band itself is a legendary in the history of prog rock.

The music features all elements of classical music, improvisations as well as song-oriented music. "Rondo" is a good example of how the band blended classical music and long improvisations (which may cause you to get bored). Oh yeah, if you are already familiar with early albums of ELP, you would definitely like this song because all keyboards sounds are completely ELPish. Through this track Keith Emerson demonstrates his virtuosity in playing the keyboards with some complex notes throughout musical segments. Unfortunately, this does not seem so attractive for me because the rhythm section which comprises drums and bass are so boring - repeated chords and notes all the time while Keith delivers his keyboard work.

"Hang On To A Dream" is a good eaxmple of song-oriented composition. It has nice and catchy piano / keyboard works on top of strong melody sung by Lee Jackson. I personally love the voice quality of Lee Jackson. I think, his voice is so unique that I cannot find any other vocalist can sing like the way he does. Try Refugee, you will fully understand what I mean. But in this "Hang On To A Dream" he also sings excellently.

Overall, this is a good album which explores all components of classical music, improvisations and song-orientated compositions. This is a must for those of you who really want to explore prog music from its roots. You would understand how classical music influnced prog. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Hanging on to a dream. by a thread

This was in fact the third album by The Nice, and their final studio recording. Even then, only the first side was actually recorded in the studio, the second side containing a pair of lengthy live tracks. The band decided this time to produce themselves, a brave decision which, perhaps surprisingly, was to prove to be a correct one.

From a song writing point of view, it seems the band were experiencing significant writers block, the tracks here being a selection of reworkings and covers. As the title of the opening Azrael revisited, implies, it is a re-recording of Azrael, previously a non-album B side of their first single. Hang on to a dream is undoubtedly the most beautiful song the band ever recorded. Originally composed by Tim Hardin, the vocal delivery is notably far more delicate than usual, the song as a whole being a sheer delight.

Even what appears to be the one of only a pair of new band compositions on the album Diary of an empty day turns out to use a piece by Lalo for its music to accompany Lee Jackson's lyrics. For example starts out about as close as the Nice got in the studio to what became Emerson Lake and Palmer, largely due to the distinctive organ playing of Keith Emerson. The track is certainly progressive in structure, wandering off in a number of directions including a jazz piano passage and a burst of the Beatles Norwegian Wood. Overall it comes across as unfocussed and poorly arranged.

The second side of the album has a lengthy re-working of Rondo, which originally appeared on the first album, and a cover of Bob Dylan's She belongs to me (from his Self portrait album) both recorded live in New York. The rendition of Rondo does not really add anything to the studio version, while the lengthy interpretation of Dylan's She belongs to me may not go down too well with Dylan fans, but visitor to these parts should be fine with it. In some ways, it is like Yes's version of Simon and Garfunkel's America, the original song being used as a basis for some extended improvisation around its theme. The track gives the best indication of the way the band would go on their following fully live release Five bridges.

In all, this is the most accomplished of the Nice's first three albums. Despite the rather patchwork nature of the album in terms of part live/part studio and the lack of genuinely new material, it makes for an enjoyable listen. At the end of the day, that is all that really matters.

I am rather embarrassed with this third "Nice" album.

If song writing has never been a major asset of the band, they quite surpassed themselves in this one which is only their third album. We are used to experience this characteristic while a band has recorded several albums and that they don't have the same amount of inspiration or that they change from musical style to be in-line with the ambient environment.

But this can absolutely not be the case for "The Nice". They only recorded two albums prior this one (of which half of "Ars Longa" is based on a classical theme) and they actually invented a genre on their own. Creativity should have been at its peak.

Unfortunately, all that we get here are some covers (even if "Hang On To A Dream" holds a fine melody), some existing songs in another format and two (yes 2) new compositions which are only remarkable for Keith's work. He saves whatever could be saved (even if his two band mates are quite skilled as well).

Vocals are mostly dreadful and destroys partially a track as For Example which has definitely some good merits.

The live part of this album is the one I prefer the most; probably because it shows how performing and wild "The Nice" could be during a live performance. This "Rondo" version is quite a ride and should please any ELP fan but to be honest, the Dylan cover ("She Belongs To Me") can't be considered as a great moment of music. Improvised, loose and way too long (but this is a good example of all the excesses that prog will generate later on). A good jamming effort for sure, but that's all.

This is not a very "nice" album and I can't reasonably go higher than two stars for my rating.

This album I first heard when a teacher in a high school music appreciation class played it for the us. At the time I was a huge ELP fan, and was overjoyed. Now I know he could have chosen better.

This album is quite inferior to the previous Ars Longa Vita Brevis. The studio recordings are a step back toward the psychedelic style of the first Nice album, and away from the symphonic gem that was ALVB. It's not bad because of that, but it is definitely inferior.

For Example is pretty good, as it shows the band experimenting with a theme in multiple styles. Then there's Rondo '69. I have two problems with this piece. First, it's main theme is based on Dave Brubeck's Blue Rondo A La Turk, an amazing jazz masterpiece in 9/8 (split into 2-2-2-3). Nowhere does The Nice give Brubeck any credit, although most of the song is played. Secondly, they take this fantastic rhythm, and play it in 4/4. Grrrrrrrrrrr..... I know Keith can do better than this.

Still, this is a three star album.

Being a fan of ELP, it felt only only natural to me to start digging in the past of the band's three members. This journey began with the first two King Crimson albums where Greg Lake played a significant role and then followed by exploration of Atomic Rooster's debut album with Carl Palmer on drums. It did take me a bit longer to dig into Keith Emerson's past due to the low availability of the three original studio albums from the Nice and my complete reluctance of purchasing a compilation album. Eventually I did get a hold of a used copy of the band-titled 1969 release and that's where my journey felt complete. But what about the actual album, you might ask?

To tell you the truth, I was expecting just a bit more from this early power trio formation. Maybe I set my expectations way too high for this '60s band, but it's hard not to considering the talent the existed within the collective. If anything, the live material featured on side two really shows that both Brian Davidson and Lee Jackson could hold their own against Keith Emerson, which is a great achievement in itself. The biggest problem for me here is the writing. After listening a bit more of the earlier the Nice albums, it appears that this problem stretches pretty much all throughout their short career. The members were just not that good at writing memorable compositions. The Nice is more of a jam-based band that created one or two riffs and then constructed their arrangements around them, reminiscent of the Psychedelic rock movement of the time.

One might argue that the band was running thin on ideas by the time of this release and therefore resorted to completing the album with two lengthy live performances on side two. Personally, I think that this was on contrary a very wise move from the collective since the Nice is ultimately a live band and therefore should, first hand, be experienced as such. I honestly consider side two to be the highlight of this album since it shows a great energy burst from all of the members that I fail to notice in their studio performances.

In the end, I can understand why the band decided to call it a day after this release. All of the members depicted great potential in their individual performances but the final result never really came off as a legitimate band effort. I might argue that this is the problem that followed most of Keith Emerson's career but at least ELP knew that giving the actual compositions more room than the individual solo spots would pay off in the end.

**** star songs: Azrael Revisited (5:56) Hang On To A Dream (3:59) Rondo '69' (7:55) She Belongs To Me (12:15)

*** star songs: Diary Of An Empty Day (3:58) For Example (8:55)