Pictures at an Exhibition

BTW Here´s Wigwam´s version about "Finlandia", I guess it shares the opinions, but I really love it´s rawness (and it´s in a great way added to Losing Hold):

I dig them all. Good music is good music . . .

I have never been fully satisfied with any of ELP's versions, but then I knew the full piece before I heard EPL do it. The Ravel orchestrated version was one of the first classical records I bought and I still love it. Then I found the original piano version, and in some ways I like it more and other ways I like it less. Then I discovered Leopold Stowkowski's orchestration, which I also love and highly recommend.

The most famous orchestral version is the one by Ravel but there are a number of other versions including one by the founder of The Proms (Sir Henry Joseph Wood) that takes place every year at The Royal Albert Hall ( although not this time I imagine)

Edited by The Anders - March 31 2020 at 08:01

Crap indeed, if "scatred", then one should consult a doctor as blood in the stool can be a very serious thing. It has happened to me.

By the way, I didn't notice anyone mention Mekong Delta's Pictures at an Exhibition.



Edited by Logan - March 31 2020 at 16:31

Sean Trane beat me to adding another version you should check out.  I like all the variations on it.

richardh wrote: Tom Ozric wrote: My very first ELP album back in ‘87. Still my favourite. I haven’t ventured into other versions. I think the sound of this album is utterly brilliant.   I'm not sure myself. Carl Palmer's symbals and high hat are way too muted and the organ is too 'clean' for my taste. Have you ever heard the 1970 Lyceum version? It was part of the film of the band that was released into the cinema at the time. The Baba Yaga section on that version is mighty and shows ELP at their devastating best IMO. Other parts are not so good. The Old Castle/Blues Variation is much better on the album but in general I prefer the rougher sound of the 1970 Lyceum performance to that of the 1971 studio album.

I have the full DVD of Piccies. I think the post-production went overboard with the psychedelics ha ha. I never found too much to pick with the sound.

Interesting discussion. Of all the different versions I prefer the first from the documentary of the Isle Of Wight festival; that is the video of the performance of Pictures of an Exhibition, not the CD of the performance which came out later. That is vastly inferior. It's Keith's incredible attack on the Hammond organ where he stretches the notes and Carl Palmer's amazing ability at being able to sustain the beat while Keith is doing his act, all the time Greg Lake hiding himself in a corner trying to figure out what to do. This is what I love about Prog Rock. It's not always about the technical proficiency but more about the surprises that it brings up. Someone mentioned Rick Wakeman's comic ability as well. In my view what ELP brings to the table at the Isle Of Wight festival is better than anything that The Nice were doing earlier. However post 1977 ELP for various reasons is inferior to what pre 1970 The Nice were doing.

Braka1 wrote: I have no idea if this is widely accepted, but I remember the first time I heard Grieg's 'Peer Gynt' in its entirety, and realised immediately that Lake had pinched the main opening melody from 'Solveig's Song' for 'The Sage'.

We think alike - I posted that on a prog rock Facebook site about a year ago, thinking I'd get lots of responses along the lines of "Yes, we all knew that" or "Yes, Greg mentioned it himself in the past", but didn't. Is it a well-known fact amongst ELP fans?