LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL (DVD)

By all accounts, the reunion concert from which this recording is taken was a stunning event. The legendary, and now sadly departed, Alan Freeman introduces the concert before a quick burst of the "Welcome back my friends.." verse from "Karn Evil 9" gets things going.

The "Black moon" album, which was a reasonable effort, was their current release the time and therefore features far more predominantly in the set list than it perhaps would now. "Paper blood", "Romeo and Juliet" and the title track all appear from that album.

The classics are present too of course, although with the concert having been edited down to meet the capacity of a single CD, many are notable by their absence; even "Tarkus" is significantly curtailed (not a hint of "Aquatarkus"). The track is described as a "medley", but in reality it is simply the first half with a brief synthesiser burst. One of the highlights of the entire evening must have been the moog solo at the end of "Lucky man". While the vocal section is supported by thoroughly modern synthesiser sounds, the concluding solo has the precise monotone of the original.

Most of the tracks which are included here are demanding of Lake's vocal talents. ELP fans will therefore not take long to be struck by the way he sings the old songs in a much lower key to their original recordings, to the extent that at times it doesn't even sound like it is the same person who is singing. The change can be quite jarring on the ear initially, but the once you get over that, the talent is still very much in evidence.

The renditions are pretty much facsimiles of the originals, there is no room here for piano improvisations or virtuoso indulgences. Quite why the band chose to resurrect "Pirates" in full, especially without an orchestra, is something of a mystery. The only real treats for the audience are "Creole dance", a piano rendition by Emerson, and the closing medley which takes in "Fanfare for the common man" and a couple of The Nice's best known pieces.

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