WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS TO THE SHOW THAT NEVER ENDS

Ok. Back in the 70's I was a huge ELP fan; I remember listening to BSS almost non-stop for 3 years! I was also present at the Montreal "Works 1" concert with the full orchestra. A couple of weeks ago, a guy called me to put together an ELP cover band. I went to the store and bought a CD version of this live album which I had not heard in decades. I vaguely remembered that the sound quality was rather poor but that the "Tarkus" version smoked. So how does it stand the test of time? Well, I still think the sound is terrible and the "Tarkus" version is great.

Low points:

Sound. Was "Jerusalem" recorded from the back of a truck outside the venue? Did the engineer put muffles on the mikes for "Karn" 2nd? Also the pan-pot tweaking (sending an instrument from speaker to speaker) gets annoying after a while.

Greg. Often sings out of tune. "Jeremy Bender" is played so fast that he has problems catching his breath. Karn Evil 9 (1st and 3rd) are played at a lower pitch, giving the "impression" that the singer is drunk.

Carl often gets into "45 rpm" mode, leaving one to wonder if he can keep a steady beat outside the studio. Excitement? Maybe... The guy can sure roll with the best, but can he groove?

Keith's performance is more than good but he is evidently struggling to keep up with Carl at various points.

High points:

Hoedown. Tarkus. The Piano Improvs. The courageaous rendering of "Toccata".