INSIDE EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER 1970-1995

Emerson, Lake & Palmer was not only the first progrock supergroup (featuring members from The Nice, King Crimson and Atomic Rooster) but also the most controversial Seventies symphonic rock band.

Watching this interesting DVD in the 'Inside serie' you can notice that from the very first moment ELP was embraced by the progheads because of their adventurous, virtuosic and bombastic approach and a grateful object for the music journalist because of the 'over the top sound'. Just listen to the descriptions here on this DVD like "ELP was overblown, excessive, pretentious..", "They hit the ground running" and "It's glorious in its ridiculousness"! But 'the critical team' also says "The songs had also a feel like Lucky Man and Take A Pebble" (named the equivalent of Hang On To A Dream by The Nice) and "It was unfair to nail Emerson for his wild stage act while the music press was positive about Hendrix (burning guitars) and Townsend (damaging his guitar) on stage". This music documentary delivers a short view on each member and all albums, embellished with exciting live footage: Keith Emerson with his 'space jack', butchering the Hammond organ, throwing knives on it and jumping with the Moog ribbon controller, Greg Lake with his 'glamrock-like' double neck guitar and Carl Palmer behind his huge and pompous drumkit. About the albums: "the debut album is a blend of British rock music, European classical music and USA jazz", "Tarkus is a magnificient presentation of what ELP could do", "Emerson butchered Pictures At An Exhibition to great effect!", "Trilogy was to explore more things like jazz and ragtime", "Brain Salad Surgery is their best effort", "Welcome back .. shows what a hell of a live band ELP was!", "Works Vol. 1 was very self- indulgent and had some throw away songs", "Works Vol. 2 sounded more disciplined", "The live shows with the orchestra financially cripled ELP, after 3 weeks they had lost 2 million pounds..!", "Love Beach is from the cover to the last song awful, a very lacklustre album" and "Black Moon was the first album of the second coming, it sounds pretty good". Mostly Autumn keyboard player Iain Jennings shows some fine examples of Emerson his excellent play like the titletrack on Trilogy "It's difficult to play it with two hands and Emerson did it with one hand, the other was for the synthesizer work..!".

Another good DVD from Classic Rock Productions their Inside serie, I enjoyed it the sixty minutes long!

In a nostalgic mood for the glory days of ELP this is a nice cheapie to indulge in. Basically its a documentary showcasing the pomp and majesty of the super chaps three in all their bombastic excellence. Tracks include excerpts from Tarkus, Pictures At An Exhibition, Trilogy, Brain Salad Surgery, Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends, Ladies And Gentlemen .. the Works Volumes right up to Black Moon. It is a series of interviews and concert footage that have been covered better in the wonderful In the Beginning DVD. For beginners to the group it is a great starting point in a condensed package.