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Well, its time to play "six degrees
of separation." Here I am, holding in one hand Emerson,
Lake and Palmer's (ELP) "Then & Now," and in the
other hand I'm holding Asia's "Then & Now." Okay,
I am lying, I have the CD's side by side so I can have both fingers
free for typing. I am having funny MTV flashbacks of TWO former
"ELP" members playing in "Asia," Carl Palmer
and Greg Lake. Greg was never an official member of "Asia,"
he was a hired gun for a series of Japanese concerts for MTV.
That means one definite link between the bands (Carl Palmer)
and one probable (Greg Lake). That explains why I keep confusing
the two bands, which is good, because they are both excellent.
"Then & Now" is a double
CD set, with the first disc covering ELP's 1974 appearance in
"Cal Jam '74." This is a very important performance,
since "ELP" considers this concert to be their best
performance ever, on par with their appearance at the 1970 Isle
of Wight Festival. "Cal Jam" was a 12-hour festival,
that some people attacked as being an attempt to cash in on Woodstock.
The second disc covers their 1997/98 tour.
Listening to "ELP" is the equivalent of jumping into
a time machine. Symphonic Rock at its very best. It's sad that
we don't have more bands willing to prepare a show like this.
I wonder what's going to happen once "ELP" and "Yes"
decide they've had enough and stop touring. Once this happens
then our only hope will be for "Rush" to stick together
for another 20 years.
It is extremely hard for me to pick favorite
tracks out of this set, since in my opinion the whole set is
excellent. It is quite interesting that they only repeated one
song on both sides, "Karn Evil 9." If I was producing
a record of this kind, I would have provided at least two to
three repeated songs, so you could compare what the group sounded
like then, and how they perform the same song now. Of course,
this would be worthless if the group in question is "the
Stones," but for "Yes," "Rush" and "ELP"
it would give you a taste of their musical progression over the
years. On a lighter note, if the group was "Jefferson Airplane"
it will convince you once and for all that the best thing that
happened to them was to break up. I liked the inclusion of the
two versions of "Karn Evil 9," because that is their
customary opening for their shows.
The "Then" disc also has "From
The Beginning," which I consider to be one of their finest
recordings ever. "Lucky Man" is also included, but
only on the "Now" disc, which I consider a mistake,
since this song deserved to be included in both sides, and if
that was not possible, the obvious choice would be to include
it on the "Then" disc.
This is a great CD set, and will make a
worthy addition to anyone's Classic Rock collection. Please remember
that this set is not designed as a sampler of "ELP"
and their work, it is only a demonstration of their powerful
live performances in two of their most important periods of their
career. If you are interested in a good picture of the musical
range of "ELP," then you also need to try "Best
Of Emerson, Lake and Palmer." |
