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Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Pictures at an Exhibition

Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Pictures at an Exhibition

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $17.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent sound and picture quality & a CD, too.
Review: After all these years, it's amazing to find that Messrs. Emerson, Lake & Palmer were ever so young and good looking.

Never mind that...

ELP's performance in this video is spot on as always. The sound and picture quality are outstanding, and exceeds that of many theatrical releases produced in the late 60's/early 70's. The flip side of the DVD is playable on CD players.

The only drawback is that the (now dated) animation superimposed over the band during the more uptempo passages can be slightly irritating. In spite of this and the exclusion of additional tracks (no Nutrocker!), I find myself listening to the old "Pictures" CD much less often now that I have this DVD/CD in my collection.

A tremendous value.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rock newcomers, welcome
Review: ELP is a kind of band that matters. This dvd is a must for ELP fans, and specially for those who want to listen to one of the greatest keyboardist and rock composers ever.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great music and visuals!
Review: ELP is one of my favorite bands right up there with Zep, Floyd and Alice. Theirs is a unique sound and a singular vision. That vision is brought to light exquisitely by this DVD. It is a treat to see the young trio playing their instruments and such, but after a while them just standing and playing would start to get old (especially after repeated viewings). I mean, you can watch Keith Emerson's hands all day long, but that isn't going to mean you can play like him.

There are some groovy psychedelic effects in the middle part of the show that both both enhance the viewing experience and illustrate what ELP is all about. The swirls turn into comic-book images (not cartoons). These are Marvel comics characters from the 60's by Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko-- two artistic visionaries that were doing with pen and ink what ELP did with sound. The visuals are thus a perfect match! Dr. Strange and the Fantastic Four in particular are well suited to ELPs music.

Some people may be annoyed that they can't see the band clearly the whole time, but there is plenty of unadulterated footage of the band doing its thing. By the time the visuals start you ought to be in the proper state of mind to enjoy them them anyway. They wash over you just like the music does.

This is certainly one of the best concert DVDs available.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Get Live at Albert Hall DVD instead
Review: ELP was critisized as pompus and pretentious. And with Pictures, they peaked in that regard. Ravel's orchestration of "Pictures" is one of those classical pieces which is perfect without any further adaptation. It is one thing to tackle great classical pieces such as Alberto Ginastera's 1st Piano Concerto ("Tocotta" on Brain Salad Surgery) or Bartok or Janacek ("The Barbarian" and "Knife Edge" on ELP's first album). But Mussourgsky! Glad ELP violated that holy cow! Rock-n-Roll!

It is very cool to watch these three men in their musical prime turning out music with the scope of an entire symphony. It is a shame the video here is covered up with early '70s psychedelic color changes and cartoons distorting the performance. Nor does the video ever let you see the entire band playing. In addition, the audio seems to have musical drop-outs where the person on the mixing board didn't have volume controls for the keyboards or guitars properly set.

If you are a die hard ELP fan, this is a must. But, personally, I prefer the ELP Live at the Royal Albert Hall DVD because: 1) the video is 100% better; 2) the sound is 100% better; 3) the performance is 100% better; and 4) it has 400% more of ELP's music on it.

If you have a good stereo and turntable, I highly recommend trying to find the audiophile half speed master pressing of the album on the Mobile High Fidelity label.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: They Should Have released the Japanese version!
Review: Finally released on DVD! Unfortunately this the UK version, which only has the whole Pictures song. I was hoping it was the Japanese release that has Knife Edge, Take a Pebble and some more from the same concert.

The picture quality is good. Just like the ld format.

On the other side of this disc (it's a dual side), is the CD version. Lucky me I didn't have Pictures on CD before :)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Rock and Roll Your Eyes
Review: For those too young to remember, based on the descriptions in the other reviews it's obvious that this DVD is built from the Midnight Movie perennial from the early '70s, "Rock and Roll Your Eyes," which I've seen at least three times but not since the early '80s.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A reflection of the seventies
Review: I did not wait till this DVD arrived because the concert is all ready available in Holland on DVD. The concert contains good close-ups of all three musicians and especially the interaction between Palmer and Emmerson in the third number (the second “Promenade”) is a joy to watch. Later on the movie reflects the seventies when psychedelic images joins the number “Blues Variation” and hardly leaves till the end of the movie. Although my copy last only 41 minutes I am pretty sure this one will be the same concert. Hopefully the sound quality will improve because sometimes it sounds a little bit distorted when Emmerson creates an ‘overkill’ of sounds. Like all other DVD’s this video start with two sections you can not skip. They annoy me. .... I wonder if people share these thoughts.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great music, great affects
Review: I was really surprised to see that this has been released on DVD. I saw this over 10 years ago on a video taped from late night TV. It had a great effect on me. It introduced me to ELP, and I have since become a huge fan of their music, and "art rock" as a whole, including Yes, King Crimson, etc. But it did even more. It opened up the exciting world of classical music as well. The music is based on Modest Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition, and is an exciting interpretation. The video, though dated, is really cool, especially the flashing of cartoon newsprint. A good addition to your DVD collection.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: BEYOND INCREDIBLE !!
Review: Ignore the people who tell you about the bad psychedelic special effects. First of all, those special effects are there because they're part of the ELP experience. Obviously those who don't appreciate them are unaware of what ELP is about. Secondly, they are awesome! And ELP is unbelievable. This IS the ULTIMATE DVD! It doesn't get any better than this folks! For rock and roll, or any other type of music for that matter. ELP is the answer to the repressive artistic times we live in now. And by the way, if you have any neighbors blasting rap through your walls, just put this in and turn it up. They may think twice about it next time. If you're a lover of ELP, progressive rock, psychedelia, or just plain seeing something totally mind blowing and authentic. Get this, you'll thank the gods.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: if only they had removed the cartoons...
Review: It should have been a perfect historic performance of an early ELP, but the marvel cartoons effects are really out of place... no more words about it. The performance and image are very good and naive: Emerson, in his brand new suit, fighting with the oscillators of his new MOOG synthesizer; the absolutely breathtaking acoustic solo by Lake; and Palmer trying to get into the rhythm on a part of The Great Gates of Kiev. Very nice film, that's why I recommend it.
ELP's segment on the film about ISLE OF WIGHT and MASTER FROM THE VAULTS(from french program Superstars in Concert) are a couple of additional DVDs to be a good companion to this one.



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