Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Pictures at an Exhibition

Rating:
Summary: Oh Yah, This movie belongs on your mantle.
Review: This movie has a bonus feature built into the video image that makes it well worth every penny.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent...
Review: This one is a must have for all ELP fans. Pictures at an exhibition offers musically very sensitive and yet very powerful show. It's more than great to see just the superb improvisation and skill that ELP did their music already in early 70's, and the film takes you with it from the beginning. Really grazy stuff, guys really smash the minds of the audience and the watcher/listener. I exactly have the limited edition disc with a DVD on the otherside and a CD on the other... Now, if i remember correctly, the sound format is DD 2.0 but just good enough, so i recommend this to all who like the ELP more than much. If you are a starter with ELP, maybe you should listen some "more sense making ;) " songs/albums first 'cause this can be little scary one. Still, absolutely a best ever DVD...

Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Performance
Review: This video of ELP playing Pictures at the Lyceum in their early days was reissued in the USA last year. The sound quality and picture are superior to the original DVD release with the bonus audio CD. I regularly implode my ears with this monster performance. Close your eyes during the cheesy video effects and groove on great musicians at work. It's one of Lake's finest performances both vocally and instrumentally. His bass playing is OUTSTANDING in this video.

Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this
Review: To take a performance from a great band like ELP and ruin it with crappy special effects is unforgivable.When I watch this I get so mad I want to scream.Royal Albert Hall and Masters from the Vaults are both excellent DVD's and a must for any ELP fan.Don't waste your time on "Pictures',one of the worst rock movies ever.

Rating:
Summary: Good stuff!
Review: UPS dropped off this DVD this morning at my doorstep. Yes, I've already watched it. : ) Anyway, I'm suprised at the quality of sound and video for this concert video. It's really pretty good, especially for something that was recorded in 1970. I thought the audience's response was pretty funny during the begining of the show. They just sat there as Emerson coaxed all sorts of neat sounds out of his Moog synthesizer. Back then synthesizers were pretty new and weren't often used in popular music, so I guess the audience was a little shocked! I agree with all the comments posted before me. It was pretty aggravating to see the video special effects and cartoons(?!). I'd rather see the musicians! If you liked ELP in their hey-day, I recommend getting this video. Just be aware that much of it does contain the video effects.

Rating:
Summary: The Midnight Movies
Review: Way back in the pre-MTV 70's, most cities and towns had at least one theatre that ran "Midnight Movies," usually on Friday and Saturday nights. These ran the gamut from the bad (The Song Remains the Same) to the good (Rocky Horror, The Wall) to the weird (Rust Never Sleeps.) It really didn't matter too much since the entire audience was stoned out of they're gourds and half of them were groping each other. Still it was the coolest thing in the world back then to see good bands on any sized screen. How times have changed indeed. Sometimes they'd show oldies like the Beatles films or Woodstock, and sometimes there would be two movies on the bill, at least one of them a bit shorter. That's where this DVD comes in, since it's basically the 70's midnight movie "Rock and Roll Your Eyes" except I think the original had "The Nutrocker" as an encore. This was a less-than-one-hour thing that would play before something like Welcome to my Nightmare or Monterrey Pop. Which means me and my friends/dates probably arrived halfway through it most of the time, since we were busy getting stoned out of our gourds in the parking lot like everybody else.

So having this actual document of that long-gone era is incredibly cool to those of a certain generation. The fact that it's a great document from the Prog era makes it extra special to me. So I give it 4 stars. And I'm going to be a lot more lenient than many people would be, for the above-mentioned reasons.

So 1 star off for all of this: The sound and picture are typical of their day, and were never intended to be released in the digital age. The performance itself is rough in spots, although the band generally aquits itself well enough. 70's prog indulgences can be cool (such as the entire idea of making a rock remake of a classical standard) but they can be uncool just as well (Keith Emerson playing some theramin type thing with his butt, and ruining a stirring finale by tossing his electric clavinet around like a wrestling partner.) And while Emerson's early Moog work is historic (even Bob Moog himself told him it couldn't be used on stage) the endless knob-twiddling is distracting. The psychedelic film effects smeared over half the movie (which gave the film it's original name) are dated and ruin the visual enjoyment of the best part, when ELP are in the middle of some classic jamming. Greg Lake is off-key at several key moments (awesome acoustic guitar on "The Sage" though.)

Despite all of that, I absolutely treasure this rare treat from the classic Prog days, a great band captured live and for the most part playing outstanding music. The CD itself would only get 3 stars from me, but this DVD is essential for old (and new) Progheads, and old Midnight Movies veterans too.