01	Promenade						01:56
	02	The Gnome						04:16
	03	Promenade						01:23
	04	The Sage						04:40
	05	The Old Castle						02:31
	06	Blues Variation						04:14
	07	Promenade						01:28
	08	The Hut Of Baba Yaga						01:12
	09	The Curse Of Baba Yaga						04:09
	10	The Hut Of Baba Yaga						01:06
	11	The Great Gates Of Kiev. The End						06:27
	12	Nutrocker						04:33

E.L.P. "PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION" - 1972

Keith Emerson - keyboards
Greg Lake - vocals, bass, guitar
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion

Promenade {Mussorgsky}
The Gnome {Mussorgsky/Palmer}
Promenade {Mussorgsky/Lake}
The Sage {Lake}
The Old Castle {Mussorgsky/Emerson}
Blues Variations {Emerson/Lake/Palmer}

Promenade {Mussorgsky}
The Hut Of Baba Yaga {Mussorgsky}
The Curse Of Baba Yaga {Emerson/Lake/Palmer}
The Hut Of Baba Yaga {Mussorgsky}
The Great Gates Of Kiev {Mussorgsky/Lake}
The End - Nutrocker {Kim Fowley, arranged by

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Николай Алексеенко: Если во втором альбоме ELP "Tarkus" заимствований и обработок было просто очень много, то теперь весь альбом сам является версией известнейшего сочинения Модеста Петровича Мусоргского "Картинки с Выставки". Следует заметить, что группа никогда не обходила вниманием русскую музыкальную школу :) (в ее репертуаре были и Чайковский, и Прокофьев). Альбом представляет из себя запись живого выступления группы в Newcastle City Hall 26 марта 1971 года. Из-за этого в записи постоянно присутствует шум толпы, порой чрезвычайно бурно реагирующей на различные музыкальные пассажи или выходки своих любимцев на сцене. И есть чему радоваться - музыка на альбоме просто грандиозна. "Promenade" - как бы мостик, перемычка между разными частями "Картинок" играется ELP по "классической" схеме без каких-либо изменений. Но все остальное... "The Gnome", "The Old Castle" и особенно "The Curse Of Baba Yaga" - предельно неожиданные и интересные обработки. "The Curse" - кульминация диска, это самая быстрая, непредсказуемая и захватывающая композиция. Завершается "Мусоргская" часть альбома красивой, неспешной, торжественной "The Great Gates Of Kiev". Есть на диске и вещи, не имеющие к Модесту Петровичу отношения. Это "The Sage", как бы затерявшаяся внутри "Картинок" - на мой взгляд, самая душевная и трогательная баллада Лейка по мотивам "Пер Гюнта" Грига (он исполняет ее под акустическую гитару очень красивым тенором, и вызывает просто оглушительные овации публики); "Blues Variations" - захватывающие гитарные ипровизации на основе песен Боба Дилана; и завершает выступление группа исполнением громкой и жизнерадостной обработки марша из "Щелкунчика" Петра Ильича Чайковского, сделанной в свое время Кимом Фаули под забавным названием "Nutrocker".

Оценка: 10 из 10.



Promenade

Lead me from tortured dreams
Childhood themes of nights alone.
Wipe away endless years,
childhood tears as dry as stone.

From seeds of confusion,
illusions dark blossoms have grown.
Even now in furrows of sorrow
the dance still is sung.

My life's course is guided
decided by limits drawn
on charts of my past ways
and pathways since I was born.


Pictures at an Exhibition
Rhino Records (R2 72225)
UK 1972

Keith Emerson, keyboards; Greg Lake, bass, vocals; Carl Palmer, drums

Tracklist:
1. Promenade - 1:56
2. The Gnome - 4:16
3. Promenade - 1:23
4. The Sage - 4:40
5. The Old Castle - 2:31
6. Blues Variations - 4:14
7. Promenade - 1:28
8. The Hut of Baba Yaga - 1:12
9. The Curse of Baba Yaga - 4:09
10. The Hut of Baba Yaga - 1:06
11. The Great Gates of Kiev - 6:27
12. Nutrocker - 4:33

total time 38:01



bob

I do at least have to thank ELP for getting me interested enough in this piece of music to check out an orchestral version of it, which is wonderful. ELP's rendition, on the other hand...well, it's actually at its best when the band gets away from trying to adapt the classical piece. For example, "Blues Variation" is prime ELP, but has little to do with the rest of the album. Of the adaptation tracks, parts of the "Baba Yaga" section aren't bad, and I like their take on the "Promenade" theme - but then a melody that strong is hard to screw up. That's not to say Greg Lake doesn't try, with the fairly lame lyrics he adds.
Speaking of Lake's lyrics, things like his climactic lines "There's no end to my life, no beginning to my death, death is Life!" foreshadow some of the horribly bad lyrics he would write on later albums. How he could sing the the above with a straight face is beyond me.

The cover of "Nutrocker" they use as filler is catchy, but doesn't add anything essential to the album. Overall this is one of ELP's weaker efforts - not actively bad like Love Beach or In the Hot Seat, but certainly not a must-have album. The muddy sound quality doesn't help. Beginners should try some of the other early ELP albums before this one.



conrad

History is full of "What ifs". For instance, what if Mussorgsky had survived long enough to orchestrate his piano work Pictures at an Exhibition? Furthermore, what if instead of using a standard orchestra he decided to add odd instruments like the soprano saxophone. No, scrap the sax, what about a rock power trio using instruments like analogue synthesizers? Sound like a stupid proposition? Emerson, Lake and Palmer didn't think so.
The result is surprisingly good. Classical adaptations are most succesful, in my opinion, when they use the power of the standard rock outfit to match a powerful classical compostion. The danger is always that the result will sound hackneyed. There has been considerable debate as to if this is the case on this album, but I personally like it. Songs like "The Hut of Baba Yaga" benefit from the strength of electirified instruments. The original compositions in this suite, "The Sage" and "The Curse of Baba Yaga", are also strong ELP pieces and add to the overall effect of this album. "Blues Variations" is a little out of place, but I'm not going to complain about getting to hear Keith Emerson improvising.

Two things markedly detract from this album, however. Greg Lake's singing to "The Great Gates of Kiev" is an abomination. And "Nutrocker" is an awful adaptation of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. This is not a song that is begging to be done as a rock song, and Kim Fowley's arrangemant is as cheesy as you can get.

Overall, the album is either great or terrible, and for me the great moments outnumber the terrible ones. I do have my own personal "What if" though. What if somebody had pointed out to Greg Lake that the reason people love Keith Emerson's long keyboard solos so much is not so much because it is an improvisational expression of his artistic and emotional being, but because it stops Greg Lake from singing?

1-13-03


sean

One of the characteristics often used to describe progressive rock is an incorporation of influences from classical music (usually from the romantic period) or jazz. Occasionally artists have made deeper forays into this territory. Often they were unsuccessful, as best demonstrated by this famous embarrassment.
Whether Mussorgsky's original piece lent itself to rock instrumentation is one question; unsurprisingly, the arrangements preferred by ELP are choked in bombast and particularly Emerson's need for everything to be more strenuous than necessary. The addition of lyrics is a risky thing, but Lake rushes into this vulgarity with little fear, penning stuff that is bad even by normal Lake/Sinfield standards. ELP is at their best when they are not aping (raping?) Mussorgsky, but unfortunately this only happens on one track, "Blues Variations". The insult to be added to the injury is the final track, "Nutrocker", taking themes from the Nutcracker and, uh, rocking them. Nothing terribly important, but at least not an outright molestation.

I've never warmed much to ELP. Something has always thrown me off, and this album pretty much epitomizes those reasons. If you have ever wanted to hear one of the reasons the critical love affair with prog ended, slap this one on the turntable or CD changer and find out.


joe

Out of ELP's 'Classic 5,' Pictures at an Exhibition is the only one that I pretty flatly don't care for. Consider it a quaint document of a time long since passed: when a rock band could fill large halls with an entire concert devoted to sprawling, overlong interpretations of famous classical works, and not only does the audience actually care, but they respond as if it's the Second Coming. Would Modeste have approved of Lake's purely fatuous lyrics superimposed over "Promenade," the band's enjoyable but jarring derailment into "Blues Variations" after "The Old Castle," or guffaw-inducing writing credits like "Mussorgsky/Palmer"? I doubt it, but since he was a heavy drinker, who knows. Note that I'm not categorically against full-blown classical adaptations, and I've seen the band perform this adaptation live in truncated form so I know that it can work effectively when judiciously edited. But as it stands here at an excruciating 38 minutes with the goofy "Nutrocker" pasted on at the end...well, it doesn't.



Emerson Lake and Palmer - Pictures At An Exhibition

Released: 1972 (CD ?) / 1996
Label: Atlantic/Cotillion / Rhino/Castle
Cat. No.: (A2) 19122 / 72225/ESM342
Total Time: 37:48


Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, January 2003
For long time Emerson Lake and Palmer fans this release needs no introduction, but for those who are still discovering classic progressive rock with wide eyed wonder (or merely amused curiosity) Pictures At An Exhibition is ELP's prog rock version of Mussorgsky's suite of the same name : with a few added bits that Mussorgsky didn't write.

Recorded live on March 26, 1971, nearly 90 years to the day after Mussorgsky died (March 28, 1881) -- though I don't presume to be the only one who's noticed this* -- it was originally released in 1972. The CD version has been issued any number of times since by various different labels, but most recently, it appears, by Castle Music/Sanctuary Records Group in UK (though this review is based on the Atlantic/Cotillion edition of some vintage**). When it was originally released on vinyl, it featured two tracks, one on each side (comprising six and seven pieces, respectfully).

Though the band's studio output seems more highly regarded than this live release, at least in some corners, I personally have no beef with this release on the whole. Any quibbles I have relate to the production (which may have improved with the subsequent reissues). While for the most part, ELP's presentation is of a stately manner, beginning with the austere opening segment "Promenade," when the band breaks from the suite with non-related pieces like "Blues Variation" it changes the piece's whole character. Perhaps it's not really a fair comparison to make, but listening to the ELP version of "The Gnome" along side Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic's performance of the same piece, we hear the titular gnome less as sad, dark figure and more as a lumbering, fearful beast. (A quibble is the very shrill note that Emerson plays right at the end that, at first, sounds like microphone feedback). Oh, okay, I'm not expecting a faithful translation, so, you veterans, don't go thinking that I don't "get it." I do. But I have to wonder if, for Emerson, if it was about saying something about music or just what he could do with the Moog synth he obviously enjoyed playing/experimenting with (certainly seems true about "The Old Castle" leading into "Blues Variation." Just a little shrill for my liking, but I can live with it, since I enjoyed listening to this CD again. Those non-Mussorgsky pieces fall at the end of each "side" - "Blues Variation" in the case of "side one" and "Nutrocker" on "side two," (though the trio add in "The Curse Of Baba Yaga"). If their placement had been reversed, I'd certainly be a little disappointed, as the rollicking fun of "Nutrocker" would be very out of place. However, other than trying to capture the performance in it's entirety (though I don't know if that's the case, since there's a fade out before it begins), including "Nutrocker" here seems: indulgent. Though I suppose, given the serious intensity they'd just given to their take on PAAE, this playful jam was a chance to play it loose and a bit of fun. And the only reason "Blues Variation" fits is that, given the presentation we've already been given, sonically it seems of a piece, if a little bit more lively than the Mussorgsky compositions. Though, it does show them to be a fairly tight unit.

There comes a point, between the end of "The Gnome" (which features some very taut drumming from Palmer) and the beginning of the Lake altered "Promenade" reprise where everything gets too quiet : you can just hear Lake's voice for the first part of "The Sage," (which does get more audible) that otherwise has a peaceful fragility. It is, for this section, just Lake on acoustic guitar, and playing quite lovely. Which is why I wish the levels were just tweaked a bit higher (and yes, I have the on louder than usual).

Trio really let loose (in a way different from "Nutrocker") on the "The Curse Of Baba Yaga" and "The Hut Of Baba Yaga," sounding like the ELP we're most familiar with. "The Great Gates Of Kiev" mellows the band out again, though it does show up the limitations of the sound recording at this point, especially during Lake's vocals (which sound good otherwise).

Of the band's live releases, with exception of Live At The Royal Albert Hall, this is the one that seems to get the highest marks from fans, though even those are at the average level. I do give this a slightly higher rating than, say, the three stars at Allmusic.com, but the overall sound quality shaves a few points off.

Rating: 3.5/5

The useful/less footnote section: *perhaps this is why they chose to perform it on this occasion, though 90 is not a milestone year...

**I actually spent quite a bit of time trying to find out when this particular CD version was released, but there is nary a word about it on the Web, including in otherwise complete discographies. It does, however, share the catalog number with Atlantic's vinyl release in, it appears, 1977. I'm going to guess that this came out rather early in the history of compact discs, though I know I bought it after 1991. I say all this because of the question marks in the details above, and the curious thing about the album artwork. Seeking this out now, you'll find that the frames are empty, which appears to be, as near as I can tell, how it was originally released.

More about Pictures At An Exhibition:

Track Listing: Promenade - The Gnome - Promenade - The Sage - The Old Castle - Blues Variation (19:01) / Promenade - The Hut Of Baba Yaga - The Curse Of Baba Yaga - The Hut Of Baba Yaga - The Great Gates Of Kiev - The End - Nutrocker (18:46)

Musicians:
Keith Emerson - keyboards, organ, Moog
Greg Lake - bass, acoustic guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums and percussion

Contact:

Website: www.emersonlakepalmer.com
Note: will open new browser window

Discography

Emerson Lake and Palmer (1970/1983)
Tarkus (1971)
Pictures At An Exhibition (1972)
Trilogy (1972)
Brain Salad Surgery (1973/1983)
Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends (1974)
Works, Vol. 1 (1977)
Works, Vol. 2 (1977)
Love Beach (1978)
In Concert (1979)
The Best Of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1980)
Black Moon (1992)
Live At The Royal Albert Hall (1992)
The Atlantic Years (1992)
Works Live (1993)
The Return Of The Manticore Box set (1993)
In The Hot Seat (1994)
The Best Of Emerson, Lake and Palmer (1994)
Classic Rock (1995)
Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival (1997)
King Biscuit Flower Hour: Greatest Hits Live (1997)
Then & Now (live) (1998)
The Very Best Of Emerson, Lake and Palmer (2000)
The Original Bootleg Series From Manticore Vaults, Volume 1 (2001)
The Original Bootleg Series From Manticore Vaults, Volume 2 (2001)
Live In Poland (2001)
Show That Never Ends (2001)
Live (2002)*
Best Of The Bootlegs (2002)
Solo Anthology (2002)
The Original Bootleg Series From Manticore Vaults, Volume 3 (2002)

*this is of the Isle Of Wight festival, too.

Videography (VID/DVD)

Pictures At An Exhibition (1970/2002)
Welcome Back (1993/2001)
Live At The Royal Albert Hall (1996/2001)
Works Orchestral Tour: Olympic Stadium, Montreal, 1977 (1998)
The Manticore Special (1998)
(broadcast on TV 1973/1974)




Emerson Lake and Palmer - Pictures at an Exhibition

Member: ptuasca

This is a live album with unreleased tracks. Based on Mussorgsky pictures, this is another work of giants. My fave, right after Brain Salad Surgery.

Song by song review:

"Promenade":

"Promenade" appears in separate parts through the album. It's a very beautiful theme, with beautiful lyrics. The first time it appears it's very soft and relaxing, with Emerson doing the main thing. The second time is like the first but Lake sings. The third part has Palmer rocking in his drums, making things exciting.

"The Gnome":

Frightening. Very scary. They can picture a bad gnome like no one else! Superb instrumental here.

"The Sage":

Lake on the acoustic, this song has deep lyrics and great guitar work. Very soft, with a warmer solo. I love this one. It's far better than "Still...you turn me on" and "C'est la vie", IMO.

"The Old Castle":

This one rocks. The bass line is perfect. Carl too. It makes things warm up.

"Blues Variations":

Like the title suggests, a hot bluesy song, showcasing our lads' innovative and highly skilled techniques. Won't be your fave, but it's a nice one.

"The Hut of Baba Yaga / The Curse of Baba Yaga / The Hut of Baba Yaga":

I said The Gnome was frightening? No kidding, this one makes you hide under your bed. It's incredible how ELP can deal with feelings. The bass line here is the best I've ever heard from Lake. Carl ought to be a freak. I'm sure he has four arms! He's an octopus! Emerson is great as usual. There are vocals on the second part. This is one of their best songs, IMO. Worth the price of the record, at least.

"The Great Gates of Kiev":

Soulful vocals, pretty arrangements, very nice song. BUT... Emerson almost screws it up on the mid-end section, making noises with his synth stuff... He doesn't make me dislike the song, but if he was struck by a very powerful itch, and had to scratch for his life on that very second, this song would be perfect.

"The End / Nutrocker":

This is a very funny song. A rock-and-roll like piece. Just to show our lads' abilities. Not a serious song.

Rating:

I give it 10 on a 10 star rating.