Pictures At An Exhibition (Live / Deluxe Version) Emerson, Lake & Palmer

• Live At Newcastle City Hall, UK / 26th March 1971:
• 1 Promenade, Pt. 1 (Live At Newcastle City Hall, UK / 26th March 1971 / Remastered 2016) 01:56
• 2 The Gnome (Live At Newcastle City Hall, UK / 26th March 1971 / Remastered 2016) 04:16
• 3 Promenade, Pt. 2 (Live At Newcastle City Hall, UK / 26th March 1971 / Remastered 2016) 01:23
• 4 The Sage (Live At Newcastle City Hall, UK / 26th March 1971 / Remastered 2016) 04:40
• 5 The Old Castle (Live At Newcastle City Hall, UK / 26th March 1971 / Remastered 2016) 02:31
• 6 Blues Variation (Live At Newcastle City Hall, UK / 26th March 1971 / Remastered 2016) 04:19
• 7 Promenade, Pt. 3 (Live At Newcastle City Hall, UK / 26th March 1971 / Remastered 2016) 01:28
• 8 The Hut Of Baba Yaga, Pt. 1 (Live At Newcastle City Hall, UK / 26th March 1971 / Remastered 2016) 01:13
• 9 The Curse Of Baba Yaga (Live At Newcastle City Hall, UK / 26th March 1971 / Remastered 2016) 04:08
• 10 The Hut Of Baba Yaga, Pt. 2 (Live At Newcastle City Hall, UK / 26th March 1971 / Remastered 2016) 01:06
• 11 The Great Gates Of Kiev (Live At Newcastle City Hall, UK / 26th March 1971 / Remastered 2016) 06:37
• 12 Nutrocker (Live At Newcastle City Hall, UK / 26th March 1971 / Remastered 2016) 04:21
• Live at the Mar Y Sol Festival, Puerto Rico, 4.12.72:
• 13 Pictures At An Exhibition (Medley /i. Promenade, ii. The Hut of Baba Yaga, iii. The Curse of Baba Yaga, iv. The Hut of Baba Yaga, v. The Great Gates of Kiev; Live at the Mar Y Sol Festival, Puerto Rico, 4.12.72) 14:51
• Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970:
• 14 Promenade, Pt. 1 (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 02:01
• 15 The Gnome (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 05:40
• 16 Promenade, Pt. 2 (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 01:24
• 17 The Sage (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 05:06
• 18 The Old Castle (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 04:24
• 19 Blues Variation (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 06:04
• 20 Promenade, Pt. 3 (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 01:30
• 21 The Hut Of Baba Yaga, Pt. 2 (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 01:15
• 22 The Curse Of Baba Yaga (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 04:55
• 23 The Hut Of Baba Yaga, Pt. 3 (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 01:11
• 24 The Great Gates Of Kiev (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 06:51
• 25 The Barbarian (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 05:45
• 26 Knife-Edge (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 08:01
• 27 Rondo (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 18:14
• 28 Nut Rocker (Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, UK / 9th December 1970) 04:31
• Total Runtime 02:09:41

Info for Pictures At An Exhibition (Live / Deluxe Version)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer were so committed to their visionary interpretation of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” that the group recorded it twice. Unsatisfied with the quality of what was supposed to serve as the take for a concert album, ELP booked a different venue to stage another show and paid for production out of their own pocket. Following hours of rehearsals and sound checks, ELP delivered a performance for the ages. Originally issued five months after the band’s sophomore LP Tarkus, Pictures at an Exhibition landed in the Billboard Top Ten and became a linchpin of the prog-rock canon.

What you will hear is cut from the best-possible source, and just might be the master. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab engineers observed that the tape box that contained the source tape is marked “Masters” but cannot definitively confirm that is the case given the tape had no splices or other indications that can be taken as absolute proof that this was a master. As such, the label erred on the side of caution when it came to provenance. The sonic results, however, are definitive.

Immerse yourself in this daring, extremely successful reimagining of a piano suite conceived in 1874 by Mussorgsky. ELP had been familiar with the classical piece since the group formed. Keyboardist Keith Emerson had attended an orchestral performance of the work and acquired the score, then floated the idea to his mates that they should adopt at least parts of Pictures at an Exhibition in their live shows. The band soon embraced the challenge of adapting the entire composition for the stage. Once it completed sessions for its sophomore LP, Tarkus, the trio decided to record it for official release.

Bolstered by three original additions to the suite and a “Nutrocker” encore that’s a playful rock ‘n’ roll take on Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker,” Pictures at an Exhibition simultaneously blurs lines between genres and epitomizes the trio’s virtuosity and verve. Adopting four of the original 10 parts and the two transitory promenade sections, the effort surges with energy, cohesiveness, and extraordinary musicianship. This aural tour of works displayed at a St. Petersburg academy by painter Viktor Hartmann is at once celebratory, theatrical, moody, and glorious.

Fans who heard it broadcast in its entirety on a New York radio station immediately realized its merits. Their loud clamor for an official release — Atlantic Records had delayed the album due to disagreements with the band regarding how it would be promoted and priced — ultimately led to Pictures at an Exhibition streeting in November 1971, further distinguished by William Neal’s artwork and his depictions of oil paintings with imagery connected to ELP.

Incorporating four of the 10 movements featured in Mussorgsky’s original suite as well as the recurring “Promenade” theme, ELP’s version of the 1874 composition begins, as it should, with remarkable fanfare. Emerson commences with a pipe organ solo that threatens to make your internal organs vibrate. The fireworks have begun. Fuzz bass, Moog synthesizer, and Hammond organ lay the foundation for the tension-rife “The Gnome” and, minutes later, Greg Lake steers the procession in a different direction via tender acoustic-guitar patterns on the medieval-themed “The Sage.” ELP is feeling it. And how.

The trio casts “The Old Castle” as a fast-tempo romp, cedes the spotlight to Emerson on “Blues Variation,” and ups the pace and chase during “The Hut of Baba Yaga.” ELP tint “The Curse of Baba Yaba” with an aptly threatening atmosphere, a trait Palmer underscores with a menacing beat and Emerson increases with his wailing-siren Moog passages. Firing on all proverbial cylinders, the collective finishes its Mussorgsky interpretation with “The Great Gates of Kiev,” an ecstatic gesture that exudes fulfillment, joy, and relief. What a rush.

Keith Emerson, Hammond C3 and L100 organ, pipe organ, Moog modular synthesizer, Minimoog, Clavinet
Greg Lake, bass, acoustic guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer, drums, percussion

Digitally remastered

Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Considered by many to be one of rock’s original first super-groups, Emerson Lake & Palmer formed in England in 1970 consisting of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (bass guitar, vocals, guitar) and Carl Palmer (drums, percussion). The band created a brand new world of music, combining classical and symphonic rock fused with beautiful vocals. Their penchant for appropriating themes from classical music and the group’s more nuanced, textured approach to symphonic arrangements set ELP apart from their more bombastic guitar-based contemporaries of the time. This subtler and more sublime approach carries on today in the expansive atmospherics of Radiohead and Muse and also in the prog-influenced sphere of band’s like Porcupine Tree, Dream Theatre, Opeth and many others, making ELP one of the more relevant torchbearers of the progressive rock sound. Along with Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, and Rush, Emerson Lake and Palmer ushered in the Prog era and as one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the 1970’s having sold over 40 million albums. ELP’s dramatic flair, sincere passion, labyrinthine song structures, and symphony-worthy virtuosity proved that classical rockers could compete for arena-scale audiences as the band headlined stadium tours around the world.

This album contains no booklet.