Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Pictures At An
Exhibition: Special Edition (1972/Eagle
DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B- Concert/Feature: B-
For
years, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer have not received the respect
they deserve and best yet, they seem to drive the very people nuts who really
don’t like music, art, fun or anything else, so any reissue of material by Emerson, Lake and Palmer is a good
thing, especially when it is their feature film concert of their 1972
theatrical release Pictures At An
Exhibition, based on their classic hit album.
Originally
issued by Crown International (usually known for their cheesy exploitation
fare), it is a very good concert in the most complete version now available and
shows how great they were in their early prime and when they were first having
hit albums and singles over at Cotillion Records (part of the Warner
family). Like all the great music acts,
they were always about the music, the performance and delivering a great show
to their audience, something they continued to be about ever since. They play their version of the Mussorgsky
classic, including all the liberties they took with the work in all of its
glory.
At 91
minutes, it is one of the best records of their greatness and proof that they
were not just a novelty or that Progressive Rock was all show and no go. Lake can
really sing and all can really play well, plus they have a great audience and
the show is very impressive overall.
This Special Edition adds a
few extras.
The 1.33
X 1 image was shot on analog PAL videotape and then converted to 35mm film for
its theatrical release like the Frank Zappa release 200 Motels, but is here off of a good videotape source and looking
real good for its age. As a result,
color looks better instead of washed out and the film does not show the flaws
in the tape, including its limits. The
PCM 2.0 Stereo is also good and is the kind of sound the film was originally
issued in, as clean and clear as expected.
Eagle and the band decided not to try to make a 5.1 mix out of the
surviving material and that was a good choice too.
Extras include
the original theatrical trailer and a second concert form the TV series Pop Shop where the band is interviewed,
then performs five songs including Rondo,
Nutrocker, Take A Pebble and Knife Edge.
- Nicholas Sheffo
