Search - Lake & Palmer Emerson :: Rare Live Performances

Steve S. (Reno-ness) from ARROYO GRANDE, CA
Reviewed on 6/7/2007...

Do you like your music fresh? ELP and Kingfish save this disc with hot live. Skip the rest...

Live Performances? Yes. Rare? Not Quite.

Robert Huggins | Suburban Philadelphia, PA United States | 03/19/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The nine tracks found on this budget CD from Laser Light have all been previously released by Pet Rock Records, the music-releasing arm of the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show, so they're not quite as rare as the CD title suggests. That said, there's a lot to like here for fans of 70s and 80s era rock. Greg Lake gets a full third of the album and one of his songs, "Lucky Man," is listed on the CD as being performed by Emerson, Lake and Palmer. In fact, it's Lake going solo with his own back-up band, taken from the same 1981 concert as the other two songs that are included on this CD. Lake's update on the King Crimson classic "21st Century Schizoid Man," is one of the best versions that I've heard and borders on heavy metal thanks to lead guitarist Gary Moore. At the opposite end of the spectrum is John Sebastian's rendering of the old Lovin' Spoonful hit single "Daydream" wherein Sebastian accompanies himself only on guitar. The vocals on the two songs by America sound a little thin and that's due to the fact that the group had shrunk from a trio to a duo by the time these recordings were made in 1982, though the musicianship is solid. The two tunes contributed by Kingfish were a pleasant surprise for me. I was not too familiar with this Bob Weir-led, Grateful Dead offshoot, but I liked what I heard here. The Romantics round out this live set.The CD insert has a small profile on each of the bands and the concerts (dates and places) from which these performances are taken though, as previously mentioned, Emerson, Lake and Palmer do not appear on this CD. With its bargain price and mix of performers, this CD reminds me of the old sampler records that the major record labels used to release. If you like your rock served up live, this is a decent CD to add to your collection."