Emerson Lake & Palmer - Pictures At An Exhibition (CD 1996)

I first became aware of Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition back in 1977 when one of the pieces was used as the introductory music for the BBC TV series 'The Secret War'.

I really loved that piece and one of my friends, a complete classical buff and a bit of a prodigy [he played violin at grade eight and piano at grade seven], told me about it as he played it flawlessly on the piano from memory!

I went out and bought a recording of the Ravel Orchestration soon after [on vinyl as CDs hadn't been invented back in 1977] and found the rest of the suite just as interesting.

I love all sorts of music and really love modern interpretations of classical pieces especially since I had heard and loved 'Switched On Bach' by Walter Carlos more than five years eariler. I already had a number of classical interpretations by artists such as Tomita in my collection and discovered ELP soon after that.

When I realised they had recorded a performance of 'Pictures At An Exhibition' I had to buy it. I bought it again on CD when I went digital in the '90s.

ELP's interpretation of 'Pictures At An Exhibition' is unusual in that many of the pieces have been omitted and a couple of new and original pieces 'inspired by the suite' have been thrown in for good measure.

'Promenade (1)' is fairly true to the originals with the magnificent organ sound really bringing out the melody.

The synthesiser effects and percussion make 'The Gnome' an interesting track.

Lyrics have been added to 'Promenade (2)' and nice as they are they simply don't fit.

'The Sage' is an original song by Greg Lake. It is reminiscent of a mediaeval ballard backed by classical guitar. While there is nothing wrong with it per se it simply doesn't fit in with Mussorgsky's music!

'The Old Castle' lacks structure and has far too 'synth for synth's sake' for my liking.

'Blues Variation' is another ELP original. This one meanders a lot and goes on just far too long.

'Promenade (3)' is a genuinely good interpretation and I think the drums, while a little too prominent in places, really do add to the mood of the piece.

'The Hut Of Baba Yaga (1)' is one of my favourite pieces and it is good to see just how well ELP have interpreted it although personally I would have preferred a bit more bass.

'The Curse Of Baba Yaga' is an ELP original. The opening shows promise concentrating as it does Mussorgsky's theme of Baba Yaga but it rapidly descends into self indulgence; the lyrics are appalling and the vocals add nothing.

'The Hut Of Baba Yaga (2)' sees a return to the original Baba Yaga theme which is interpreted in a lively, enthusiastic manner. This truly is a great track!

'The Great Gate Of Kiev' is another track which strays far too far from the original in places and the lyrics, while not that bad in themselves, simply do not fit with the spirit of the suite.

'The End' bears no relation to the suite and I can see no reason why it appears on this CD.

The final track on this CD is not from the suite. It is not even Mussorgsky but a reworking of an earlier pop/rock interpretation of a classical theme from the Nut Cracker Suite and it is totally out of place on this CD.


If you like Mussorgsky you really should NOT buy this CD.

If you like ELP [as I do] think twice, it is not one of their better ones!

Regards
tbod