[.ca] Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Live at the Royal Albert Hall

From Amazon.com:
Progressive rock's pioneering power trio still packed a musical wallop when Emerson Lake & Palmer recorded this 25th anniversary concert in London's Royal Albert Hall in October 1992. Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and Carl Palmer had reunited to promote their studio album Black Moon, but the set list of this DVD, which differs from ELP's Albert Hall CD, is more of a "greatest hits" sampler, including such ELP standards as "Tarkus" and "Pictures at an Exhibition" (featuring an epic Palmer percussion solo), and Lake's still- beautiful ballads "From the Beginning" and "Lucky Man." Time had clearly taken its toll. Keyboard wizard Emerson rubs his wrists (which later required surgery) before forging ahead at full intensity (climaxing with his traditional "assault" on a Hammond organ), and Lake avoids high notes (most regrettably on "Pirates") to accommodate his mellowing voice. Still, the band's precision remains intact, and this DVD, despite a weak 5.1-channel sound mix, is a must-have for ELP's devoted fans. --Jeff Shannon

Dissapointing:
The vocal sound on this concert DVD is terrible. Greg Lake sounds like he is singing into a tin can. What Happened? Very dissapointing.

Close But No Cigar:
Yes and ELP were 2 of my favorite groups of the early 70s. Having seen ELP twice in '74 and '77 (Yes, I've seen 4 times), I have to say this is somewhat of a lackluster performance. The dynamics of their earlier performances just isn't there. Not that there aren't any good moments. Rondo is a real knockout with Keith revisiting the good old days of abusing his Hammond organ. Greg's voice seems somewhat strained but still retaining it's richness. But what do you expect, the guy's nearing 50. Even the ever durable Paul McCartney is starting get a little ragged. As a drummer myself, Carl was of course one my favorite drummers of the 70s and still is. However, his solo during Pictures is a bit of a disappointment. He just doesn't whizz around the drumset like he used to. He spends more time playing cymbals and gongs than he does playing the drums. All and all it's still fun seeing these guys performing again and this dvd is the best thing to get from them. But if you want to see them in their prime, check out the Montreal '77 concert dvd available on their website. Picture and sound has a bit to be desired, but the energy of their performance really comes out. Even Carl has a 10 min solo on that beautiful custom steel drumset he used to have (He ended up selling it to Ringo). And OH if they could only just restore the California Jam footage! You get the picture!

good but could have been better:
Don't misunderstand me, I am a long time ELP fan however my expectations go back all way to concerts in the 70's when they toured with a full orchestra. Certainly the last two tracks of the concert bring life to this dvd and finished strong. If you are a long time ELP fan you will not be dissapointed. Gregg Lake voice sounds good but stage presence was lacking but did he ever have stage presence. Keith Emerson was the highlight of the concert and truely shows what a great talent he brings to ELP. That in itself is worth getting this DVD and seeing his talent... Pirates is reproduced very well and was the highlight of this dvd. ...

Sound is disappointing:
Having been an ELP fan since around 1973, I enjoyed this DVD "for the show" but I must warn you that the sound quality was, in my opinion, very poor. Much like what was written in another review, I had a very hard time picking up Greg Lake's vocals - his voice was literally drowned out by the instruments. Granted, he's lost a bit of the luster in his range but I still would have liked to heard him better. They're still a blast to watch!!

Definitely, The Show that Never Ends...:
Make sure you listen to the Dolby 5.1 soundtrack and the sound will be awesome. All I can think is that the other reviewers who didn't like the sound must have had a 2.0 Stereo Soundtrack. I saw ELP live several times before, this sounded as good as sitting in the front row... if not better... I'd give it five stars, but I just wanted it to be much longer and have more selections, but worth the price of admission in my book...