Keith+emerson

This LP, recorded for the Italian label Bubble, is probably Keith Emerson's most eclectic, with a sense of humor thrown in as well. The opening medley of Emerson's "Hello Sailor" and George Malcolm's Baroque-flavored "Bach Before the Mast" provides quite a contrast, moving from a subdued sea shantey to furious solo piano, and finally segueing into a full-fledged rocking strut with a Caribbean twist…

There are concessions that must be made on Keith Emerson and Greg Lake’s Live from Manticore Hall, starting with the absence of Carl Palmer - and then the occasional use of loops.
Too, the conversational aspect of the evening certainly works on its first listen, bringing us in with a confidential closeness. (Emerson, in an impish moment, recalls people asking questions about his pre-Emerson Lake and Palmer band: "The Nice what?") But once that context is understood, these lengthy segments quickly become extraneous detours away from what is often a adventurously re-imagined journey through some peak moments for both…

On Moscow, the Keith Emerson Band includes ace session guitarist, vocalist, and composer Marc Bonilla (who's toured before with Toy Matinee), bassist Travis Davis, and drummer Tony Pia, who, while currently a member of the Doobie Brothers, has also played with Edgar Winter and Brain Setzer. The program features numerous Emerson, Lake & Palmer nuggets (including a 35-plus-minute "Tarkus"), some brief Emerson originals (film cues from his soundtrack work), a pair of Bonilla pieces, and two co-writes between Bonilla and Emerson. Filmed August, 2008, at Central House of Cinema, Russia…

The dynamic duo of Keith Emerson and Greg Lake (two-thirds of Emerson, Lake and Palmer) went on tour in 2010. Four years later, Live From Manticore Hall captures nine intimate versions of ELP tunes, a little King Crimson, and even a Q&A. The tour would serve as a precursor to Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s 2010 High Voltage reunion in London, speculated to be the final ELP reunion.