New 2016 remaster, includes booklet with 2016 band interviews & rare band photos.
Upon its release, the 1973 LP Brain Salad Surgery had been hailed as Emerson, Lake & Palmer's masterpiece. A long tour ensued that left the trio flushed and begging for time off. Before disbanding for three years, they assembled a three-LP live set (something of a badge of achievement at the time, earned by Yes in 1973 with Yessongs and, somewhat more dubiously, Leon Russell with Leon Live). Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends gives a very accurate representation of ELP's shows at the time, including their uncertain sound quality. It isn't that the group didn't try hard to give a good show; they did, but left to just his two hands, without the use of multi-tracking and overdubs to build layer-upon-layer of electronic keyboard sounds, Keith Emerson was at a singular disadvantage on some of the boldest material in the trio's repertory…
Upon its release, the 1973 LP Brain Salad Surgery had been hailed as Emerson, Lake & Palmer's masterpiece. A long tour ensued that left the trio flushed and begging for time off. Before disbanding for three years, they assembled a three-LP live set (something of a badge of achievement at the time, earned by Yes in 1973 with Yessongs and, somewhat more dubiously, Leon Russell with Leon Live)…
EMERSON LAKE & PALMER (ELP) reformed for the first time since 1998 to headline the High Voltage Festival on Sunday July 25th 2010. 2010 marked the 40th anniversary of the creation of Emerson Lake and Palmer, the band that was formed from King Crimson, The Nice and Atomic Rooster. They became the first true prog-rock Super Group and defined an era…
It really includes most of their essential work in a single CD. Here are all their major singles, like the stunning version of Jerusalem but not only their most popular songs, it does include some stuff that would not be found in other best of, like the complete Tarkus Suite and the entire 8:54 minute Trilogy title track. All three band members were virtuosos and had a lot to show. This CD does them justice. Unlike a lot of this kind of albums, it does give a very good overview of one of prog´s most influential and important bands ever.
Here we have the first complete recording of Gluck's charming one-act serenata teatrale for chamber orchestra and four treble voices, composed for the marriage of Hapsburg Archduke Joseph in January 1765. The Archduke's first wife had died. This time he was to marry the Bavarian princess, Maria Josepha. For this performance of the new Gluck work, four of the Archduke's daughters from his first marriage who were all accomplished musicians, sang roles in the new work. The new bridegroom's younger brother Leopold, conducted. That the four Archduchesses could successfully negotiate the florid soprano roles Gluck fashioned for them, is most impressive.
‘Faramondo’ was produced in 1738 at the King’s Theatre in the Haymarket after the collapse of the rival Opera of the Nobility. This means that, unlike some of his Covent Garden operas which were produced whilst his rivals performed at the King’s Theatre, ‘Faramondo’ was written for a superb cast which included the bass Antonio Montagnana sang the role of King Gustavo and the castrato Carestini (making his London debut) in the title role. Writing for such fine singers means that Handel takes for granted the ability to sing virtuoso passages. In fact, singers would have expected to be able to display their talents in the requisite number of arias. These arias were crafted (or fine tuned) once the cast was known, so that they take advantage of the best points of a singer’s voice. King Gustavo’s arias takes good advantage of Montagnana’s amazing range and all the singers would have expected the divisions to lie in the best part of their voices.
Muzio Scevola ("Mucius Scaevola", HWV 13) is an opera seria in three acts about Gaius Mucius Scaevola. The Italian-language libretto was by Paolo Antonio Rolli, adapted from a text by Silvio Stampiglia. The music for the first act was composed by Filippo Amadei, the second act by Giovanni Bononcini, and the third by George Frideric Handel. Collaborations of groups of composers were common in the 18th century, though this is the only one done in London. Bononcini had written the music for two earlier treatments of this story on his own, works dating from 1695 and 1710. The opera's initial run of performances began at the King's Theatre in London on 15 April 1721. A part of the second act and the third part composed by Händel is documented on the production of new port Classic being here.
The Shout! Factory label continued its series of reissues from progressive rock masters Emerson, Lake & Palmer with 2011's Live at the Mar y Sol Festival '72. Keyboardist Keith Emerson, vocalist/bass guitarist/guitarist Greg Lake, and drummer Carl Palmer were only three years into ELP and were riding high on their massive success at the time of the show on April 2, 1972, the second day of this three-day festival in steamy, scorching Puerto Rico. (Other acts on the bill included Alice Cooper, the Allman Brothers Band, B.B. King, Dr. John, Faces, J. Geils Band, and several lesser-known artists. It was a pivotal gig for a then essentially unknown Billy Joel. Several bands like Black Sabbath and Fleetwood Mac were scheduled to perform but either didn't show up or were prevented from playing due to a variety of logistical nightmares, including serious problems that promoter Alex Cooley was having with the Puerto Rican government)…