This is a great example of a band that took a Classical piece and adapted it to a Rock music format. In this case, ELP, or Emerson, Lake and Palmer, took Modest Mussorgsky’s original Classical music piece worked on in the nineteenth century and used it as a format to change the world of music in the early 1970s. Which they did. Let’s see how it stacks up today.

The album begins with Promenade – Pt. 1 which is introduced to the audience, who give a really loud cheer. Before long, a beautiful keyboard sound emerges and away we go. An extra organ sound is added on top as well. This is superb, and is a great interpretation on this number. Nice way to introduce a crossover form of music.

Next is The Gnome which has a drum led intro and sounds superb. Before long, some extra sounds enter this piece via guitar and keyboard. The piece gets going in no time, and we have an awesome listening experience here. A great piece of music is right here. This is excellent listening, showcasing the band’s brilliant talent. Some descending musical patterns here are quite interesting, and the keyboards here are sensational. It sounds very unusual towards the end and builds up to a frenzied climax. Brilliant.

Promenade – Pt. 2 comes next and is a nice, gentle reprise of what came before. The singing here is wonderful, and ELP knows how to make a great piece of music, even if this is not entirely their own. Beautiful and wonderful.

The Sage comes next and has a great keyboard part introducing this piece. The melody lines are fantastic, and shortly afterwards we are transported to outer space. Some acoustic guitar playing here drives this piece along nicely, and this part of the piece sounds beautiful and amazing. It is a really beautiful and wonderfully delivered piece, the guitar playing here is superb, being the solo instrument after some time here. It is a beautiful sounding acoustic guitar piece, sounding really excellent. Shortly after, the brilliant singing then re-emerges.

Next is The Old Castle which begins with some spacey sounds and has the audience clapping and cheering along with it. Some massive drum fills then enter, and this piece gets going with some spacey keyboard delights. This is definitely worth hearing and just sounds massive and enjoyable, with some expert playing from the group. Wonderfully adapted, this is pretty cool. Nice to hear.

Following is Blues Variation which launches into a well crafted and organ-led piece by ELP. It sounds surprisingly good and puts many modern artists to shame here. It comes across as a 12 bar blues, but minus the guitars, and with keyboards instead. Interesting and top to hear, this is wonderful and perfectly listenable music. A nice rendition here, this is awesome. Brilliant music, it sounds really good, even today. Nice job ELP. The end has some spacey keyboard sounds, as the audience claps and cheers. Awesome.

Promenade – Pt. 3 then enters, with the familiar melody and some excellent playing from ELP. This sounds marvelous, and is a fine representation of this album. Very short, only a minute and a half long.

The Hut Of Baba Yaga begins with some keyboards before drums quickly synchronize themselves with the melody at hand. This piece continues on, and it sounds very good. The keyboard is a great star of the show here. Nice job for listening away.

Next is The Curse Of Baba Yaga which has a weird and dark keyboard melody in a wah-wah sort of sound context. Some other keyboard melodies join in as well. The bass guitar playing and drums kick in, then we get underway. This is really superb listening and is inimitable and wonderful. It builds up to a frenzied part, which eventually has some singing, before the band launch into a crazy jam. Sounding effortless, and brilliant too. The whole thing is really very good, with some really hyper-fast playing at the end. Brilliant. The drumming at the end is insane.

Following is The Hut Of Baba Yaga (Pt. 2) which is a really loud and thunderous piece, particularly with the drumming here. The keyboards, bass guitar and drums mesh together to make a great piece of music. The outro here is awesome.

The Great Gates Of Kiev comes next and is an extended six-minute piece. This sounds beautiful and wonderful simultaneously and is a real standout for the time that this was recorded. A lovely and anthemic sounding piece to listen to, this is really excellent. The keyboard here in particular is prominent throughout and is a really excellent piece. A clanging bell sound comes along with the keyboard solo before this whole piece comes into force with all the other instruments. Some sounds emerge, before the band return in the second half of this song to glorious heights. Sounding epic and wonderful, ELP were undeniably a great group to listen to. Top. There is some massive cheering at the end of this song.

Nutcracker comes last here as the encore and is a fine piece from Emerson, Lake and Palmer to finish off with. A great encore number, this is a really great representation of what ELP were as a band. A fine listen, and very catchy from start to finish. Catchy and uplifting, this is superb. A nice rendition of the classics, indeed. It ends with a crashing outro, and the crowd cheer loudly.

This is a fantastic and wonderful listen from start to finish. The only real downside is that it seems like a botch job, for the most part. Aside from that, it is great and adventurous music listen that demands to be heard. Emerson, Lake and Palmer were and are legends. Check this out, you will not be disappointed.

Amazing.

9/10