Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Welcome Back

Music

Emerson Lake & Palmer
Lake And Palmer Emerson
Lake & Palmer Emerson
Keith Emerson
Greg Lake
Carl Palmer

Celebrating Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 1992-93 "Black Moon" comeback tour, this 79-minute documentary is a jumbled hash of footage from throughout the band's two-decade career. But despite its haphazard assembly, it's a guaranteed treasure for ELP loyalists. Any attempt to visually document ELP's history would pose a challenge, since their visual record is relatively sparse compared to many of the major rock acts of the 1970s. So it's a blessing that this documentary digs thoroughly into the archives, and every important phase of ELP's evolution is included, however briefly. One might argue with the strategy to forgo chronological progression and weave disparate footage into a convoluted tapestry, but it's the music that counts, and on that point the film delivers the goods.

In addition to grainy footage from the earliest days of ELP's prog-rock ascension (including what little footage exists of their breakthrough debut at the 1970 Isle of Wight rock festival), the documentary integrates several ELP interviews with crucial performances of the band's best-known compositions. The highlight, by far, is footage from ELP's record-breaking performance in Montreal's Olympic Stadium in 1977, during their brief (and prohibitively expensive) tour with a 67-piece orchestra. The performance of "Pirates" alone makes this a must-have disc, even though it's interrupted by older footage and interview clips. A video of "Black Moon" and 1992 Royal Albert Hall concert footage round out the program. It's a mixed blessing, to be sure, but given the lack of choice, Welcome Back is a welcome and altogether essential document for ELP fans everywhere. --Jeff Shannon