Elegy (The Nice album)
| Elegy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by The Nice | ||||
| Released | April 1971 | |||
| Recorded |
19–20 December 1969 live at The Fillmore East, New York | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 39:27[1] | |||
| Label |
UK: Charisma CAS 1030 US: Mercury SR 61324 France, Germany: Philips | |||
| Producer | The Nice | |||
| The Nice chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Discogs | [1] |
| TopTenReviews | [3] |
Elegy was the final official album release by the Nice, Keith Emerson having moved on to Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Lee Jackson to Jackson Heights and Brian Davison to Every Which Way. It consists of live versions of songs from earlier releases and a cover of "My Back Pages". Released after the Nice had disbanded, the album achieved number 5 in the UK album chart.[4]
"Hang on to a Dream" and "America" were recorded live at Fillmore East, New York during the group's 1969 tour.
Cover art
The UK edition came in a gatefold sleeve. It was designed by Hipgnosis (Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell), well known as designers of album covers for Pink Floyd and other progressive rock bands. The front and back covers show a Sahara desert scene with a line of fifty red footballs (credited to Mettoy Playcraft) receding towards a distant dune. The inside of the cover shows, in the distance, a mesa or plateau; in front is a gravelly landscape strewn with memorabilia of the Nice such as older album covers, publicity shots, press releases and a scrapbook of press cuttings.
Track listing
Side one
- "Hang On to a Dream" (Live) (Tim Hardin) – 12:43
- "My Back Pages" (Bob Dylan) – 9:12
Side two
- "Third Movement, Pathetique" (Group Only) (Tchaikovsky; arranged by The Nice) – 7.05
- "America" (Live) (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, The Nice) – 10:27
The CD release 1990 contains six additional bonus tracks taken from 1972 compilation Autumn '67 - Spring '68 and the length of the original four tracks is slightly different.[5]
- "Hang On to a Dream" (Live) (Tim Hardin) – 12:42
- "My Back Pages" (Bob Dylan) – 9:10
- "Third Movement, Pathetique" (Group Only) (Tchaikovsky; arranged by The Nice) – 7;05
- "America" (Live) (Bernstein, Sondheim, The Nice) – 10:17
- "Diamond-Hard Blue Apples of the Moon" (Emerson, Jackson) – 2:46
- "Dawn" (Davison, Emerson, Jackson) – 5:05
- "Tantalising Maggie" (Emerson, Jackson) – 4:19
- "Cry of Eugene" (O'List, Emerson, Jackson) – 4:30
- "Daddy Where Did I Come From?" (Emerson, Jackson) – 2:46
- "Azirial" (Emerson, Jackson) – 3:46
"Azrial" had been the B-side of the single release "The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack," and "Diamond-Hard Blue Apples of the Moon" that of "America."
The arrangement of "My Back Pages" was inspired by Keith Jarrett's 1968 Vortex recording of the song but the majority is Emerson's creation. The performance is in two parts with the first featuring piano and the second featuring Hammond organ.The 2009 Digital Remastered CD contains only two additional bonus tracks and the length of the original four tracks is slightly different.
- "Hang On to a Dream" (Live) (Tim Hardin) – 12:41
- "My Back Pages" (Bob Dylan) – 9:12
- "Third Movement, Pathetique" (Group Only) (Tchaikovsky; arranged by The Nice) – 7;07
- "America" (Live) (Bernstein, Sondheim, The Nice) – 10:22
- "Country Pie" (BBC Radio 1's "Sounds of the Seventies") (Bob Dylan) – 4:57
- "Pathetique (Symphony No. 6, 3rd Movement)" (BBC Radio 1's Sounds of the Seventies) (Tchaikovsky; arranged by The Nice) – 6:59
Personnel
- Keith Emerson – keyboards
- Lee Jackson – bass guitar, guitar, vocals
- Brian Davison – drums
References
- 1 2 "Nice, The – Elegy (LP) at Discogs". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
- ↑ "allmusic ((( Elegy > Overview )))". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
- ↑ "TopTenReviews – External Link". www.toptenreviews.com. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
- ↑ "Chart Stats – The Nice – Elergy". www.chartstats.com. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
- ↑ "Nice, The — Elegy (CD, Album, RE, RM) at Discogs". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 3 October 2009.