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Various Artists - Encores, Legends & Paradoxes

Artist:	Various Artists
Title:	Encores, Legends & Paradoxes
Label:	Magna Carta MA-9026-2
Length(s):	64 minutes
Year(s) of release:	1999
Month of review:	03/1999

Line up

too numerous to mention, but all the Magna Carta stable is present. Some names
are dropped in the review.

Tracks

1)	Karn Evil 9 1st Impression	8.47
2)	Bitches Crystal	4.38
3)	Toccata	8.04
4)	Knife Edge	5.15
5)	A Time And A Place	6.11
6)	Hoedown	3.43
7)	The Sheriff	5.55
8)	The Endless Enigma	10.14
9)	The Barbarian	4.40
10)	Tarkus	6.45

Summary

Another Magna Carta tribute, to ELP this time...as you might have guessed.

The music

As a whole the album is divided into two types: the Berry tracks and the Trent Gardner tracks. We open with Karn Evil 9, one of the classic ELP tracks. The vocals are by Robert Berry and I think he does a good job although I am surprised by his rather rowdy voice. Rudess is playing the keyboards and as always does a good job. Lots of jamming on this track including some extensive drumwork by Simon Phillips. Striking elements are the sinister whisperings 'Welcome back my friends...' and the metallic ending showing that Mastermind was the metallic extension of ELP. Bitches Crystal opens with jazzy piano by Khoroshev. The vocals of Wetton make this into a typical Wetton-band song: Easy Money of King Crimson or later his UK work, the references are there. Toccata opens percussively with Mastelotto leading up to some rather manic keyboard playing by Guillory and Gardner. I'm not that satisfied with the guitar playing which is too metallic for me. Too my feeling -really- loosely based on the oringal Toccata. Bombasm abundant. Knife Edge is another of those classic ELP tracks. Glenn Hughes sinisterly sings his lines. The song itself is rather Hammond dominated (Norlander) and slow and plodding, but also with a light classical interlude on acoustic guitar functioning as doldrums as it were. Afterwards the bluesy throat of Hughes is impressive and reminds me of Living Colour. A Time And A Place is next up. La Brie sings vocals on this one. I'm usually not happy with his vocals and the same goes here at least in the verses, but I do like the choruses which predominate. The song combines progmetal with freaky organ playing, but the guitar playing is melodic for a change. Good melodies. Hoedown is a song I do not like at all (as a song), much too happy. The Sheriff features Portnoy, Peter Banks and Wetton is also back. Some weird breaks in there with vocal additions by Trent Gardner. Not a strong song to begin with I think, and the ending is quite untypical. The Endless Enigma is a freakish one: strong bombast coming close to triteness at times (in the trumpet-imitation part). Lots of different melodic parts strung together with some Liquid Tension type stuff, quiet piano, "clavecimbel", screaming keyboards and much more. The last two are of the Berry kind: The Barbarian is a plodding and menacing piece orginally based on Bartoks Allegro Barbaro. Rather Nice-like with again plenty of variation as Khoroshev plays some lightfooted, percussive piano. The closer is a progmetallic variant of Tarkus. The vocal part is rather bluesy. The continuation with Sheranian on keyboards and Bonilla on guitar is a very good thing to close down with.

Conclusion

ELP is my least favourite of the prog dinosaurs, which doesn't mean I hate them or anything. This may be why I do not view these new versions as something akin to heresy. In fact, I tend to like much of what is on this disc, except the guitar work is sometimes a bit too metallic and lacking in melody. For the rest an enjoyable progrock album, that seems to diverge more from the blueprint than most tribute albums I know, while retaining some of the typical ELP ingredients and by this recognizability. Very likable.