Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The brightest star can be seen for only a short time, that does not mean its value is diminished, it does not mean that it only exists in our memory for the least amount of time, it just reflects the volume of luminosity that it offered as its brief reign was felt by all who saw it, who was influenced by its appearance, or who have only found its existence through the mention of a greater power. That star will be forever astonishing.
To live up to a legend is almost impossible, but to be part of that marvel from its roots, its inception is to be studied, celebrated, and then understood why perhaps that the bright star in the luminary sky quickly and unavoidably faded quickly from the scene.
Everybody remembers Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the sound of one of the great pioneers of Progressive Rock, but for a short while there was another star in the heavens, just as bright by all consensus, but which couldn’t illuminate for longer than one album, and whether they were known formally as 3, or just by the affectionate Emerson, Lake and Berry’s Rockin’ The Ritz: NYC 1988 served as a passionate rejoinder to the brilliance that once held music fans agog and fascinated by the extreme musicianship and beautiful art that was created as one of three recordings that the band would put their name to, and the only one to be released during Keith Emerson’s lifetime.
As one of only two live albums from the trio, Rockin’ The Ritz: NYC 1988, and now released for the first time only on vinyl, there is no finer starting place than that which gives the audience and listener alike than the anthem Fanfare For The Common Man; and it is to this stirring epic that the album announces itself with courage, honesty, and drive.
With tracks such as Hoedown, You Do Or You Don’t, Creole Dance, Standing In The Shadows Of Love, America, and the inspired reading of Peter Gunn, lifting the soul as the experience plays out, the short lived session, the brief encounter, fills the void in a way that is unexpected and physically compelling.
It is with time that it is to be hoped that this release will shed even greater light on what should have been, a supergroup progression, one that perhaps was found to suffer in comparison by history’s romantic longing.
No matter the brief the time, 3 left an indelible mark on rock, and Rockin’ The Ritz: NYC 1988 sums it up honourably.
Ian D. Hall