Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Live in California 1974 (2012)

Of all the ELP live shows, The California Jam stands as the largest audience the British prog rockers had ever played for, and a personal favorite performance of vocalist Greg Lake. In the spring following Brain Salad Surgery, the trio’s abilities were at a high for this set recorded at the epic outdoor venue, Ontario Motor Speedway. Because each member started to go his own way around this time, a good share of Live in California 1974 focuses on Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s individual abilities. "Still…You Turn Me On" and the mega-hit "Lucky Man" are performed solo by Lake on acoustic guitar, "Piano Improvisations (Including 'Fugue' and 'Little Rock Getaway')" features Keith Emerson turning in nearly seven minutes of virtuoso piano playing before the rhythm section of Lake and Palmer join in for a tightly executed bebop jazz approximation, and the classic rock staple "Karn Evil 9, First Impression, Pt. 2" segues into a gratuitous, five-minute-long (albeit pretty amazing) drum solo by Carl Palmer. Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends: Ladies & Gentlemen, Emerson Lake & Palmer, and From the Front Row…Live! are much better live documents from this period, but despite sonic imperfections, the firework finale of "Pictures at an Exhibition" captures the ambitious and dramatic spirit of the band nicely.

Shout! Factory continues its campaign of archival ELP live releases with Live in California, 1974, the first-ever official release of their legendary California Jam (AKA CalJam)performance, which captured the band at its peak, playing for the largest audience in its career. Says Greg Lake, "The band
was at the very pinnacle of their performing powers, the event was of biblical proportions and the performance itself was almost flawless."
With Keith Emerson on keyboards, Greg Lake on bass and vocals and Carl Palmer on drums, ELP broadened the audience
for progressive rock. The band released a series of landmark albums in the 1970s, and several more in the '90s after a 14-year hiatus.