Search - Nice :: Here Come the Nice: Immediate Anthology

Progressive Psychedelia Anyone?

Nick Whittaker | Farnham, Surrey, England. | 05/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Discussions about the birth of that equally feted and reviled musical genre known as progressive rock usually award a little too much credit to the original King Crimson line-up. Their 'pioneering' debut tour de force 'In The Court Of The Crimson King' brought ecstatic praise from most quarters - the sort of praise that often eluded the true pioneers of prog, the Nice. Indeed the group have garnered more fame in the thirty years since their demise as 'that band that used to play with P. P. Arnold and had Keith Emerson in them' than on their own merits. To dismiss the Nice merely as the experimental nursery ground of one of the greatest pianists/organists in rock history, is to do the band a serious injustice. For Emerson, Lake & Palmer fans there is no further excuse not to give Keith's former band a thorough reinvestigation with 'Here Come The Nice' available. The packaging of 'Here Come The Nice' is admittedly somewhere just above shoestring but within there is the band's first three albums - 'The Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack', 'Ars Longa Vita Brevis' and 'The Nice' - four previously unissued live tracks and a plethora of alternate versions, demoes, stray b-sides and singles. The Immediate label have managed to cram all these delights onto just three compact discs. Also included is a fairly comprehensive history of the band so little needs to be said of that here. A reevaluation of the music of the Nice is, however, long overdue. Their debut LP 'The Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack' can, quite rightly be seen as one of the epochal releases of the late 1960s. Reviews have been written claiming that ultimately it is too psych for prog fans and too prog for psych fans. This view is easy to understand but doesn't stop their first album being a must for fans of prog and psych as it neatly traverses both genres. It is the most psychedelic of their first three LPs probably because it is the only to feature original guitarist Davy O'List who became disenchanted with Keith Emerson's increasing dominance - a dominance that would lead to Keith himself quitting also in a few years. On 'The Thoughts Of . . .' The Nice show themselves to be capable of being just as bombastic as ELP but also more willing to be subtle and understated at times. The band are probably sick to death of constant comparisons with ELP, but it is worth noting that the standard of recording on Nice records is undoubtedly inferior to that on ELP albums - a fact particularly noticable on 'The Thoughts Of . . .'. There is not even the merest hint of a filler on 'The Thoughts Of . . .' however and the companion singles are also exemplary, particularly their version of 'America' which was legendarily accompanied with a ritual burning of the stars and stripes at Nice gigs. The band's sophomore effort 'Ars Longa Vita Brevis' is remarkable for the side-long title-track subtitled 'Symphony For Group And Orchestra' which is a hugely entertaining, eminently successful and surprisingly enduring experiment in what would come to be termed 'classical rock' with its pioneering use of an orchestra. The group's self-titled third album shows them shorter on ideas than they had ever previously been and they devoted the second side of the record to two, nevertheless brilliant, live performances of 'Rondo' from the debut and extraordinary progged up version of Bob Dylan's 'She Belongs To Me'. There is even the feeling on 'The Nice' of Emerson somewhat taking on the role of band-leader of a jazz combo, especially in the extended, syncopated workouts of 'For Example'. Subsequently the length of the Nice's tours and Keith Emerson's piano and organ soloes would increase exponentially and the pressure would rise to boiling point within the band. This anthology leaves us at the point when the Nice were on the verge of their biggest commercial successes and then their acrimonious split. Progressive, psychedelic, either, neither or both, the Nice remain one of the best kept secrets of the late 60s - a group many have heard of but that few people own material by. The Immediate label have compiled an excellent and exhaustive box set here and with the band's two other CDs 'Elegy' and 'Five Bridges', this is an essential purchase."

Rondo! Takes me back to the Mecca in Sunderland.

Junglies | Morrisville, NC United States | 06/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This three CD set is an absolute must for anyone interested in the music of the nineteen sixties. It is difficult to understand that there was an awful lot more to music in the 1960's than the West Coast rock which dominated the latter part of the decade.Some of that music re-emerged with the new Van Morrison album of May 2002 with it's early sixties r'n'b styles evocative of the music that the Beatles, Stones and Them were listening to and playing and the jazz of the period. The Nice were part of a trend that came to be known as Progressive in Britain which grew out of the growing number of musicians who were influenced by a wider musical heritage. If Fairport Convention were the progressive side of folk music then the Nice were the progressive side of classical - long before Yes got the idea.The music on the CDs is not all of the legacy of the Nice. Other recordings for other labels still exist but some of the most powerful compositions and performances of the Nice are contained here on these three discs. There are some novelties to be sure but in the main each one is packed with excellent songs, playing and virtuosity. The Nice were a band with an awesome stage act not just because of Emerson's dagger throwing antics. Only Steve Winwood could coax better sound from a Hammond organ.Standout tracks for me are the incredible 'Rondo' especially the live version from Newcastle upon Tyne. A crowd favourite this was a regular at the Mecca in Sunderland well into the early 1970s; and the spectaculr live version of 'America' at the same venue.Emerson Lake and Palmer, and the much inferior Atomic Rooster tended to obscure the music of the Nice as the 1970s eclipsed much of the sixties music but as the passage of time allows for greater scope for investigation their seminal work in the progressive area is at long last being recognised and given the credit it deserves.This is an awesome collection which certainly bridges (sorry about the pun)the worlds of classical and rock in a way that no other band has done either before or since. It certainly is a clear signal to other labels to dig out those other Nice tracks out from the vaults to perhaps give audiences access to a fuller recording of the 'Five Bridges' for example.Two thumbs up"

Well worth the money for Keith Emerson fans

K. Lewis | OZ | 02/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The rarities included in this box set overcome the one or two shortcomings.



PROS:

1. The Sampler for the Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack LP is an extremely rare radio promo for the great 1967 first album.



2. America : I) America/II) Second Amendment [Live Newcastle '68] is a rare live track that contains Davy O'List who is obviously on something here as he barely gets through the beggining of the number and is out of sync with the rest of the band, no wonder he was fired soon after this live recording.



3. Pathetique Symphony 4th [Live Fairfields Hall '69]- They had already released the Pathetique Symphony movement 3, this is the rarely performed movement 4 with Lee Jacksons eerie narration.



CONS:

1. single 4 minute version of the Brandenburger is right after the long version of ARS LONGA Vita Brevis(brandenburger suite) which is a little redundant, they should of placed it on the 3rd rarities disc.



2. Between Rondo "69" & She Belongs to Me (Live at Fillmore East, New York)there is an awful edit not heard on the original record "everything as nice as mother makes it" Keith originally says "this is a song by Bob Dylan call She Belongs to me" here he says "this is a song by Bo.......then the song starts abruptly,a bad edit of a classic live show from the Fillmore.



On a positive note, IF you get this, Five Bridges and Elegy, you'll have a complete Nice collection.

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