And so we go back to The Nice. When I reviewed their debut I was unexpectedly impressed. Is this likely to continue with the release of their second album, which featured one of those side-long suites, the title track in fact? This second outing also features Keith Emerson stepping out a little from behind the keyboard and taking on some vocal duties, which is in itself a little odd as once he joined ELP he just played and never sang. Maybe this album will underline why?
Album title: Ars longa vita brevis
Artiste: The Nice
Nationality: British
Label: Immediate
Year: 1968
Grade: B
Previous Experience of this Artiste: see the review of their debut
The Trollheart Factor: 2
Landmark value: I guess again, pretty much seen as a precursor to ELP, so significant in that regard and again, one of the albums that pushed both keyboard and classical influences more to the forefront than they had previously been.
Tracklisting: Daddy where did I come from/ Little Arabella/ Happy freuds/ Intermezzo from the Karelia suite/ Don Edito el Gruva/Ars Long vita brevis: (i) Prelude – 1st movement: Awakening (ii) 2nd movement: Realisation (iii) 3rd movement: Acceptance “Brandenburger” (iv) 4th movement: Denial (v) Coda: Extension to the big note/
Comments: Before we get going, the title: apaprently it translates as something like "life is short but art is eternal". Hmm. I see this album in some versions features “America” but as I've covered that on the debut (even if it's shown as “2nd movement" and may be a little different; the joke has worn thin now) and it's not on my copy we kick off on “Daddy where did I come from?” which has a sort of uptempo rocky Doors feel to it, certainly Emerson at centre stage again, no surprise there. Sounds like some sort of taped effects there being used: I could be wrong but I think only The Beatles had done that up to now. It's okay but a bit meh. “Little Arabella” is quite annoying, just a basic rock track with not too much in the way of keyboard though there's some nice piano. I do hear the orchestra they're using this time out though. Super bass line but I'm not terribly impressed overall so far.
Okay well I see why he wasn't invited to sing in ELP. Emerson is not a good singer. I know he's putting it on a bit here in “Happy freuds” but it doesn't work, not for me. Great keyboard work of course as ever, but again overall I'm pretty disappointed with this album at this point. I don't know the classical piece “Intermezzo from Karelia Suite” by Sibelius, but I must admit The Nice's version of it here is the best I've heard on this album so far ... oh wait, I do know it. Just didn't know that was the title. Nice stuff. The percussion really adds something. So after a tiny little totally pointless “track” we get to the suite.
Starts off well, big intro, though the titles seem a little skewed. If it's meant to be a cycle of life/death, doesn't denial come before acceptance? Anyway, hopefully this is where the album begins a decent upswing. Well after the intro the first movement is mostly percussion and has a nice kind of mechanical feel, titled as it is “Awakening” I can see how that works. It might be a shade too long though. As was said on the “Bad News” comedy programme, “He did a twenty-minute drum solo. Would have been longer, but I can't stand drum solos.” I don't think most people can. I know for me personally they get boring after a few minutes and this really drags on and on and on, nearly six minutes of pretty much the same thing. I'm sure if you're a drummer you can appreciate it, for me it's just tedious.
I can hear where Rush would pick up their early influences in the second movement, with a good driving guitar and keyboard combo, but oddly enough it has vocals; for some reason I thought this whole thing would be instrumental. Shows what I know, huh? I guess the third movement then uses Bach's Brandenburg concerto as a basis, given the subtitle. Pretty cool all right. Fourth movement rocks pretty well but is again just really a showcase for Emerson's flamboyance. I think this would have worked better overall without the vocal part. Not bad though.
Favourite track(s): Intermezzo from the Karelia Suite, Ars Longa vita brevis (most of it)
Least favourite track(s): Everything else really
Overall impression: Meh. Nowhere near as impressed with this as I was with the debut. Kind of confused as to where it wants to go: first side is basic rock while side two is a classical suite. Confusing.
Personal Rating: 
Legacy Rating: 
Final Rating: 