The Nice, live on Norwegian TV - 7th October, 1969

[per anporth]

On the day that The Nice played Club 7 at Kongen, Oslo, they recorded three songs for a half hour show broadcast by NRK on Norwegian tv.

These two videos together capture just under 25 minutes of the half hour - starting off with the Intermezzo from Sibelius' Karelia Suite, then their cover of Tim Hardin's Hang on to a Dream (which is mising the last 4 or 5 minutes), & concluding with their version of Dylan's She Belongs to Me.





Although the version of She Belongs to Me is quite a bit shorter than they were used to playing at this time, there's still a sense, from around four and a half minutes in, of the incredible power the band generated when they they played the long improvised intrumental section, & then towards the end when they ride the crest of the propulsive rhythm on the final verse - all of which Scrotum Scissor described so well in the thread on Shine on Brightly vs Ars Longa Vita Brevis, when he wrote: "the real treat (IMO, of course) remains that intensity level arising from the improvisations in their rendition of Dylan's "She Belongs to Me" and the way it finally catharses into the closing verse".

The videos also do a good job of capturing what a great rhythm section Jackson & Davidson were - lose, funky, &, in Davidson's case especially, always playing with real swing.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Very Nice stuff!

It's important to realize that Club7 was and in fact still is THE most legendary pop-cultural music venue my country has ever produced, very much influenced by places like the Zodiac in Berlin and Middle Earth in London; i.e. locations where there was an allround artistic activity within numerous fields of performance expression - experimental theatre and dance, film, poetry, galleries and workshops. It didn't close until the mid-80s. Countless stalwart names in Norwegian contemporary arts had their big breaks there, including Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal, Karin Krog, Finnerud Trio, Andreij Nebb, Helge Gaarder and the whole "nyrock" phenomenon which was so pivotal to modern musical developments on our part.

If you get access to it, there's a good documentary about the venue here:https://tv.nrk.no/program/FOLA05006973/club-7-i-oslo

[Bytor]

What sort of organ is Keith playing?

[flytomars]

Nice! watching these clips made me realize for the first time that The Nice had a lot in common with the Canterbury sound...
With Jacksons jazzy sometimes fuzzy bass and Emerson`s Hammond, and not taking themselves too seriously (as opposed to later ELP)

[rhymes with rogue]

Hammond L100, I believe.

[Bytor]

Hammond L100, I believe.

Cool, thanks. First time seeing him play with an Hammond with no draw bars so I thought maybe it was a Farfisa or something else...

[stickman393]

Cool, thanks. First time seeing him play with an Hammond with no draw bars so I thought maybe it was a Farfisa or something else...

Oh, it's got drawbars:

[Casey]

Brings back great memories of finding The Nice. Thank you.

[Bytor]

Oh, it's got drawbars:

Ha, nice, they were well hidden, not on top like I'm used to see haha :-)

[Scrotum Scissor]

watching these clips made me realize for the first time that The Nice had a lot in common with the Canterbury sound...
With Jacksons jazzy sometimes fuzzy bass and Emerson`s Hammond, and not taking themselves too seriously (as opposed to later ELP)

Well, they influenced the early Egg, that's for sure. Personally I'd take The Nice over the kitschy sink which ELP eventually turned into. There was still adventure, impulsivity dynamics and flair about The Nice, although they were admittedly uneven as well.

What really strikes me about this footage is how awesome a drummer Brian Davison was!

[Baribrotzer]

Sloppy, heavily dependent on cover tunes, and Jackson couldn't sing for sour apples. But there was a feel to them, and a sense of fun that ELP never had. Emerson seems to think so as well: His autobiography deals far more heavily on his days with the Nice, back when music was still fun for him, than with ELP, which he seems to remember mostly for intolerable pressures from their label and non-stop quarrelling with Lake.

[Zeuhlmate]

One of my friends was there when he was 16.
When Keith Emerson was in Oslo in connection with the release party for the Three Fates Project 2012, Emerson said when asked about the 69 concert, that the only thing he remebered was a woman who entered the stage stripped and danced.
Here she is:

Nice2.jpg

(photo: Hans Voigt)

Here is the 69 poster

Nice1.jpg

[Scrotum Scissor]

Nice2.jpg

[SIZE=1](photo: Hans Voigt)

Ha-ha, and if anyone would bring a camera to such an event at Club7 it'd damn better be ol' (then juvenile) Hans! None other! I knew it...

Seriously, though - coloured folks were few and far between here in Oslo back then, so this gal sure makes for an exotic cinnamon.

[Zeuhlmate]

Ha-ha, and if anyone would bring a camera to such an event at Club7 it'd damn better be ol' (then juvenile) Hans! None other! I knew it...

Seriously, though - coloured folks were few and far between here in Oslo back then, so this gal sure makes for an exotic cinnamon.

Bringing a camera to a The Nice concert is strange ? (well I guess Fripp would agree)
Pretty sure the colour of the lady wasnt the most interesting.

[Scrotum Scissor]

^

[arturs]

Sloppy, heavily dependent on cover tunes, and Jackson couldn't sing for sour apples. But there was a feel to them, and a sense of fun that ELP never had. Emerson seems to think so as well: His autobiography deals far more heavily on his days with the Nice, back when music was still fun for him, than with ELP, which he seems to remember mostly for intolerable pressures from their label and non-stop quarrelling with Lake.

I totally agree. I like both bands, but the way the Nice just go for it, terrible vocals and all... It is often a lot of fun. I found the same thing on the live Refugee disc.

[ytserush]

Sloppy, heavily dependent on cover tunes, and Jackson couldn't sing for sour apples. But there was a feel to them, and a sense of fun that ELP never had. Emerson seems to think so as well: His autobiography deals far more heavily on his days with the Nice, back when music was still fun for him, than with ELP, which he seems to remember mostly for intolerable pressures from their label and non-stop quarrelling with Lake.

Totally different vibe to Emerson. Lake and Palmer, but maybe much of that comes down to the time period. There was a looseness about them that just worked. Not hear much live from them just the Swedish Radio CD, the Reunion CD and now this.

One of the things I like best about The Nice is how they sounded so innocent which again may just come down to the time period. I was way too young to be aware of just how musically uncharted it was back then.

[bigbassdrum]

Not hear much live from them just the Swedish Radio CD, the Reunion CD and now this.

One of the things I like best about The Nice is how they sounded so innocent which again may just come down to the time period. I was way too young to be aware of just how musically uncharted it was back then.

Check out "Live at the Fillmore East December 1969' available on Amazon, etc.:

"UK two CD live release from the British Psychedelic/Art Rock band featuring a previously unreleased performance taped at the Fillmore East in 1969. Digitally re-mastered from the original eight track tapes. Including alternate unedited performances of "She Belongs to Me" and "Country Pie", along with material previously unreleased on either vinyl or CD. The Nice would go down in history as one of the most exciting live acts of their age and as the creators of a series of excellent albums that would fuse the worlds of Rock and classical music, taking in elements of Jazz, Psychedelia and Rhythm & Blues on the way, effectively spawning the genre of Progressive Rock in their wake. 10 tracks total. Virgin. 2009. "

[ytserush]

Check out "Live at the Fillmore East December 1969' available on Amazon, etc.:

"UK two CD live release from the British Psychedelic/Art Rock band featuring a previously unreleased performance taped at the Fillmore East in 1969. Digitally re-mastered from the original eight track tapes. Including alternate unedited performances of "She Belongs to Me" and "Country Pie", along with material previously unreleased on either vinyl or CD. The Nice would go down in history as one of the most exciting live acts of their age and as the creators of a series of excellent albums that would fuse the worlds of Rock and classical music, taking in elements of Jazz, Psychedelia and Rhythm & Blues on the way, effectively spawning the genre of Progressive Rock in their wake. 10 tracks total. Virgin. 2009. "

Thanks!

Totally missed this.

Sounds tasty.

[regenerativemusic]

I thought there was a live 1970 Nice show that showed how Emerson was progressing more to a type of
ELP style of composing. I like the more advanced compositions he did, such as Triology and Tank.

[A. Scherze]

In this clip, Emerson is playing an A-105.

[A. Scherze]

[Paulrus]

I love that video.

Interesting, though, that Moraz is using Minimoogs here whereas with Yes (shortly thereafter) he had switched to ARPs. Has he ever explained why? Was it just a Jan Hammer infatuation he was going through at the time?

[A. Scherze]

I love that video.

Interesting, though, that Moraz is using Minimoogs here whereas with Yes (shortly thereafter) he had switched to ARPs.

No, he still had the two Minis with Yes and actually added two more that he had customized into a double/split configuration.
IOW, he had the keyboards separated from the electronics and put them into their own cabinet.
At some point, he got a Polymoog, and, after leaving Yes he got a MultiMoog or MicroMoog.

[Casey]

It was interesting to see those two videos, especially comparing the full band shots to see the change & the constancy.