Album of the Day

Ars Longa Vita Brevis, by The Nice (1968): The Nice are one of the seminal proto-prog bands, bridging the gap between the psychedelia of the late 1960s and the full-on prog heyday of the early 70s. The driving engine of the band was Keith Emerson, who would, of course, go on to form the first prog supergroup - Emerson, Lake, & Palmer. As with ELP, The Nice was a bass-drums-keys (organ, mostly) trio, mixing up short vocal-led tracks with extended classically based instrumental workouts. As you might expect from the "proto" tag, it all sounds a bit half-baked, at this point. The shorter tunes on Side One are mostly forgettable, although I enjoy "Happy Freuds" quite a bit. Side Two contains the epic title track, which wanders a bit too much for my tastes. Overall, I'm glad I have this album for historical reasons, but I don't pull it out all that often.