A Time and a Place: The ELP Story Paperback – Import, 7 October 2022

Author Laura Shenton has done an incredible job of digging up a variety of familiar and obscure reviews of concerts and albums and presented them here as documentation of the best years of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. She also has included direct quotes from each of the band members, although many of the quotes are not attributed as to where they were spoken. The reviews she chose are both positive and negative, which is appropriate. The reason it is hard to read is because there is no overall narrative. It's like picking up a newspaper and reading several individual articles. It gets rather dry, and towards the end I had to force myself to finish the book as it wasn't really a fun read. There are a few good photos, and the last part of the book is filled with discography information as well as a listing of every concert they ever played with dates and locations. It feels more like an academic endeavor rather than a story of a band. But it does contain some good information which is why I thought it deserved 4 stars.

The author undertook a subject which has far too little press, ELP.The problem I have with the book, is not enough in-depth behind the scenes stuff. Instead, she reprints music critics’ reviews, which is not only boring to tears, but lazy writing imo.Certainly not worth the money being charged for the opportunity to read.