Ars Longa Vita Brevis
Studio album by
The Nice
ReleasedNovember 1968
Recorded1968
GenrePsychedelic rock, progressive rock
Length40:13
LabelImmediate
ProducerThe Nice
The Nice chronology
The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack
(1968)		 Ars Longa Vita Brevis
(1968)		 Nice
(1969)

Ars Longa Vita Brevis is the second album by the English progressive rock group the Nice.

Recording

Guitarist David O'List left the band during the recording of the album, leaving the remaining three members to complete it. After flirting briefly with replacement guitarists (including Steve Howe, later to join Yes), the Nice decided to carry on as a keyboard-led trio. The title is an aphorism attributed to Hippocrates usually rendered as "Art is long, life is short"; Keith Emerson's interpretation of this can be gauged from his sleevenote:

Newton's first law of motion states a body will remain at rest or continue with uniform motion in a straight line unless acted on by a force. This time the force happened to come from a European source. Ours is an extension of the original Allegro from Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. Yesterday I met someone who changed my life, today we put down a sound that made our aim accurate. Tomorrow is yesterday's history and art will still be there, even if life terminates.[1]

Structurally the album picked up where its predecessor left off – shorter psych-pop numbers ("Daddy, Where Did I Come From", "Happy Freuds") and extended workouts based on classical themes ("Intermezzo from the Karelia Suite") – but a significant step forward was taken on side two with the appearance of the multi-sectional suite "Ars Longa Vita Brevis". The suite begins with a prelude featuring a full orchestra followed by an extended drum solo ("Awakening"), a more conventional rock number ("Realisation"), a rock adaptation of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.3 in G Major featuring a return of the orchestra ("Brandenburger", released as a non-charting single in November 1968), a fast-paced jazz-fusion Hammond jam ("Denial") and an orchestral coda. "Ars Longa Vita Brevis" was, along with Procol Harum's "In Held 'Twas In I" released around the same time, the first side-long progressive rock suite and served as a template for Emerson's later efforts on Five Bridges, Tarkus and "Karn Evil 9".

The album unusually contains some songs in which Keith Emerson sings lead vocals: he shares the singing with Lee Jackson in "Daddy, Where Did I Come From", sings all lead vocals on "Happy Freuds" and takes the bridge in "Little Arabella". An earlier outtake of "Daddy, Where Did I Come From" featuring David O'List on guitar was later released on the compilation Autumn '67 - Spring '68. The original US version of the album added in the non-LP single "America", released in June 1968 and also including O'List, which became the group's commercial breakthrough when it hit #21 in their home country. "America" is a cover of the popular West Side Story number re-imagined as a heavy instrumental acid-rocker similar to the group's cover of "Rondo" on the previous album, while its B-side "Diamond Hard Blue Apples of the Moon" (found on certain CD reissues of the debut album) adheres to their early psych-pop leanings.

Guest guitarist Malcolm Langstaff, who played on the second movement of the suite titled "Realisation", died in 2007.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Rolling Stone(neutral)[4]
TopTenReviews[5]

Allmusic's Bruce Eder described the album as "a genuinely groundbreaking effort".[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Keith Emerson and Lee Jackson, except where noted.

Side one

  1. "Daddy, Where Did I Come From" – 3:44
  2. "Little Arabella" – 4:18
  3. "Happy Freuds" – 3:25
  4. "Intermezzo from the Karelia Suite" (Sibelius) – 8:57
  5. "Don Edito el Gruva" (Emerson, Jackson, Brian Davison) – 0:13

Side two

  1. "Ars Longa Vita Brevis" – 19:20
  • "Prelude" (Emerson) – 1:49
  • "1st Movement – Awakening" (Davison) – 4:01
  • "2nd Movement – Realisation" (Jackson, David O'List, Emerson) – 4:54
  • "3rd Movement – Acceptance "Brandenburger"" (J.S.Bach, Davison, Emerson, Jackson) – 4:23
  • "4th Movement – Denial" (Davison, Emerson, Jackson) – 3:23
  • "Coda – Extension to the Big Note" (Emerson) – 0:46
Bonus tracks on the 1973 Columbia release
  1. "America" (Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein)
  2. "2nd Amendment" (Davison, Jackson)[6]

Added to side one (tracks 1 and 2) on the Columbia Records release via their Columbia Special Products subsidiary.[6]

Bonus tracks on the 1998 rerelease
  1. "Brandenburger" (Mono single mix)
  2. "Happy Freuds" (Mono single mix)
Bonus track on the 2005 rerelease
  1. "Happy Freuds" – 3:27

Personnel

The Nice

with:

  • Malcolm Langstaff – guitar (6c)
  • Robert Stewart – orchestral arranger, conductor
Technical

References

  1. ↑ Liner notes, Immediate LP Z12 52020, 1968 (Canadian pressing).
  2. ↑ "Links". Archived from the original on 13 August 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Ars Longa Vita Brevis". 13 July 2005. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
  4. ↑ Mendelson, John (14 June 1969). "Records". Rolling Stone. No. 35. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. p. 37.
  5. ↑ "TopTenReviews – External Link". toptenreviews.com. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  6. 1 2 Ars Longa Vita Brevis (Liner notes). The Nice. New York City: Columbia Records. 1973.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ↑ Although it is clear from examination of the cover that the three X-rays are identical
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