Carl Palmer Discography
The Craig – “I Must be Mad”
Released 1966
Personnel - Richard
King - guitar
Len Cox - bass
Jeff
Brown - lead vocals
Carl Palmer - drums
A rampant, unhinged slice of freakbeat, all straining amps and Carl’s neo-Keith moon style kit abuse. The recording is all the more remarkable when one considers that Carl was a comparatively callow youth of fifteen at the time.
The Chants – “love light”
Released 1966
Personnel - Eddie
Amoo – vocals
Eddie Ankrah – vocals
Joe Ankrah – vocals
Alan Fielding – vocals
Nat Smedo - vocals
This would be Carl’s first paid session, playing on the song “love light”. The Chants had a minor footnote in the history of Britpop by dint of their being the first British based all black vocal groups. A potentially tidy living awaited Carl as a session drummer but some sound advice from his father dissuaded him from entering the world of recording sessions in a career way.
Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds
Released 1967
Personnel - Chris Farlowe - vocals
Albert Lee – guitar
Ricky Chapman – Bass
Peter Solley - Organ
Carl Palmer – drums
Atomic Rooster - Atomic Rooster
Released February 1970
Recorded December 1969 January 1970
Personnel – Vincent Crane – Organ, vocals
Nick Graham – Bass, vocals, flute
John Du Cann – guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer – drums
It was with Atomic Rooster that Carl Palmer enjoyed his
first real success as a founding member of a band. At the age of 18,
replacing drummer Drachen Theaker, Carl Palmer joined up with The Crazy World
of Arthur Brown at the absolute peak of their success following the smash
single “Fire” (“I am the God of Hellfire…”). Top 10 around the world,
Palmer arrived at a time when the band was touring with some of the biggest
names in music. After brief rehearsals the lineup set out on an arduous
U.S. tour alongside the cream of the rock world including the Grateful Dead,
Jimi Hendrix, Premier Cast of Hair, Iron Butterfly and others. To popular
belief Carl is not on the LP recording, but he was the touring drummer for the
record, playing over fifty gigs. From
the first time Palmer started working with Atomic Rooster he realized that a
trio worked best for him.
Emerson Lake & Palmer - Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Released November, 1970 (UK) January 13, 1971 (US)
Recorded July to September 1970 at Advision Studios
Billboard charts #18 UK charts # 4
RIAA Gold
Personnel – Keith Emerson –
keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
The outfit in which Carl’s name
would come to be carved into rock history. In the spring of 1970, Carl Palmer
received a phone call that changed his life forever. Keyboard virtuoso
Keith Emerson was forming a new band with Greg Lake. After trying out
several drummers, including Mitch Mitchell, the two wanted Palmer to audition
for a spot in the new trio but Palmer was uncertain if he wanted to leave the
growing success of Atomic Rooster behind. Reluctantly, he agreed to meet
and rehearse with the band and thank God he did. The following month the group
finished its self-titled debut album, instantly successful, it climbed to
the Top 5 in England and the Top 20 in America. And included the classic single
"Lucky Man".
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Tarkus
Released June 14,
1971 (UK) August 1971 (US)
Recorded January
1971 Advision Studios
Billboard charts
# 9 UK charts #1
RIAA Gold
Personnel – Keith Emerson
– keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
The 1971 follow-up album, Tarkus, propelled
the ELP’s sound in new directions and was the first real test for the band’s
cohesiveness. Palmer had come up with an unusual drum pattern he wanted to
incorporate. Arguments ensued and when Greg Lake, said he wouldn’t be involved
it looked like that might be it for ELP. In the end there was agreement
(or agreement to disagree) and the album, which for many came to define ELP’s
sound, was released.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Pictures at an Exhibition
Released November 1971 (UK) January 4, 1972 (US)
Recorded March 26, 1971 Newcastle City Hall upon Tyne
Billboard charts
#10 UK charts #3
RIAA Gold
BPI Sliver
Personnel – Keith Emerson
– keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
On the heels of Tarkus’s rise to #1 on the UK charts and Top 10 in the
America, ELP arrived at Newcastle City Hall on March 21, 1971, to perform and
record Pictures at an Exhibition live, their signature adaptation of Modest
Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition. When released, that album too
became a great success.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Trilogy
Released July 6, 1972 (US)
Recorded January 1972 Advision Studios
Billboard charts #5 UK charts #2
RIAA Gold
Personnel – Keith Emerson
– keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
Trilogy Increased ELP's worldwide popularity, and included
"Hoedown", which was one of their most popular songs when performing
live. The
song "Endless Enigma Part One" opens with the sound of a beating
heart, an effect created by the bass drum pedal of Palmer's Ludwig Octopus kit.
Notably, this effect was invented by Carl Palmer before it was used on Jethro Tull's A Passion Play (1973). "From the Beginning" reached #39 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
Released November 19, 1973 (US)
Recorded June – September 1973 Advision Studios
Billboard charts #11 UK charts #2
RIAA Gold
Personnel – Keith Emerson
– keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
The first under their Manticore Records imprint. It features cover art by surreal artist H. R. Giger. The album cover is considered one of
the most memorable (and often disturbing) of its time. Perhaps
the band’s definitive work. Bearing such memorable work as “Karn Evil 9”,
“Still You Turn Me On” and “Jerusalem”, the album is highlighted by “Toccata”,
a reworking of Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera's Piano Concerto No. 1, and
some of Carl Palmer’s most amazing drumming and synthesized percussion
work. So incredible and original was the performance in fact that
Ginastera himself endorsed the recording.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends...
Released August 19, 1974 (US)
Recorded February 2, 1974 Convention Center, Anaheim, Ca.
Billboard charts #4
UK charts #5
Personnel – Keith Emerson
– keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
Originally
released as a three-disk vinyl album, but is now a double CD, in a gatefold
cover, the inside of which used the letters "E", "L" and
"P" as retainers for the individual disks. During
1973 and 1974 ELP toured on their Someone Get Me a Ladder Tour all
around the world, and this album captures the representative musical sound of
that tour. The title of the album comes from the opening line of the song
"Karn Evil 9:
First Impression, Part 2" as well as the introduction to the performance,
uttered at the beginning of the song "Hoedown."
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Works Volume I
Released March
22,, 1977 (US)
Recorded 1976
Billboard
charts #12 UK charts #9
RIAA Gold
BPI Gold
Personnel – Keith Emerson
– keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
It is a double album divided into four major
sections, one each highlighting each band member, and one for combined works it was decided that each would have a solo
side followed by a forth side featuring the band as a unit. For his part,
Carl Palmer’s contribution featured big band recordings recorded with 60’s and
70’s pianist & big band leader Harry South, as well as some individual
tracks, including "LA Nights" with guitarist Joe Walsh of the
Eagles. The real gem from this period however was Palmer’s own epic
“Concerto for Percussion” which, sadly, would wait nearly twenty years before
finally being released on the Carl Palmer Anthology –“Do ya wanna play,
Carl?”
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Works Volume II
Released
November 1, 1977 (US)
Recorded 1973-
1977
Billboard
charts #37 UK charts #20
RIAA Gold
Personnel – Keith Emerson
– keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
Volume II was a single album which seemingly was a compilation
of leftover tracks from other album sessions that had not made those albums.
While many derided the album for its apparent lack of focus. Others felt it
showed a different side of the band, with blues, bluegrass and jazz being very
prominent as musical genres in this recording.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Love Beach
Released November
18, 1978
Recorded 1978
Billboard charts
#55 UK charts 48
RIAA Gold
BPI Silver
Personnel – Keith Emerson
– keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
It was the band's final
album of original studio recordings until Black Moon (1992), and was produced to
satisfy contractual obligations with the group's record company. It was a
critical and commercial disappointment, charting at #55 on the Billboard 200,
although it did eventually go gold The group was reportedly
not satisfied with the album; drummer Carl Palmer
even compared the portray of the band in the cover photograph
as more akin to disco stars the Bee Gees.
Critical appraisal of the album is mixed; some reviewers consider it the nadir
of ELP's 1970s output, while others refer to the continued popularity of songs
such as "Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman".
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - In Concert
Released November 18, 1979
Recorded August 26, 1977 at Montreal's Olympic Stadium
Billboard # 73
Personnel – Keith Emerson
– keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
In
concert is a live album, recorded at the Montreal's
Olympic Stadium which is featured on the
album cover, In Concert
showcased fan favorites of previously released material. The band hired a
70-piece orchestra for some concerts of this tour but eventually had to dismiss
the orchestra due to budget constraints that almost bankrupted the group. On
the original release, the orchestra performs on "C'est la Vie",
"Knife Edge", on Keith Emerson's
piano concerto, and on "Pictures at an Exhibition". The 1993
rerelease of the LP (Works Live) adds another four songs performed with
the orchestra: "Fanfare for the Common Man", "Abaddon's
Bolero", "Closer to Believing" and "Tank".
PM – 1: PM
Released 1980
Personal - Todd Cochran
– vocals, keyboards
John Nitzinger – guitar,
vocals
Erik
Scott – bass, vocals
Barry Finnerty – lead guitar,
vocals
Carl Palmer – drums
Carl formed his own band,
PM, for which he recruited vocalist Todd Cochran from the band Automatic Man
and blues guitarist John Nitzinger, along with Erik Scott and Barry
Finnerty. The band, an attempt at Top 40-style rock, released one album,
entitled 1: PM, which was released in 1980 in Europe only. Success eluded
the album and the band, which broke up shortly thereafter.
Mike Oldfield – “Five Miles Out”
Released March
19, 1982
Recorded in Buckinghamshire
1981
UK charts #7
Carl is featured
on the track "Mount Teidi" which is a shorter instrumental piece,
named after Mount Teide
on the Spanish island of Tenerife.
ASIA - ASIA
Released March 1982
Recorded June – November 1981
Recorded at Marcus studios & Virgin Townhouse in London.
Billboard charts #1
UK charts #11
Japan charts #15
RIAA 4 times Multi-Platinum
UK Gold
Personal - John Wetton – vocals, bass
Steve Howe – guitar
Geoff Downes – keyboards
Carl Palmer - drums
The debut album by Asia
The album reached #1 in the U.S. on the Billboard album
charts, and according to Billboard was the best-selling album in the United States
for the year 1982.[1]
Asia was certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA on February 10, 1995. The
album contains the band's biggest hits, “Here Comes the Feeling", “Only
Time Will Tell", “Sole Survivor", “Time Again", “Wildest
Dreams" and "Heat of the Moment", which reached
#4 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
ASIA – Alpha
Released July 26 1983
Recorded at Le Studio Morin Heights, Canada,
Billboard charts #6
UK charts #5
Japan charts #4
RIAA Platinum
UK Silver
Personal - John Wetton – vocals, bass
Steve Howe – guitar
Geoff Downes – keyboards
Carl Palmer - drums
Alpha is Asia's second album with John Wetton as vocalist
and last album with Steve Howe as full-time guitarist until 2008's Phoenix.
The first track on Alpha, "Don't Cry", became a top 10 hit,
peaking at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart
and #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Alpha was certified Platinum by the
RIAA on October 11, 1983.
ASIA – Astra
Released august 20, 1985
Recorded 1985
Billboard charts #67
UK charts #68
Japan charts #15
Personal - John Wetton – vocals, bass
Mandy Meyer – guitar
Geoff Downes – keyboards
Carl Palmer - drums
Astra is the last Asia album to feature John Wetton on lead vocals
until 2008. After being brought back into the fold for their third album,
Wetton and Geoff Downes
forged ahead with this effort. Steve Howe, having left sometime before the Astra sessions
were replaced by guitarist Mandy Meyer. Astra
peaked at #67 and went largely unnoticed. Wetton left Asia soon after the
record's release. Meyer would never play with Asia again. The band itself,
after cancelling the Astra tour, was basically finished until 1990.
3 – “To the Power of”
Released 1988
Recorded 1987
Personal – Keith Emerson – keyboards
Robert Berry – guitar, bass, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums
3 were a short-lived progressive rock band formed by
Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer (of Emerson, Lake & Palmer) and Berry. Unsurprisingly, their music has elements
of the characteristic ELP sound, but was criticized as less inventive and
having a bland AOR flavor. 3 did perform live to support their album, in 1988.
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Black Moon
Released June 27, 1992
Recorded 1991 Marcus Studios
Billboard charts #78
Personnel – Keith Emerson
– keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
The first studio album
under the band's original lineup since 1978, it was regarded by fans as a
triumphant comeback.
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Live at the Royal Albert Hall
Released 1993
Recorded October 3, 1992
Personnel – Keith Emerson
– keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
It was recorded at a show
at the Royal Albert Hall during the Black Moon tour in October 1992. Highlights of the album include
a 9 minute outpouring of "Tarkus", "Black Moon", and
"Finale", which is a three song medley. A DVD version of this release
is also available, released in early 2009 by Shout! Factory, who has also
reissued much of the band's CD catalog
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Live at the Isle of Wight Festival
Released 1997
Recorded August 29, 1970 on the Isle of Wight
Personnel – Keith Emerson
– keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
The show that ELP played
at the Isle of Wight on August 29, 1970 was spectacular. Since their first
album had not yet been released, the audience was not familiar with their
music, but responded with thunderous applause, nonetheless. The Isle of Wight,
with its all star lineup that included Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Free, Sly & the
Family Stone, was a very unnerving experience for the young band, who certainly
rose to the occasion. "I just remember that we went down like a
storm," says Palmer. "The crowd went crazy when we finished."
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Then and Now
Released November 24 1998
Recorded April 6 1974 Ontario Motor speedway, Ontario, Ca. and on their 1997/1998 Tour.
Personnel – Keith Emerson
– keyboards, Piano
Greg Lake - guitar, bass guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
Then and Now is a live album,
that brings together two separate periods of the band's career and places them
back to back. First is the legendary California Jam performance ("the Then"), which took
place at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California on 6 April 1974. Second a collection of recordings from the 1997
to 1998 reunion tour ("the Now"). Most of the bands best known pieces
are present with 'Karn Evil 9: First Impression', 'Take a Pebble' and 'Lucky
Man' appearing twice as part of each period's set lists.
Qango – “Live in the Hood”
Released 2000
Recorded February 3, 2000 at the Robin Hood
Personal - John Wetton – vocals, bass
John Young –
keyboards, vocals
David Kilminster – guitar, vocals
Carl Palmer - drums
QANGO was a short-lived progressive rock band, a spin-off from Asia. In 1999, an attempt was made at a partial reunion of the progressive rock supergroup Asia involving John WETTON (bass, vocals) and Carl PALMER (drums), with David KILMINSTER to be on guitar. The band's live set was based on songs by Asia and Palmer's former band Emerson Lake and Palmer. The band played five UK dates in February 2000 (including a London show on 4 February when Keith Emerson jammed with the band) and six in April 2000. Subsequent touring plans and ideas to record a studio album were abandoned, with Wetton and Palmer soon returning to their solo activities. This recording is from their second show (3 February 2000) and is the band's only official release.
Carl Palmer Anthology – “Do ya wanna play,
Carl?”
Released 2001
First ever compilation for the Emerson, Lake & Palmer drummer. Premastered from original tapes. Featuring contributions from the rest of ELP, The Craig, The Chants, Chris Farlow, Atomic Rooster, Mike Oldfield, Asia, 3 and one bonus track, 'Shawnee' with Buddy Rich.
Carl Palmer Band “Working Live Volume 1”
Released March 17, 2003
Personnel – Shaun
Baxter - guitar
Dave Marks - bass guitar
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
Working Live, Volume I, a new solo album and the first to feature his new solo band. The new trio, simply called Palmer, includes the famous drummer along with bassist Dave Marks and guitarist Shaun Baxter. The record features live interpretations of some of Palmer’s best known songs, originally recorded with ELP and on his solo albums.
Carl Palmer Band – “Working Live Volume 2”
Released 2004
Personnel – Shaun
Baxter - guitar
Dave Marks - bass guitar
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
The second live album in a series that features bass-guitar-drums power trio solo band line-up, Working Live Vol. 2 is the sequel to last year's successful Vol. 1 collection, and again features both new material and new arrangements of long time Palmer classics originally made famous while in Emerson, Lake & Palmer. This album is different than Working Live Vol. 1 because of the songs are all different, it was recorded on his 2003 UK tour.
The Carl Palmer Band - in Concert (DVD)
Released 2006
Recorded December 5, 2004
MTV recording at Sports Arena "Rock in my heart-Festival" In Bucharest, Romania.
Personnel – Paul
Bielatowicz - guitar
Dave Marks - bass guitar
Carl Palmer - drums, percussion
ASIA – “Phoenix”
Released Europe April 11, 2008
North America on April 15
Recorded 2007 2008
Billboard charts #73
UK charts 166
Japan charts 28
The
first to feature all four original members (John Wetton, Geoff Downes, Steve Howe and Carl Palmer) since 1983's Alpha. The album
reached number ten in the UK indie chart. The album debuted at number 73 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and number ten on the Billboard Top
Internet albums chart. This is the first time since 1985's Astra that a studio album by Asia charted on the Billboard 2008.
ASIA - Fantasia: Live in Tokyo CD / DVD
Released June 26, 2007
Recorded March 8, 2007
Asia, featuring members of Yes, ELP and King Crimson, was the first
“supergroup” of the eighties. Their eponymous debut album, released in 1982,
was a huge success racking up global sales in excess of 15 million copies. In
2006 the original four members reunited for the first time in over 20 years for
a series of concerts in the US and the UK. The success of this tour led to a
full-blown world tour running throughout 2007 in celebration of their 25th
anniversary. This CD was recorded in Tokyo in March 2007 on the Japanese leg of
the tour.
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