Emerson, Lake & Palmer created some of the most accomplished and acclaimed progressive rock music of all time during their imperial phase in the ’70s. But if drummer Carl Palmer had to pick just one track that captured ELP at the very peak of their powers, what would it be?
Palmer has spoken to MusicRadar while preparing for his next set of shows in which he performs classic ELP material live – synchronised with 1992 video footage of his late former bandmates, keyboardist Keith Emerson and bassist/guitarist/vocalist Greg Lake.
These upcoming shows are billed: Welcome Back My Friends – An Evening with Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The drummer is joined on stage by Paul Bielatowicz on guitar and Simon Fitzpatrick on bass and Chapman Stick.
The setlist will of course feature the landmark tracks that established ELP as leading lights of progressive rock and also one of the biggest selling bands in the world.
But which of those tracks represents the absolute peak of the trio’s artistry?
Palmer smiles and tells MusicRadar: “When people say, ‘Can you can you tell me what Emerson, Lake & Palmer was like? What was it?’ Somebody who doesn’t know it. I’ve only ever come up with with two answers.”
First, he names the definitive ELP album, a classic from 1973.
“If you want the pinnacle of the creativity, I would say Brain Salad Surgery was the top end of that creativity.”
Then he names their greatest track – an interpretation of a famous English hymn that served as opening piece from Brain Salad Surgery.
“If you want to get the band in a nutshell, there’s the Englishness of it – because Greg had a choir boy voice, it wasn’t a bluesy soul voice. And we were keyboard-driven, not by guitars. Very unusual at the time.
“I would have to say the grandest piece that displays absolutely everything – our connection to classical music, and our connection to the big production – I would say it’s the track Jerusalem. Because that fulfils everything. We did play it on stage, not all of the time, but that to me just opens up the door and says, ‘That’s what ELP sounded like.’”
He continues: “Yes, there are other tracks like Fanfare [For The Common Man]. Yes, there are other big tracks like Lucky Man, C’est La Vie. But all in one, where you get the full blast of Keith Emerson, of Greg Lake, myself, I would say Jerusalem would always be the track that I would refer to as being The One.”
Palmer is hugely proud of what he achieved with ELP and proud of the show he is currently taking around the world. He does admit, however, that he wasn’t entirely happy with the last show that the legendary trio played together as Emerson, Lake & Palmer – headlining the High Voltage festival in London’s Victoria Park on 25 July 2010.
Palmer admits: “The band wasn’t in good health by the time we got to that concert. But we rehearsed for about five weeks. We got as much done as possible, and that was it.
“Really, after what everyone had gone through in the band, we knew we couldn’t actually tour again full time. We were offered other stuff, other shows, but it just it never felt right to me at the time, and I know that Keith and Greg felt the same as well.
“We knew that it wasn’t practical to tour with like three weeks off in between dates. So, truthfully, I think that High Voltage show was a way of saying goodbye to all of the English fans.”
