Friday, April 17, 2015

KLEM FM

Lem tweeted me about the drumming in the band Asia's song "The Heat Of The Moment" to which I replied:
I hear syncopated snare fills & bass drum. It's Carl Palmer, (ex-of ELP) so no wonder it's genius.
That got me wondering about Carl Palmer and so I went looking on Wiki and also in my iTunes library. I own exactly one Emerson Lake & Palmer tune--"Lucky Man:"



I like Carl Palmer's drumming in that song. It's hard to describe it. He's obviously from the same school of drumming as other Brits in his generation like Charlie Watts, Mick Avory, Mitch Mitchell, et al. They could all play "jazzy" if they wanted too. All had mastery of the snare drum; they all probably learned to drum listening to and copying the jazz and swing greats; they all played with a traditional grip. In contrast, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, John Bonham all did not; they played with clubs.

The video makes one obvious gaffe: the crystal clear lyrics are presented and Greg Lake sings:
White lace and feathers
They made up his bed
A gold covered mattress
On which he was led laid
Allegedly, the song was written by 12-year-old Greg Lake. I'm pretty sure Lake says "led" and not "laid." I remember being 12. While my thoughts were rapidly clouding by sex by then, I wouldn't have said "laid" either--even though it sort of fits the context of the song.

9 comments:

chickelit said...

I always preferred wailing guitars over synthesizers (which this song features). That explains the one song in my iTunes.

bagoh20 said...

"Led" makes sense to me. He was led through the years on a journey of fantasy and passion on that bed. Oh, what a lucky man he was.

Rabel said...

Great post, great song.

It raises a question I've had for a long time:

How come most Brits lose their accents so completely when they sing? I think there's more to it than appeal to a US audience, but I really don't get it.

Here's how Lake sounds when he's not singing.

Bonus: there's a solo version of Lucky Man at 2:20. It's not too impressive.

chickelit said...

@Rabel: I don't know the answer to your question. I do know it's purposeful. Ray Davies writes in his (partial) autobiography:

The Kinks had worn pretentious, aristocratic red hunting jackets when we first started, but we only had to open our mouths and the world knew that we were baseborn.

Elsewhere he mentions deliberately singing in a natural-sounding voice. You can hear it in most all of their songs.

Thanks for the video link!

Chip Ahoy said...

Oh, Man, that is so incredibly ace.

It is the only E-L-P I have on i-Tunes as well.

It was one of Gary Hennigan's favorite songs. He always did like the best of things. He also liked Lincoln Continental Mark 1V with their sexy boots in the shape of a spare wheel and the little oval opera windows in back. I found all this exceedingly large automobile obsession somewhat aspirational for a high school boy. But he needed a huge car to accommodate his 500 LB bulk. When he dropped his bulk into a car it blew out the seats. All his cars had blown out seats. He destroyed them all.

So we'd sit in his Continental and he'd crank up Emerson Lake and Palmer. A keyboardist himself the Moog flipped him out, and me too. I often wondered, "How in the heck does he come up with these things?" If it wasn't this then it would something like Beethoven's piano sonatas. He was always bugging me to listen to advanced things. Come on, Chip, come on, give this a listen. Shut up. Listen to this.

It was is an early song I learned in sign but it goes too slow and the best passages are musical so I don't care for that anymore. And I thought it was "knights" in white satin, not nights, and frankly, I like my misinterpretation better. Because now it's just regular nights and not nearly as romantic and tragic because it no longer congers imagery of chivalry.

chickelit said...

And I thought it was "knights" in white satin, not nights, and frankly, I like my misinterpretation better.

I always associated that song with the KKK so I can see your point. Here's a better Moody Blues song, courtesy of KLEM FM

chickelit said...

He also liked Lincoln Continental Mark 1V with their sexy boots in the shape of a spare wheel and the little oval opera windows in back.

Sounds like you hung out with Frank Cannon!

Tank said...

Carl Palmer, a great musician. GREAT. Not a great drummer, a great musician. Usually, at most concerts, the "drum solo" is a good time to go get a beer. Not Palmer. That dude is musical. And fun. He makes you smile.

chickelit said...

I changed out the original video link (which had gone dead) for a new one and so my comments about the lyrics embedded in the original no longer make sense.