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:"

Link in case the video doesn't load

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.