A Rooster, the 'P' and now head of the CPB

I was shopping at Everyday Music last week when I came across an “expanded deluxe edition” of Atomic Rooster’s album, In Hearing Of Atomic Rooster. I had heard that Carl Palmer (the drummer who went on to massive fame with Emerson, Lake & Palmer) had played with that band but I couldn’t tell from the cover art whether he had played on this album or not. Strange that I hadn’t investigated their history a little more, as I had with E,L&P’s other members: Keith Emerson had already achieved semi-fame and notoriety as keyboardist with The Nice, and a young Greg Lake sang lead vocals on the legendary first King Crimson album, In The Court Of The Crimson King.

So I risked the eight bucks and bought it. Turns out Palmer had already moved on by the recording of this, their third album, but it was a satisfying purchase anyway: A good mesh of heavy rock and funky jams, with strong singing by one-and-done member Pete French. The remastering sounds great, too.



So, I did a little reading to find out what album Carl Palmer did play on, and it turns out only the first, self-titled Atomic Rooster from 1969. Check out the sample below, especially starting at the 1:39 mark: An early sign of drumming greatness to come in the 70’s! (It's also interesting to hear how much keyboard whiz Vincent Crane sounded like Keith Emerson – or was it the other way around?)



I’ll be checking out the other Rooster remaster, Death Walks Behind You, very soon.

As for what happened to Palmer after he left the Rooster? If you’re a fan of "sabre rattling" (Palmer's phrase) prog rock, you are already well familiar with Palmer’s work with E,L&P in 70’s. I’ve never quite decided who I liked more, Palmer or Rush’s Neil Peart – but hey, why not a tie?



Flashing forward a bit, I saw the Carl Palmer Band in Portland a couple of years ago and was amazed at how great he plays still. They played a bunch of classic ELP songs, taking a break in between each so Palmer could tell some stories and tall tales of the 70’s (which the audience loved), as well as catch his breath for the next song, which was quite understandable, as these songs require incredible power and speed. He also revealed a great sense of humor, which was a nice surprise.

It was fascinating to see how they transposed the very difficult keyboard parts to guitar!



As an added bonus for the night, he appeared after the concert to sign (purchased) items – hey, a guy’s gotta make a living now that record sales don’t do it! – and I was thrilled to obtain a set of drumsticks. I also got the bass and guitar players to sign them and had a little conversation – very nice folks, all.



There are two CDs available that capture this latest incarnation of the CPB experience, and they’re both quite good (and apparently a 3rd volume is set to be released very soon).

Working Live, Vol. 1
Working Live, Vol. 2

I’ll leave you with a story from my college days. I was living in a dorm with my best friend from high school, but our relationship was becoming strained due to his interest in funk and disco, and my persistent passion for heavy rock. "Stereo wars" ensued with the main loser being our ability to concentrate on homework. He had posters of bands like Earth, Wind & Fire and Parliament Funkadelic, and I had a poster of Carl Palmer circa the Works, Vol. 1 album. One morning, I saw my poster lying at the foot of his bed. I said,

“Ed, why is my Carl Palmer poster lying at the foot of your bed?”

He replied, “You won’t believe me if I tell you.”

“Give it a try.”

“Okay… In the middle of the night, you stood up in your bed, carefully pulled the poster off your wall, laid it on the floor in front of me, and got back in bed. I tried to ask you what you were doing, but you wouldn’t answer and went right back to sleep. I’m pretty sure you were sleepwalking.”

“I guess my subconscious was trying to tell you something, that rock really is better.”

“I guess so, but I still love my funk.”

I’ll never know for sure if he was telling the truth about the sleepwalking, but why would he lie? I had done it before (and after) so it’s not too hard to believe. It would have been nice to be able to tell Mr. Palmer that story when he was signing my drumsticks but all I could manage was “Your playing has meant so much to me; thank you.”

Oh, the thousands of stories he could hear if fans all had their chance to tell him…

Official Carl Palmer Website

p.s. I know he got his start touring with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (but didn't appear on the album), and sold about a gazillion records with Asia in the 80's, as well as experience with lesser-known groups P.M. and 3, but those bands didn't really showcase his special talent at the drums, so I will leave those phases for another time and/or place.

Byrne, Baby, Byrne!

The first time I came across David Byrne’s music was with the Talking Heads and their 1977 song “Psycho Killer.”

At the time, I cited the simplistic song structure, considered them just another offshoot of the new punk movement, dismissively predicted they wouldn’t go very far. (My favorite bands at the time were prog rockers like Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.) Wow, was I off on that one! They not only became hugely popular through the 80s, but became one of my favorite bands (as well as turning out one of my Top 10 songs of all-time, "Once In A Lifetime").

Click here for Kermit the Frog's interpretation of this classic.

They hit a creative peak in 1984. I saw this concert when it came through Portland, and was quite unprepared for just how great it would be. It's somewhere at the top of my list of Best Concerts Ever.



There wasn't much room to grow from there however, and they released their last album in 1988. Although many people still bemoan the end of the band, I can certainly see why Byrne felt it was time to move on.

He hardly missed a beat though: While with the Heads, he had released three side projects: In 1981, the futuristic (and sampleriffic) My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts with Brian Eno; also in 1981, the soundtrack to The Catherine Wheel with choreographer extraordinaire Twyla Tharp; and in 1985, a set of musical interludes for a Robert Wilson opera, The Knee Plays.

Then one year after the last Talking Heads album, Byrne released his first solo album proper in 1989, Rei Momo, which expanded on his interest in Latin music. My favorite of his Latin-themed albums was his next, 1992's Uh Oh.

He returned the debt to his Latin influences by forming the label Luaka Bop and releasing music by (and exposing me to) his favorite South American artists, including Tom Ze, Caetano Veloso, and Jorge Ben.

In addition, Byrne wrote orchestral scores, for Robert Wilson's play The Forest and most notably for the film (and Oscar Winner) The Last Emperor.

In 2008, Byrne released a second project with Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, which is beautiful, almost spiritual music, while still catchy and warm. Well worth checking out.

Now he can add “author” and “bicycle rack designer” to his resume: The Bicycle Diaries, published in 2009, is a collection of observations from his bike travels around the world, as well as musings on the human condition. I wouldn't call it scholarly, in spite of the inside picture:

I recommend it; consider it some time spent with an interesting and informative friend.

This year’s (2010) project looks intriguing: A collaboration with “Brit-hop” producer Fatboy Slim (aka Norman Cook) – a logical matchup if ever there was one – a funky musical journey exploring the life and times of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, Here Lies Love, coming out in February. I’m really looking forward to it! Here’s a sampler:

And all the while, he continues to play concerts with inventive touches like interpretive dancers and (now expected) additional musicians to add new life to the old hits, as well as the solo numbers. I caught his show in Portland last fall, and the surprise appearance of San Francisco’s Extra Action Marching Band for the encore was a special treat.

Great stuff, all of it. You're on a roll, Mr. Byrne!

All You Need Is ...

I was listening to the new Weezer album, Raditude, last night, and thinking that they are really starting to repeat themselves, that Rivers Cuomo has found this faux party anthem style of songwriting that sells lots of CDs, or downloads or whatever, but isn't really authentic from-the-heart stuff that will last over time (like 1996's Pinkerton). This morning, however, just to compare notes and see if I'd missed something, I read the Allmusic review which pointed out that this was Cuomo's look back at his Gen-Y days and a "passionate surrender to growing up." Okay, fair enough, but while skillfully put together, I still probably won't be giving it too many listens. (Maybe because it doesn't "speak" to me, as I'm somewhere in the alphabet before Gen-Y, or Gen-X...more like Gen-M (for Middle age).

I will add one track to my playlist, however: "Love Is The Answer," with Nishat Khan on sitar and vocals which add a nice eastern touch. I'm a sucker for songs on this theme, with lyrics that include lines like "You have got to trust in yourself," and "Take it easy on yourself." This kind of message never gets old.

Then, in keeping with the principle of synchronicity, the next album I put on was "Dimensions" (also from 2009) by Australia's psych/pop band The Lovetones, which featured the track "Love & Redemption." Just lovely. Notice a common theme?

These guys probably won't sell 1/10th - or more likely 1/100th - of the albums as Weezer, but this music deserves to be heard by a wider audience.

Note: Weezer's tune is not the same as the Stylistics' 1974 pre-disco song by the same name:

Nor the really wonderful one by (Todd Rundgren's) Utopia:

But I love 'em all.