'Toccata' is not a good representation of Carl Palmer's percussion talent and skill. His live Karn Evil 9 solos from the early '70s are his signature works----stunning displays of incredible technical virtuosity and sustained power. Carl Palmer is one of the all-time great percussionists, regardless of musical genre.
ELP never overdubbed anything. I have seen them 14 times live and every album sound you hear you can hear and see live. You can find plenty of videos and see them playing the same thing live. Surprised you did not pick up on the drum synthesizers.
@@someone4857 not in the least. I have heard them in concert many times playing the piece. There is no need to overdub with their ability and Keith took pride in the fact that he would not did that sort of cheap junk.
@@markhamilton3477 They did do overdubbing. The live 3rd impression is missing some of the sounds. When they recorded Brain Salad Surgery they actually say they did not want to do overdubbing because of all the overdubbing they did in the past. They wanted to play the songs in concert. On Brain Salad Surgery there is not much, just in the 3rd impression and i think Still You Turn Me on. The original Lucky Man - Greg did a lot of - Quote - "over overlaying" while Keith was gone.. He can't play 2 guitars at the same time.
They did play it live, although of course there are overdubs on the studio version. I doubt Carl could be hitting the gong or bells while he's already using both arms on the tympani.
@@yes_head You can see that Carl positioned the rope for the bell just in front of his mouth. So he would bite the rope and pull it using his head. He was also the first to use electronic drums. So I am sure some of the electronic drums were programmed to play sections when hit. So no overdubbing live.
@@yes_head Oh he could play both at the same time. Take a look at this video of him and you will see for yourself: th-cam.com/video/8pT_JM-uHuY/w-d-xo.html
Listen to the live version on “Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends…..” album also has great performances of Tarkus, Hoedown and Karn Evil 9. All live, three musicians.
RIP Keith and Greg, I will allways remember YOU, you made my life better Carl, keep on going, forewer my favourite drums player, noboy is even close to YOU, with all respect to Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, you put drumming on another level
If it wasn't for Keith Emerson you wouldn't have the keyboards you have today he was the maestro ..I'm really surprised you've never heard of Carl palmer he is hailed as one of the greatest and well respected drummers of all time and there are no overdubs in carls solo
Three of the greatest prog musicians ever. Live, this was almost terrifying. Louder than a 747, shaking every molecule in your body, sounding like multiple orchestras, and it was just these three guys...
I saw them in 1974--they were indeed terrifyingly loud, but the sound was crystal clear due to the MASSIVE PA system. "Toccata" was just just jaw-dropping! (The entire show was.)
@@jupiterlegrand4817 I saw them live early 78 in Ft Collins Co. INDOORS! Talk about loud. The final explosion is eardrum breaking. The only person that impressed me more than ELP was the guy at the rear of the auditorium doing the light show. No computer for that, all by hand, and his hands were a blur.
He uses mallets no overdubs I saw them live Did this note for note Emerson multi- keyboards One of the greatest bands live Carl great soloist There are ballads Jazz Classical One of the biggest and successful Prog bands You never heard Lucky Man huge hit from their debut album Lake lead vocal and bass /guitar wrote this song when he was 12 years old Lake was also bass and vocals on King Crimson's debut Carl Palmer GIANT
You can watch a TH-cam video of him playing it live at the 1974 California Jam. Here's a link (not the best quality): th-cam.com/video/MgaETQh4uXg/w-d-xo.html
This song is an adaptation of a 1961 classical piece called "Toccata Concertata" by the Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera (1916 - 1983). It was arranged by Emerson, Lake & Palmer by their keyboard player, Keith Emerson, who had a keen interest in classical music.
Keith took his adaptation to Ginastera before he released the music. Ginastera heard it and kept saying "Diobolica" Keith was crushed thinking he hated it. But Ginastera's wife was translating and insisted that he loved it!
This is an adaptation of a Toccata by Alberto Ginastera. The trio of ELP covered it note-for-note live (check out the live cut on the album "Welcome Back My Friends). BTW, they had recorded the track without clearing the rights with Ginastera. Emerson flew out to see him with an almost completed mix. Ginastera was very impressed and complimentary and allowed them to release the ELP version. Yes, it may sound dated now, but it was very fresh and original when it was released. Just for fun, you should check out ELP's adaptation of Pictures at an Exhibition. Keith Emerson's previous band, The Nice, were famous for their classical interpretations, such as Bach's Water Music; Third Movement, "Pathetique" by Tchaikovsky; and America from West side Story by Bernstein and Sondheim (which ELP occasionally played live, as well).
I add to the story that Ginastera didn,t speak English, and said - after listening to Emerson,s adaptation: "Diabolique." Keith thought that G. doesn,t like his version and nearly threw it into the dustbin, but Ginastera's wife made him clear that the maestro likes it, so gave the rights. Anyway to me it is not dated. It,s a forever masterpiece of music. Greetings from Hungary
Man...In today's music scene, these old records sound avant-garde. Try E.V.A. by Jean Luc Perrey from a 1970's record and compare it to Mobi today and other Techno DJs. 😉
They certainly supercharged *my* interest in music. I'd loved synthesizers since I'd first heard one (SWITCHED-ON BACK) and when I heard the sample-and-hold bit from the WELCOME BACK version of "KE 9 1st" used in a radio commercial for a nightclub, I called up the radio station and asked what it was. Totally hooked ever since.
@@hubbsllc Switched On Bach was the first album I ever bought, at the age of about 12 or 13. I went into the music store and told the sales guy I wanted something different than what you hear on the radio, and that's what he recommended.
@@cybore213 That's marvelous! And note that while there's a whole cottage industry to modular synths and mini-synths now, they're mostly being used to more or less free-run sequences of some sort as opposed to trying to do the likes of what Wendy Carlos worked so tirelessly to create back then.
@@hubbsllc I also have the album Radiance by Malcolm Cecil. He gave it to me in the mid 80's when I worked at Epson America. I think he was a "visionary consultant" for the company, or something like that, I was never really sure what his title actually was. Malcolm, along with his partner Robert Margouleff, created TONTO, which is the largest analog synthesizer system ever built. If you're not familiar with TONTO, look it up. It appeared on many albums in the 70's, most notably on 4 Stevie Wonder albums.
Emerson wrung out his instruments. When this was recorded he had the Moog Modular, a Minimoog, a Hohner Clavinet, two Hammonds, and Moog's early prototypes for the Polymoog and the Multimoog. If anyone hears this and calls it "dated," it's only because these days hardly any keyboardists have the determination to do the sorts of things Emerson was doing and he was doing it on equipment that was custom, rare, expensive, and/or unobtainable by the general public.
@@hubbsllc - They were also all analog and hell to keep all those analog oscillators in tune after moving things around. The newer digital equipment has so many advantages to those early synthesizers.
@@RMForbes505 At the outset when his Moog was just one cabinet deep, he had a frequency counter sitting on top so he could tune oscillators while the instrument was muted. There’s video of him adjusting stuff with one hand while watching the counter and playing the C-3 with his other hand. I always admired his sheer determination.
@@hubbsllc - which was necessary because the analog oscillators would drift off tune at the slightest reason. In the late 60's I was into amateur radio and had the same issue keeping my radio oscillators on the right frequencies. Today's digital equipment don't have those same issues.
Carl Palmer has a snare drum only solo video that you HAVE to check out. He proves my theory to be true, to truly master the drum set, you have to master each individual component, to be able to get all of the sounds out of a single instrument.
Carl Palmer was NOT "Drummer", or Just played drums in a band. Carl Palmer was A PURE ATHLETE who played the drums. Strongest and most Fit Athlete who was a percussionist of Perfection. Mind boggling in person.
I was a competent drummer in high school, but the best drummer couldn't play in the marching band - he was on the field playing football. He represented the school in the state drumming competitions and did well for us.
I'm surprised that someone who teaches the drums isn't real familiar with Carl Palmer and his work with ELP. I would think that any long time musician would be well versed in the top players in his field. If drums my specialty, I would want to study the historic greats in rock, Latin, and most importantly jazz.
Same, but at the end it's quite impossible knowing every valid musician on this earth; for sure he knows some great guy that we are totally unaware of ;)
I mean, anyone knows about "Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso"? A super great progresssive rock band in the 70' from Italy, and they were at the same level of ELP, but almost no one know them, even in Italy
5:23 the thing you need to keep in mind is that this is when these dated sounds were created and widely heard for the first time. No one else was programming a synth like Emerson was at the time.
I read an interview with Dennis DeYoung of Styx, who said that the first time "Lucky Man" hit the radio with the famous Moog solo at the end, keys players everywhere said "What the hell was THAT?!? And where do I get one?"
True, at that time, this was far ahead of its time. Even the story of Karn Evil 9 is a bit talking about how AI is takign over our computing world... THATS profound given it was written over 50 years ago.
The electronic sounds near the end of the drum solo were triggered by Carl Palmer directly by a synth connected to his drums. It might have been the first time this was done.
Agreed, and it's clearly creatively something out of time altogether. No band has ever come close to using the technology it had so comprehensively. Karen Evil 9 is the Beethoven's fifth of rock music if you ask me. Nothing remotely as creative and dextrous has been written before or since.
I've heard Brain Salad Surgery over a thousand times! (I'm serious) . To me it has a dark medieval feel to it. Never heard anything like it and never will. Turn out the lights and listen to it all. As far as drum solo's listen to Tank or the solo's in the live albums and videos in TH-cam. I was lucky enough to see them live 3 times in their prime. Was so freakin' good! Carl brought fitness to drumming. See a picture or video of him in the 70's. A total animal. Elp was all about being able to perform the songs live so what you heard on the albums was just what you saw live. I could write a book here. Turn off the lights and listen to the first 4 or 5 albums alone. It's unpredictable, unusual, clever and just so fun to hear.
Re: "fitness": Carl is 72 and still touring, and for his entire half-century career, he's looked like he could play a three-hour set, then leave the stage and relax by running a marathon. 😳💪
The keyboard sounds dated because Keith was using a relatively new technology in the Moog synthesizer. My gosh, ELP were 25 years ahead of their time! Carl Palmer is easily one of the greatest technical and creative percussionists of the rock era, and in his 70s he is still at it!
Keith was a genius. He composed amazing material. Tarkus has a 5 4 rhythm in its opening. From the Brain Salad Surgery album is the Karn Evil 9 Suite which has incredible drumming. The thing about Carl (and Greg) is that they would play in perfect synch with Keith. An example is Living Sin off Trilogy. Also, during the Gnome from ELP's interpretation of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Carl matches what Keith does on the keys. Yes, ELP did put out some nice little poppish songs such as Lucky Man, Still You Turn Me On, From the Beginning. These were written by Greg. ELP is my all time favorite group. I consider Carl Palmer to be one of the very best of all time if not the best ever. Keith is the greatest keyboardist who will ever exist. Greg, a wonderful voice, a superb bassist. I strongly urge you to check out their discography.
Hurray, you finally got around to one of my favorite bands and absolutely one of my favorite drummers! ELP was one of the early titans of prog rock, and a supergroup - Keith Emerson (kbd) from The Nice, Greg Lake (bs/gtr/voc) from King Crimson (that's him singing "21st Century Schizoid Man" and "In The Court Of The Crimson King"), and Carl Palmer of Atomic Rooster. Their first gig was in front of 100+k people at the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival, playing a badass reimagination of Mussorgsky's "Pictures At An Exhibition," which you can hear as an album from a later live performance. Carl is the last surviving member. Carl Palmer is a trailblazer in so many ways. First of all, IMO the greatest hands of any rock drummer ever - flawless, very schooled technique. Second, he was the very first drummer to have a massive kit on a rotating riser at live shows, which included two timps, temple blocks, chimes, not one but TWO gongs as heard here, and even a church bell, rung by yanking a cord held between his teeth while wailing away on said gongs in his drum solo; you can tell Neil Peart, Phil Collins, etc. were taking notes on his setup. Third: at 10:20 you are hearing possibly the very first electronic drum triggers in history, triggering Moog synthesizers (the other candidate being the great Billy Cobham on his album "Stratus," which came out within months of "Brain Salad Surgery). Fourth: my God, his custom stainless steel drumset was the stuff of legend; look up "Carl Palmer stainless steel drums" on TH-cam to see a short video that intersperses a circa 2010 interview with clips of an old BBC program from 1973 where he showed it off, complete with a commentary about those triggers: "When the album came out, people thought those were keyboards. No. They were drums." And last but not least: while ELP did overdub some things, they could reproduce very nearly every note from the studio live on stage, just the three of them. They were a dazzling live band. And you can see live video of this piece being performed, at the 1974 California jam. It must be seen to be believed. As for more accessible tunes: surely you know "Lucky Man and/or "From The Beginning," right? My recommendation for your next ELP reaction is "Bitches' Crystal," a prog-jazz-waltz that is one of my favorite things they ever did.
Great comment--you went thru most of what I wanted to say. I'll only elaborate a little more on Carl's drum set and the show he put on with it. As you've mentioned, one of the most elaborate sets you've ever seen--don't know if anyone could beat it in 1974--that rotated when he did his drum solo. When it had turned all the way around so that you saw the back of the two huge gongs, there were dragons painted on them that were lit by strobe lights. The Brain Salad Surgery tour was my first major concert ever, and this was one of the many coolest things I had ever seen. Not to mention the concert was in quadrophonic sound. The climax of the concert, the end of "Karn Evil Nine", that digital sequencer in quad was simply indescribable. ELP were not only great musicians, but very good showmen as well.
Calling it an "adaptation" is kind of a stretch. I didn't realize it for years until I heard the actual Ginastera but "Toccata" is very much an original piece that uses some motifs from the Ginastera. ELP's "Fanfare," "Canario," and especially "Romeo And Juliet" are more like adaptations in the usual sense. Amazing piece of work.
Welcome to class. Start at the beginning and go on a wild journey of ups and downs and amazing talent. Brain Salad Surgery was my first ELP album a zillion years ago. Remarkable musicianship and talent. Greg Lake has the most beautiful voice.
Carl Palmer was more than competent at the tuned percussion, From his "side" of Works (a double album, each of the 3 had a side of an LP that was essentially a solo, with the others supporting, and then a side that was a joint) is Carl doing Bach's two part invention in D minor - his own arrangement. Quite beautiful. th-cam.com/video/IRg3WlHfXQU/w-d-xo.html Very much a change of pace.
As for "overdubs" - probably less than you think. This album was deliberately created with fewer overdubs, as the band found their earlier stuff harder to play live. This album was created for them to play live 😁
ELP were MASTERS of contrasts. "Toccata" is followed on the album by "Still... You Turn Me On," a pleasant, beautiful ballad. They played all styles of music and bounced from one to the next with ease.
I consider this album a cornerstone of Progressive Rock. Emerson helped the development of synthesizers along with Moog. Listen to the live version it will blow your mind 3 people can play this music. No overdubs used.
Somewhere there in the 70s he started using that custom drum kit made of stainless steel with mag pickups that plugged straight into the drum riser. Thing weighed so much it collapsed the stage at the New Haven Yale Bowl. The drum set was later bought at auction by Ringo Starr.
I have seen ELP 4 times in the 70s , 80s and 90s and Carl with his own band 2 times in the 2000s . Sometimes he had even church bells over his drums set . He is a powerhouse and magician !
Andrew, absolutely no slight against you at all, but this is why Emerson, Lake and Palmer isn't as famous as they should be. They pretty much created whole swaths of rock that has been endlessly emulated in one version or another. What they created influenced the Who, Led Zeppelin, and countless other bands when they went through their "progressive" stage in the early to mid seventies. Yes, they were often over the top, like here in Toccata, but they were massively influential. That they weren't inducted into the RRHoF decades ago is simply a crime brought about by the snobbishness of those who see themselves as the arbiters and gatekeepers of "rock and roll." Not just a fan. I saw ELP, Yes, Floyd, Purple, Zep and the Who in their PRIME. They all knew who ELP was, and they all respected them...
Go out and purchase all their albums! Words can not describe how Great they and their music IS ! You have to hear it. Keith Emerson & Greg Lake both passing in 2016 way tooo soon..Leaving Carl Palmer to carry on in Tribute of ELP ! Carl's tribute band is fantastic! Eliminating Keith's keyboards and using a guitar in place. Carl is a must see when he picks up his tour again in 2023!
There's 3 people in the band and yes, they played this live and nothing was left out. Also there's the first use of programmed percussion in music in it and Carl Palmer did it all himself (it's the part right after the timpani solo and creepy piano) And no the gongs with the timpani solo are not overdubbed, he played them at the same time, there's a live concert that proves that he did it (while the drum kit on stage was spinning round)
Indeed, this was pretty much done in the studio as it would’ve been done live. There is arguably more work going into choreographing the percussion and keyboard instrument changes than the apparent technical skill. Emerson played a massive ARP (I believe, but I may be incorrect) synth setup with a ton of different keyboards, each patched differently. He still had to re-patch some of the synths during the course of the track, but the idea was that the sounds are mostly preset and then he just has to transition from keyboard to keyboard. The timpani/tam-tam moment Carl was doing one handed on each instrument. A couple times you hear him fumble the timpani bounce ever so slightly, and that’s really just mostly because he is such an awkward position playing both simultaneously. For me, the blatant classical music worship in prog is often a dealbreaker, but here it’s really passionate and truly deliberate in every conceivable way. Ginastera himself commended this arrangement back in the day as something that really embodied his intent in an original way.
As a drummer I recommend that you check out ELP's "Tank". The main keyboards are Hammond organ and Moog synthesizer. Also, the gongs are not overdubbed. If you'd seen any live performance of ELP you would know! The doorbell sound is an orchestral percussion instrument called "Glockenspiel".
Once again, you have reviewed a band I got to see back in the day. As I did with Black Sabbath. I guess I got to see some killer bands. I am blessed! ELP was one of those bands that was so good it was like listening to the album. High energy combined with brilliant skills. Each member of the group was a master of their instruments. Very creative and innovating. No one else sounded like ELP. Super talent!!! Great showmanship. Not a single dull moment in their shows. NONE!
I saw Carl Palmer play this live in 1974 (This piece is featured on their triple live album). During his first solo section he played the tympani, using the pitch pedal like a wah wah, which can be heard more clearly live, while also playing the gongs and Musser chimes. The other solo section features his drums triggering synthesizers, which is old hat now, but was interesting then, especially live in an open-air stadium. It sounded absolutely huge, like the birth of a pterodactyl or something. For me, the performance that really highlights his chops is "Pictures at an Exhibition", which is a live album and a long piece. There are some moments when the drumming is so intense that it SOUNDS exhausting! He must have had incredible stamina.
This music is literally a prelude to the final scene of "Alien". Mind you, they had Giger making the cover of this album, who was also instrumental to the look and feel of the movie. Thanks for the greatest, most astonishing, flabbergasting live performances I ever had the chance to witness, guys!
Ninety percent of that breakdown was all carl palmer. He was a visionary. Those are electronically Triggered wheat loops. Synthesized drums at a time when nobody even knew what a synthesizer was.
Surprising that someone who teaches drums has never heard Carl Palmer play. The sound these 3 guys could make live beggars belief. Virtuoso musicians who paved the way for many of the sounds we take for granted today.
That happens a lot on YT "reaction" videos by "teachers" and (ahem) "classical composers." Oftentimes there's no idea who the major dudes were/are or the genre or instruments involved.
Probably worth checking out a Live performance too. Carl is also playing many of the rhythmic synthesizer sounds too using one of the earliest prototype drum triggers.
@@FusedAndLovingIt if you're going listen to that solo, you might as well hear the entire piece. Search for "rondo live in Zurich 1970" and choose the video that is 18:11 long. It's only about 7 minutes longer, and you get to see all of Keith's antics on the Hammond in addition to Carl's fantastic solo.
I'm a little late to the party but I'm shocked no one seems to mention in the comments that the middle section, that sounds kind of like an arcade game with a lot of noises and drums, is actually a drum solo, each drum triggering a different synth patch. Palmer had (or maybe helped create) a sort of proto electronic drum kit. There is a great video somewhere on TH-cam of him demonstrating it live.
Absolutely loved ELP and had the privilege to see them in concert many times.I spent the Summer of 74 with metal practice sticks on a wood plank on my Moms dining room table playing this album and practicing double stroke and paradiddles. 50 years later I can walk the dog and pretty much play the entire album in my head! RIP Greg Lake + Keith Emerson.
You don’t need coffee if you have Toccata When this ended I was really hankering for “Still you turn me on”. Incredible contrast If you want to really hear Palmer bust a move, play “Tank”
Don't know exactly how involved the production was, but I do know the three of them played this piece live with very little drop-off from the studio version. They were extraordinarily precise as a live trio and never added additional musicians.
@@joeday4293 Aquatarkus live is the pinnacle of ELP for me. Jaw dropping and pants filling excitement and sound. All three of them really beast it out for want of a better expression. Although the subject here is Palmer who I love, Emerson was God.
@@stephencrawford6082 Keith Emerson was the very finest keyboardist in the history of rock music. Period. Not open to discussion. One of my absolute heroes. A god in my personal musical pantheon. He was an *assassin.* A goddamn *Jedi* of the keys.
Back in the day, for those of us heady-types, put on the headphones, smoke a joint, sit back and duck out. I also listened to a lot of YES (“Roundabout”). It concerns me that young folks haven’t developed the attention span for so much great older music. Not even prog rock, which will never be everyone’s cup of tea, but just good music. Thanks!
I saw them in concert at the end of January 1978. Going into the show, I knew nothing about them. After the show, I scampered to a record store and bought their live, "Welcome Back My Friends to the Show that Never Ends" album. The live renditions of Tocatta, Tarkus, and Karn Evil blow away the studio versions.
This was an adaption of an orchestral piece by a composer from Argentina, Alberto Ginastera! He loved ELP's adaption of the piece. The toggle switch you are referring to is the pitch wheel, which is still in use on most modern synths, but used a bit differently. If there were any overdubs on this piece, they were extremely minimal. I saw him live and the gong rolls are done in real time, even now. The piano sound you are referring to is Carl Palmer on tubular bells. This may have been one of the first recordings in which drums were used to trigger synthesizers.
Here’s the drum solo portion live in the studio: th-cam.com/video/3mjSjD8WRqo/w-d-xo.html Note the drum triggered synths. And here’s ELP performing the entire piece live: m.th-cam.com/video/MgaETQh4uXg/w-d-xo.html
In the mid-late 80s I Saw Carl Palmer do a standing snare drum only solo at the first modern drummer drumfest I attended. He wasn’t listed as a participant so we were pleasantly surprised to see him. He was introduced by Joe morello who said “he just flew in from London and his arms aren’t even tired “his snare drum technique was incredible and they later gave away the snare to a lucky ticket holder
@@AndrewRooneyDrums And they could play this live and sound just as good or better than the studio version! Check out the version from their live triple album "Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends"
Not sure if anyone mentioned those are the first drum synthesizers being played during the strange section at around 10:40 in your video mark. This is an adaptation of a piece by a Argentina composer named Ginestera.
ELP is always in my top 5. I had their Brain Salad Album when it came out. Incredible, hypnotizing and some of the best progressive rock ever composed. Try Trilogy from the album of the same name for more Palmer incredible machine-like playing.
A true supergroup, sadly only Carl still with us. I got into ELP aged 13 thanks to my school music teacher who was infatuated with them and for the lesson just played an ELP album each week for a month or so. This album has to be heard in its entirety, as with most of their albums. This is one of the earliest concept albums. There’s a sensational video of Carl’s solo at the California Jam in 74. Blurringly fast.
You may have heard "Fanfare for the Common Man" and "I Believe in Father Christmas" without knowing who played them. "Lucky man " was also one of their best known songs.
I saw this concert live in December 1973. Just the 3 of them. If I remember correctly, Emerson was doing the roll on the gong. My first concert experience in the long gone Met Center(now the Mall of America) in Minneapolis. The concert was in Quadrophonic, excellent at the end of Karn Evil 9! Update ... At 10:19 in the video is a drum solo connected to the synthesizer, each drum had a different sound programmed
Realize that Palmer was 23 when ELP recorded this. The following tour (Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends...) was phenomenal. You should see the live version of this... ;) This was also one if the the very first instance of recorded drum synths. He had triggers on his toms. And as others said, no overdubs here.
Yes you do need to go down the rabbit hole.....as another commenter below recommended....do a reaction on: "Karn Evil #9 1st impression part 2". I came back to add this comment as I just revisited this ELP album called Brain Salad Surgery. There are 4 parts to Karn Evil #9.....they are all really awesome and when listened to them in the order of the album they flow together but for your channel I would do first impression part 1, first impression part 2 and third impression (skipping 2nd impression as it is completely different and acoustic). First Impression part 2 is one of their most famous songs. ELP was unique...only 3 guys. Enjoy!
7:30 Carl Palmer did this bit live pretty much exactly like you hear it here, timp mallet in one hand, gong beater in the other. 11:46 More of the same; on the WELCOME BACK album, Palmer plays this live. There are some overdubs in this studio version but ELP conceived this as a live piece and the perc synth business sounds incredible with the live hall ambience. 14:33 You really, really need to listen through the entire WELCOME BACK album - dare I say, especially if you claim to be a drum teacher because that album is one powerful lesson (it was basically what taught *me*).
As I'm sure other commenters have said, you've only scratched the surface on the amazing ELP. But if you want to hear another Carl Palmer song--and one he co-wrote--try Tank. This was one of the songs used for the original "Lazerium" planetarium light-show performances. (Saw it twice. I also saw ELP twice in their prime.) Otherwise, any of their major "albums" will do. How about Tarkus?
@@AndrewRooneyDrums Karn Evil 9, 28 plus minutes of some of the greatest music you will ever experience. Then there's the 35 minute version from their live triple album "Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends". I still have my original vinyl version that I bought way back in 1974. The cover and record sleeves are pretty beat up, but the vinyl is still in pretty good condition.
I’ve listened to them for years since I was a kid and it was not until last night that I found out that the wacky sounds in the middle are part of a synthesized drum kit. One of the first efforts at an electronic drum set. So ground-breaking.
In the 80s I put my Electrostatic headphones on a lady I was dating and put on Toccata. The headphones came off pretty quick. It was too much. I used the term "was dating" , right?
ELP ALWAYS said every one of their pieces was written with the intent of playing live .. there have been overdubs on the studio recordings for sure but the eeal maguc occurred on stage. I saw them live twice and it's staggering what they were able to reproduce. Much of it was due to Keith's mastery and virtuosity on the keys. By himself he covered much of was overdubbed.
You really open a new rabbit hole, my friend! To understand that piece, it's a adaptation of a piano concerto.... and you have to listen the hole album! I'm very sure that you gonna like it a lot!!
They weren't synth drum heads. They placed two microphones on each of his acoustic drums - one for recording the audio and the other was sent to a synthesizer to trigger it. So, pretty cool that they sort of invented a primitive form of triggering before piezo triggering was invented.
I was 23 when this album came out and, knowing that my 58 year old father loved classical music, especially Bach, who wrote complex counterpoint into his compositions, I thought he might like it (as he generally hated all the other music I listened to). He actually listened to the whole album with me. I think he was surprised and happy to realize I didn't listen to pure crap.
@ejb5034 My Mom loved their recording of "Jerusalem" off of BSS. She initially thought I said "Emerson Lincoln Palmer" when I told her the band's name lol. Also, Dad really liked their take on "Honky Tonk Train Blues", so score two for the kids!
Someone wrote that Brain Salad Surgery was a Sci-Fi soundtrack to a movie that does not exist So many layers where the band shine in the LP and is considered the go to album for getting into ELP. All this was done live in a massive 10-month world tour for the album from Nov '73 to Aug '74.
he has no idea that those are drum synthesizers. I interviewed palmer on the Welcome back tour, got a personal tour of the drum set, and learned all about the synthesizers from him.
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'Toccata' is not a good representation of Carl Palmer's percussion talent and skill. His live Karn Evil 9 solos from the early '70s are his signature works----stunning displays of incredible technical virtuosity and sustained power. Carl Palmer is one of the all-time great percussionists, regardless of musical genre.
ELP never overdubbed anything. I have seen them 14 times live and every album sound you hear you can hear and see live. You can find plenty of videos and see them playing the same thing live. Surprised you did not pick up on the drum synthesizers.
@@markhamilton3477 Didn’t they overdub “Abaddon’s Bolero”?
@@someone4857 not in the least. I have heard them in concert many times playing the piece. There is no need to overdub with their ability and Keith took pride in the fact that he would not did that sort of cheap junk.
@@markhamilton3477 They did do overdubbing. The live 3rd impression is missing some of the sounds. When they recorded Brain Salad Surgery they actually say they did not want to do overdubbing because of all the overdubbing they did in the past. They wanted to play the songs in concert. On Brain Salad Surgery there is not much, just in the 3rd impression and i think Still You Turn Me on. The original Lucky Man - Greg did a lot of - Quote - "over overlaying" while Keith was gone.. He can't play 2 guitars at the same time.
No overdubs here. They played this live. Just three amazing guys.
That's awesome Kevin. WOW
They did play it live, although of course there are overdubs on the studio version. I doubt Carl could be hitting the gong or bells while he's already using both arms on the tympani.
@@yes_head You can see that Carl positioned the rope for the bell just in front of his mouth. So he would bite the rope and pull it using his head. He was also the first to use electronic drums. So I am sure some of the electronic drums were programmed to play sections when hit. So no overdubbing live.
@@yes_head Oh he could play both at the same time. Take a look at this video of him and you will see for yourself: th-cam.com/video/8pT_JM-uHuY/w-d-xo.html
Listen to the live version on “Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends…..” album also has great performances of Tarkus, Hoedown and Karn Evil 9. All live, three musicians.
I saw ELP live twice.
I realized the first time seeing them, that I was in the presence of genius.
RIP Keith and Greg
RIP Keith and Greg, I will allways remember YOU, you made my life better
Carl, keep on going, forewer my favourite drums player, noboy is even close to YOU, with all respect to Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, you put drumming on another level
10:19 all the sounds are Carl’s electronic drums.
I missed them, and I regret it too this day.
Myself Included. Seen them 2 times and concluded they were master musicians..
Carl palmer is one of the greatest drummers of all time. How could you not know him?
Really!
If it wasn't for Keith Emerson you wouldn't have the keyboards you have today he was the maestro ..I'm really surprised you've never heard of Carl palmer he is hailed as one of the greatest and well respected drummers of all time and there are no overdubs in carls solo
Don’t forget Rick Wakeman
@@neilgoldsmith482 of course not! ... rick and keith were big pals ... Im off to see rick this december!
@@neilgoldsmith482 I loved Rick for what he did with Yes, but as an out and out player, he wasn't a patch on Keith
Please stop with the over hype.
@@morbidmanmusic what do you know about talent?
Three of the greatest prog musicians ever. Live, this was almost terrifying. Louder than a 747, shaking every molecule in your body, sounding like multiple orchestras, and it was just these three guys...
I saw them in 1974--they were indeed terrifyingly loud, but the sound was crystal clear due to the MASSIVE PA system. "Toccata" was just just jaw-dropping! (The entire show was.)
Not just best prog ! Best any kind of musicians!
@@jupiterlegrand4817 I saw them live early 78 in Ft Collins Co. INDOORS! Talk about loud. The final explosion is eardrum breaking. The only person that impressed me more than ELP was the guy at the rear of the auditorium doing the light show. No computer for that, all by hand, and his hands were a blur.
He uses mallets no overdubs I saw them live Did this note for note Emerson multi- keyboards One of the greatest bands live Carl great soloist There are ballads Jazz Classical One of the biggest and successful Prog bands You never heard Lucky Man huge hit from their debut album Lake lead vocal and bass /guitar wrote this song when he was 12 years old Lake was also bass and vocals on King Crimson's debut Carl Palmer GIANT
Carl Palmer is a master at playing busy but not sounding overwhelming or intruding on the other instruments.
I saw them in 1977. Fantastic show.
Saw them do this three times from 1973-1977.
@@dourmoose saw them with an orchestra here in Nashville that tour1977
You can watch a TH-cam video of him playing it live at the 1974 California Jam. Here's a link (not the best quality): th-cam.com/video/MgaETQh4uXg/w-d-xo.html
This song is an adaptation of a 1961 classical piece called "Toccata Concertata" by the Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera (1916 - 1983). It was arranged by Emerson, Lake & Palmer by their keyboard player, Keith Emerson, who had a keen interest in classical music.
Keith took his adaptation to Ginastera before he released the music. Ginastera heard it and kept saying "Diobolica" Keith was crushed thinking he hated it. But Ginastera's wife was translating and insisted that he loved it!
After 50years of going to rock concerts CARL PALMER is still the greatest drummer I've ever seen live. The man was and still is amazing!
This is an adaptation of a Toccata by Alberto Ginastera. The trio of ELP covered it note-for-note live (check out the live cut on the album "Welcome Back My Friends). BTW, they had recorded the track without clearing the rights with Ginastera. Emerson flew out to see him with an almost completed mix. Ginastera was very impressed and complimentary and allowed them to release the ELP version.
Yes, it may sound dated now, but it was very fresh and original when it was released.
Just for fun, you should check out ELP's adaptation of Pictures at an Exhibition.
Keith Emerson's previous band, The Nice, were famous for their classical interpretations, such as Bach's Water Music; Third Movement, "Pathetique" by Tchaikovsky; and America from West side Story by Bernstein and Sondheim (which ELP occasionally played live, as well).
I add to the story that Ginastera didn,t speak English, and said - after listening to Emerson,s adaptation: "Diabolique." Keith thought that G. doesn,t like his version and nearly threw it into the dustbin, but Ginastera's wife made him clear that the maestro likes it, so gave the rights. Anyway to me it is not dated. It,s a forever masterpiece of music. Greetings from Hungary
Very cool, never heard this story! Thanks for sharing!
The Live Cut…from welcome…is the most dynamic piece! Thunderous!! Beautifully Recorded live!! ELP…the Greatest live Band Ever!!
Man...In today's music scene, these old records sound avant-garde. Try E.V.A. by Jean Luc Perrey from a 1970's record and compare it to Mobi today and other Techno DJs. 😉
Sorry, Water Music was Handel
Three of the greatest artist in the prog genre. Keith, top 3 keyboards, Greg, pure vocals, and Carl was fantastic on drums.
Greg, pure vocals, bass and guitar.
Carl Palmer, best drummer in rock.
ELP is the band that got me interested in music. They were geniuses. Straight up geniuses.
ELP is the band that got me into progressive rock. So much great music was produced on the late 60's and 70's!
They certainly supercharged *my* interest in music. I'd loved synthesizers since I'd first heard one (SWITCHED-ON BACK) and when I heard the sample-and-hold bit from the WELCOME BACK version of "KE 9 1st" used in a radio commercial for a nightclub, I called up the radio station and asked what it was. Totally hooked ever since.
@@hubbsllc Switched On Bach was the first album I ever bought, at the age of about 12 or 13. I went into the music store and told the sales guy I wanted something different than what you hear on the radio, and that's what he recommended.
@@cybore213 That's marvelous! And note that while there's a whole cottage industry to modular synths and mini-synths now, they're mostly being used to more or less free-run sequences of some sort as opposed to trying to do the likes of what Wendy Carlos worked so tirelessly to create back then.
@@hubbsllc I also have the album Radiance by Malcolm Cecil. He gave it to me in the mid 80's when I worked at Epson America. I think he was a "visionary consultant" for the company, or something like that, I was never really sure what his title actually was. Malcolm, along with his partner Robert Margouleff, created TONTO, which is the largest analog synthesizer system ever built. If you're not familiar with TONTO, look it up. It appeared on many albums in the 70's, most notably on 4 Stevie Wonder albums.
Emerson was a master synthesist. I've never heard his sounds called dated before.
Emerson wrung out his instruments. When this was recorded he had the Moog Modular, a Minimoog, a Hohner Clavinet, two Hammonds, and Moog's early prototypes for the Polymoog and the Multimoog. If anyone hears this and calls it "dated," it's only because these days hardly any keyboardists have the determination to do the sorts of things Emerson was doing and he was doing it on equipment that was custom, rare, expensive, and/or unobtainable by the general public.
@@hubbsllc - They were also all analog and hell to keep all those analog oscillators in tune after moving things around. The newer digital equipment has so many advantages to those early synthesizers.
@@RMForbes505 At the outset when his Moog was just one cabinet deep, he had a frequency counter sitting on top so he could tune oscillators while the instrument was muted. There’s video of him adjusting stuff with one hand while watching the counter and playing the C-3 with his other hand. I always admired his sheer determination.
@@hubbsllc - which was necessary because the analog oscillators would drift off tune at the slightest reason. In the late 60's I was into amateur radio and had the same issue keeping my radio oscillators on the right frequencies. Today's digital equipment don't have those same issues.
I was shocked at those comments. Besides Keith brilliant playing, writing, he also had the greatest synth sounds.
No overdubs. Watch videos of him playing live, doesn't miss a note.
My favorite all time drummer. Check out the album "Works".
I’ll check it out!
Finally getting to one of the heavy hitters that people have been asking for... CARL PALMER!
Carl Palmer has a snare drum only solo video that you HAVE to check out.
He proves my theory to be true, to truly master the drum set, you have to master each individual component, to be able to get all of the sounds out of a single instrument.
You could also check "The Barbarian" from the debut album. Palmer is all over the place on that one
I saw them several times, and yep, just 3 blokes doing it all.
CRAZY
One of their BEST! Kieth Emerson was a genius, Carl is an outstanding drummer.
Where have you been not to have heard their music before?
Carl Palmer was NOT "Drummer", or Just played drums in a band. Carl Palmer was A PURE ATHLETE who played the drums. Strongest and most Fit Athlete who was a percussionist of Perfection. Mind boggling in person.
I was a competent drummer in high school, but the best drummer couldn't play in the marching band - he was on the field playing football. He represented the school in the state drumming competitions and did well for us.
I'm surprised that someone who teaches the drums isn't real familiar with Carl Palmer and his work with ELP. I would think that any long time musician would be well versed in the top players in his field. If drums my specialty, I would want to study the historic greats in rock, Latin, and most importantly jazz.
I was thinking the same. I was surprised he didn’t know Carl Palmer and ELP. Carl is one of the greats.
@@dcadventures2394 There were a lot of drummers whose playing I loved and learned from but my Big Three were Palmer, Peart, and Cobham.
Same, but at the end it's quite impossible knowing every valid musician on this earth; for sure he knows some great guy that we are totally unaware of ;)
I mean, anyone knows about "Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso"? A super great progresssive rock band in the 70' from Italy, and they were at the same level of ELP, but almost no one know them, even in Italy
And hes English also.
5:23 the thing you need to keep in mind is that this is when these dated sounds were created and widely heard for the first time. No one else was programming a synth like Emerson was at the time.
I read an interview with Dennis DeYoung of Styx, who said that the first time "Lucky Man" hit the radio with the famous Moog solo at the end, keys players everywhere said "What the hell was THAT?!? And where do I get one?"
True, at that time, this was far ahead of its time. Even the story of Karn Evil 9 is a bit talking about how AI is takign over our computing world... THATS profound given it was written over 50 years ago.
The electronic sounds near the end of the drum solo were triggered by Carl Palmer directly by a synth connected to his drums. It might have been the first time this was done.
Agreed, and it's clearly creatively something out of time altogether. No band has ever come close to using the technology it had so comprehensively. Karen Evil 9 is the Beethoven's fifth of rock music if you ask me. Nothing remotely as creative and dextrous has been written before or since.
Emerson was a giant. There was also Jan Hammer with Mahavishnu and George Duke with Zappa. A great time for virtuoso keyboardists.
Carl Palmer is one of the best percussionist ever, and no overdubs on the drums.
Carl Palmer is touring with a tribute to Emerson and Lake. He still has all the moves at 70+ years. Check it out!
I've heard Brain Salad Surgery over a thousand times! (I'm serious) . To me it has a dark medieval feel to it. Never heard anything like it and never will. Turn out the lights and listen to it all. As far as drum solo's listen to Tank or the solo's in the live albums and videos in TH-cam. I was lucky enough to see them live 3 times in their prime. Was so freakin' good! Carl brought fitness to drumming. See a picture or video of him in the 70's. A total animal. Elp was all about being able to perform the songs live so what you heard on the albums was just what you saw live. I could write a book here. Turn off the lights and listen to the first 4 or 5 albums alone. It's unpredictable, unusual, clever and just so fun to hear.
I agree. Better yet, lie on the floor in the dark with headphones. You'll feel disembodied.
Re: "fitness": Carl is 72 and still touring, and for his entire half-century career, he's looked like he could play a three-hour set, then leave the stage and relax by running a marathon. 😳💪
Carl Palmer is still a beast! This piece is sometimes described as “scary” 😁
The keyboard sounds dated because Keith was using a relatively new technology in the Moog synthesizer. My gosh, ELP were 25 years ahead of their time! Carl Palmer is easily one of the greatest technical and creative percussionists of the rock era, and in his 70s he is still at it!
He doesn't overdub the gongs and tiffany he's playing it that's why he's one of the best.
Keith was a genius. He composed amazing material. Tarkus has a 5 4 rhythm in its opening. From the Brain Salad Surgery album is the Karn Evil 9 Suite which has incredible drumming. The thing about Carl (and Greg) is that they would play in perfect synch with Keith. An example is Living Sin off Trilogy. Also, during the Gnome from ELP's interpretation of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Carl matches what Keith does on the keys.
Yes, ELP did put out some nice little poppish songs such as Lucky Man, Still You Turn Me On, From the Beginning. These were written by Greg.
ELP is my all time favorite group. I consider Carl Palmer to be one of the very best of all time if not the best ever. Keith is the greatest keyboardist who will ever exist. Greg, a wonderful voice, a superb bassist.
I strongly urge you to check out their discography.
Hurray, you finally got around to one of my favorite bands and absolutely one of my favorite drummers! ELP was one of the early titans of prog rock, and a supergroup - Keith Emerson (kbd) from The Nice, Greg Lake (bs/gtr/voc) from King Crimson (that's him singing "21st Century Schizoid Man" and "In The Court Of The Crimson King"), and Carl Palmer of Atomic Rooster. Their first gig was in front of 100+k people at the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival, playing a badass reimagination of Mussorgsky's "Pictures At An Exhibition," which you can hear as an album from a later live performance. Carl is the last surviving member.
Carl Palmer is a trailblazer in so many ways. First of all, IMO the greatest hands of any rock drummer ever - flawless, very schooled technique. Second, he was the very first drummer to have a massive kit on a rotating riser at live shows, which included two timps, temple blocks, chimes, not one but TWO gongs as heard here, and even a church bell, rung by yanking a cord held between his teeth while wailing away on said gongs in his drum solo; you can tell Neil Peart, Phil Collins, etc. were taking notes on his setup. Third: at 10:20 you are hearing possibly the very first electronic drum triggers in history, triggering Moog synthesizers (the other candidate being the great Billy Cobham on his album "Stratus," which came out within months of "Brain Salad Surgery). Fourth: my God, his custom stainless steel drumset was the stuff of legend; look up "Carl Palmer stainless steel drums" on TH-cam to see a short video that intersperses a circa 2010 interview with clips of an old BBC program from 1973 where he showed it off, complete with a commentary about those triggers: "When the album came out, people thought those were keyboards. No. They were drums."
And last but not least: while ELP did overdub some things, they could reproduce very nearly every note from the studio live on stage, just the three of them. They were a dazzling live band. And you can see live video of this piece being performed, at the 1974 California jam. It must be seen to be believed.
As for more accessible tunes: surely you know "Lucky Man and/or "From The Beginning," right? My recommendation for your next ELP reaction is "Bitches' Crystal," a prog-jazz-waltz that is one of my favorite things they ever did.
Thank you so much. I'm intrigued. Hope to get to more!
Great comment--you went thru most of what I wanted to say. I'll only elaborate a little more on Carl's drum set and the show he put on with it. As you've mentioned, one of the most elaborate sets you've ever seen--don't know if anyone could beat it in 1974--that rotated when he did his drum solo. When it had turned all the way around so that you saw the back of the two huge gongs, there were dragons painted on them that were lit by strobe lights. The Brain Salad Surgery tour was my first major concert ever, and this was one of the many coolest things I had ever seen. Not to mention the concert was in quadrophonic sound. The climax of the concert, the end of "Karn Evil Nine", that digital sequencer in quad was simply indescribable. ELP were not only great musicians, but very good showmen as well.
"Toccata" is an adaptation of Ginastera's 1st piano concerto, 4th movement.
And Ginastera thought it was fantastic, and gave his blessing.
@@joeday4293 yup - it's a really good adaption
Calling it an "adaptation" is kind of a stretch. I didn't realize it for years until I heard the actual Ginastera but "Toccata" is very much an original piece that uses some motifs from the Ginastera. ELP's "Fanfare," "Canario," and especially "Romeo And Juliet" are more like adaptations in the usual sense. Amazing piece of work.
Welcome to class. Start at the beginning and go on a wild journey of ups and downs and amazing talent. Brain Salad Surgery was my first ELP album a zillion years ago. Remarkable musicianship and talent. Greg Lake has the most beautiful voice.
You need to watch it live that piano sound is Carl playing the large chimes
Carl Palmer was more than competent at the tuned percussion,
From his "side" of Works (a double album, each of the 3 had a side of an LP that was essentially a solo, with the others supporting, and then a side that was a joint) is Carl doing Bach's two part invention in D minor - his own arrangement. Quite beautiful.
th-cam.com/video/IRg3WlHfXQU/w-d-xo.html
Very much a change of pace.
As for "overdubs" - probably less than you think. This album was deliberately created with fewer overdubs, as the band found their earlier stuff harder to play live. This album was created for them to play live 😁
I heard them in an interview. What they wrote was ment to be played live. Just 3 amazing people.
ELP were MASTERS of contrasts. "Toccata" is followed on the album by "Still... You Turn Me On," a pleasant, beautiful ballad. They played all styles of music and bounced from one to the next with ease.
Benny The Bouncer comes to mind.
I consider this album a cornerstone of Progressive Rock. Emerson helped the development of synthesizers along with Moog. Listen to the live version it will blow your mind 3 people can play this music. No overdubs used.
Never heard about ELP before???? Unbelieved
Carl had electronic triggers put on his kit and was setting off the electronic noises in the middle. He was well ahead of the game.
They were actually triggered by microphones inside various drums in his kit. A precursor to electronic and midi triggers.
Somewhere there in the 70s he started using that custom drum kit made of stainless steel with mag pickups that plugged straight into the drum riser. Thing weighed so much it collapsed the stage at the New Haven Yale Bowl. The drum set was later bought at auction by Ringo Starr.
@@cybore213 That is right. He led the way! That kit still exists in Florida.
I wish someone could show what sounds were triggered by Carl. There is a lot of different synth sounds going on near the end.
@@Electrohedron- That was all Carl for a couple minutes.
Three guys with minimal overdubs. They wrote and arranged their material with the intention of playing it live.
I have seen ELP 4 times in the 70s , 80s and 90s and Carl with his own band 2 times in the 2000s . Sometimes he had even church bells over his drums set . He is a powerhouse and magician !
Andrew, absolutely no slight against you at all, but this is why Emerson, Lake and Palmer isn't as famous as they should be. They pretty much created whole swaths of rock that has been endlessly emulated in one version or another. What they created influenced the Who, Led Zeppelin, and countless other bands when they went through their "progressive" stage in the early to mid seventies. Yes, they were often over the top, like here in Toccata, but they were massively influential. That they weren't inducted into the RRHoF decades ago is simply a crime brought about by the snobbishness of those who see themselves as the arbiters and gatekeepers of "rock and roll."
Not just a fan. I saw ELP, Yes, Floyd, Purple, Zep and the Who in their PRIME. They all knew who ELP was, and they all respected them...
Go out and purchase all their albums! Words can not describe how Great they and their music IS ! You have to hear it.
Keith Emerson & Greg Lake both passing in 2016 way tooo soon..Leaving Carl Palmer to carry on in Tribute of ELP !
Carl's tribute band is fantastic! Eliminating Keith's keyboards and using a guitar in place.
Carl is a must see when he picks up his tour again in 2023!
Thanks so much. To me CP is a drum perfectionist .
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer.
"How many people in this group?"
9 mate 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Just enough and no more. 🙂
@@lphilpot01 Word 👍😎🙏
There's 3 people in the band and yes, they played this live and nothing was left out. Also there's the first use of programmed percussion in music in it and Carl Palmer did it all himself (it's the part right after the timpani solo and creepy piano) And no the gongs with the timpani solo are not overdubbed, he played them at the same time, there's a live concert that proves that he did it (while the drum kit on stage was spinning round)
Carl Palmer invented the Idea of synthesized drum triggers. 😮 He was the first person to actually come up with the hardware.
They weren't triggers like what we think of as triggers today (piezo), but actually just microphones that triggered the synthesizers.
Indeed, this was pretty much done in the studio as it would’ve been done live. There is arguably more work going into choreographing the percussion and keyboard instrument changes than the apparent technical skill. Emerson played a massive ARP (I believe, but I may be incorrect) synth setup with a ton of different keyboards, each patched differently. He still had to re-patch some of the synths during the course of the track, but the idea was that the sounds are mostly preset and then he just has to transition from keyboard to keyboard. The timpani/tam-tam moment Carl was doing one handed on each instrument. A couple times you hear him fumble the timpani bounce ever so slightly, and that’s really just mostly because he is such an awkward position playing both simultaneously. For me, the blatant classical music worship in prog is often a dealbreaker, but here it’s really passionate and truly deliberate in every conceivable way. Ginastera himself commended this arrangement back in the day as something that really embodied his intent in an original way.
You want to date this? Try the fact that Emerson was not making the spaceship sounds, it is Carl with his synthesized drums....in 1973!!
As a drummer I recommend that you check out ELP's "Tank". The main keyboards are Hammond organ and Moog synthesizer. Also, the gongs are not overdubbed. If you'd seen any live performance of ELP you would know! The doorbell sound is an orchestral percussion instrument called "Glockenspiel".
This is correct, except for the glockenspiel part. They were tubular bells.
Once again, you have reviewed a band I got to see back in the day. As I did with Black Sabbath. I guess I got to see some killer bands. I am blessed! ELP was one of those bands that was so good it was like listening to the album. High energy combined with brilliant skills. Each member of the group was a master of their instruments. Very creative and innovating. No one else sounded like ELP. Super talent!!! Great showmanship. Not a single dull moment in their shows. NONE!
NO Overdubs, they played this live
TOCCATA is a word of musical vocabulary. And it’s an italian word!
I saw Carl Palmer play this live in 1974 (This piece is featured on their triple live album). During his first solo section he played the tympani, using the pitch pedal like a wah wah, which can be heard more clearly live, while also playing the gongs and Musser chimes. The other solo section features his drums triggering synthesizers, which is old hat now, but was interesting then, especially live in an open-air stadium. It sounded absolutely huge, like the birth of a pterodactyl or something.
For me, the performance that really highlights his chops is "Pictures at an Exhibition", which is a live album and a long piece. There are some moments when the drumming is so intense that it SOUNDS exhausting! He must have had incredible stamina.
This music is literally a prelude to the final scene of "Alien". Mind you, they had Giger making the cover of this album, who was also instrumental to the look and feel of the movie.
Thanks for the greatest, most astonishing, flabbergasting live performances I ever had the chance to witness, guys!
Ninety percent of that breakdown was all carl palmer. He was a visionary. Those are electronically Triggered wheat loops. Synthesized drums at a time when nobody even knew what a synthesizer was.
Carl Palmer the greatest Drummer!
Surprising that someone who teaches drums has never heard Carl Palmer play. The sound these 3 guys could make live beggars belief. Virtuoso musicians who paved the way for many of the sounds we take for granted today.
That happens a lot on YT "reaction" videos by "teachers" and (ahem) "classical composers." Oftentimes there's no idea who the major dudes were/are or the genre or instruments involved.
Probably worth checking out a Live performance too. Carl is also playing many of the rhythmic synthesizer sounds too using one of the earliest prototype drum triggers.
Here is another 11min drum solo th-cam.com/video/3lcQaTl0YTc/w-d-xo.html that might give you an idea why Buddy Rich spoke well of him.
@@FusedAndLovingIt if you're going listen to that solo, you might as well hear the entire piece. Search for "rondo live in Zurich 1970" and choose the video that is 18:11 long. It's only about 7 minutes longer, and you get to see all of Keith's antics on the Hammond in addition to Carl's fantastic solo.
I'm a little late to the party but I'm shocked no one seems to mention in the comments that the middle section, that sounds kind of like an arcade game with a lot of noises and drums, is actually a drum solo, each drum triggering a different synth patch. Palmer had (or maybe helped create) a sort of proto electronic drum kit. There is a great video somewhere on TH-cam of him demonstrating it live.
Oh wow!
Absolutely loved ELP and had the privilege to see them in concert many times.I spent the Summer of 74 with metal practice sticks on a wood plank on my Moms dining room table playing this album and practicing double stroke and paradiddles. 50 years later I can walk the dog and pretty much play the entire album in my head! RIP Greg Lake + Keith Emerson.
You don’t need coffee if you have Toccata
When this ended I was really hankering for “Still you turn me on”. Incredible contrast
If you want to really hear Palmer bust a move, play “Tank”
Brain Salad Surgery (ELP) one Classic Progs "Greatest" albums Andrew !!!
It's a rabbit hole worth going down. Great stuff
Don't know exactly how involved the production was, but I do know the three of them played this piece live with very little drop-off from the studio version. They were extraordinarily precise as a live trio and never added additional musicians.
Fantastic band, fantastic drummer, they're all astounding. There are too many pieces of their music to recommend....Tarkus, side one, perhaps.
Nah. The definitive version of "Tarkus" is the live one from "Welcome Back My Friends." Absolutely stunning.
@@joeday4293 love Tarkus, check out Colleseums Valentine suite, equally brilliant
@@robinbishop468 Colosseum were AWESOME - Jon Hiseman was a BEAST!
@@joeday4293 Aquatarkus live is the pinnacle of ELP for me. Jaw dropping and pants filling excitement and sound. All three of them really beast it out for want of a better expression. Although the subject here is Palmer who I love, Emerson was God.
@@stephencrawford6082 Keith Emerson was the very finest keyboardist in the history of rock music. Period. Not open to discussion. One of my absolute heroes. A god in my personal musical pantheon. He was an *assassin.* A goddamn *Jedi* of the keys.
The gongs were not overdubbed - he did it exactly the same way live. And he was using mallets.
Back in the day, for those of us heady-types, put on the headphones, smoke a joint, sit back and duck out. I also listened to a lot of YES (“Roundabout”). It concerns me that young folks haven’t developed the attention span for so much great older music. Not even prog rock, which will never be everyone’s cup of tea, but just good music. Thanks!
I saw them in concert at the end of January 1978. Going into the show, I knew nothing about them. After the show, I scampered to a record store and bought their live, "Welcome Back My Friends to the Show that Never Ends" album. The live renditions of Tocatta, Tarkus, and Karn Evil blow away the studio versions.
Carl Palmer is without question the GOAT drummer.
This was an adaption of an orchestral piece by a composer from Argentina, Alberto Ginastera! He loved ELP's adaption of the piece. The toggle switch you are referring to is the pitch wheel, which is still in use on most modern synths, but used a bit differently. If there were any overdubs on this piece, they were extremely minimal. I saw him live and the gong rolls are done in real time, even now. The piano sound you are referring to is Carl Palmer on tubular bells. This may have been one of the first recordings in which drums were used to trigger synthesizers.
Here’s the drum solo portion live in the studio:
th-cam.com/video/3mjSjD8WRqo/w-d-xo.html
Note the drum triggered synths.
And here’s ELP performing the entire piece live:
m.th-cam.com/video/MgaETQh4uXg/w-d-xo.html
Definitely a trio. Keith Emerson was a monster on keyboards.
Unbelievable
In the mid-late 80s I Saw Carl Palmer do a standing snare drum only solo at the first modern drummer drumfest I attended. He wasn’t listed as a participant so we were pleasantly surprised to see him. He was introduced by Joe morello who said “he just flew in from London and his arms aren’t even tired “his snare drum technique was incredible and they later gave away the snare to a lucky ticket holder
@@AndrewRooneyDrums And they could play this live and sound just as good or better than the studio version! Check out the version from their live triple album "Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends"
you need to see this on video to truly understand their skill and genius.
Not sure if anyone mentioned those are the first drum synthesizers being played during the strange section at around 10:40 in your video mark. This is an adaptation of a piece by a Argentina composer named Ginestera.
Sorry to be pedantic here, but it really starts at about 10:20 in this video.
ELP is always in my top 5. I had their Brain Salad Album when it came out. Incredible, hypnotizing and some of the best progressive rock ever composed. Try Trilogy from the album of the same name for more Palmer incredible machine-like playing.
“Hello, Andrew. TH-cam here.” Priceless.
LOL
Watch a live video man! Youll see the three of then play exactly this- no overdubbing no auto tuning, just incredible musicians
Can’t wait
A true supergroup, sadly only Carl still with us. I got into ELP aged 13 thanks to my school music teacher who was infatuated with them and for the lesson just played an ELP album each week for a month or so. This album has to be heard in its entirety, as with most of their albums. This is one of the earliest concept albums. There’s a sensational video of Carl’s solo at the California Jam in 74. Blurringly fast.
Everyone's heard Fanfare for the Common man
You may have heard "Fanfare for the Common Man" and "I Believe in Father Christmas" without knowing who played them. "Lucky man " was also one of their best known songs.
I saw this concert live in December 1973. Just the 3 of them. If I remember correctly, Emerson was doing the roll on the gong. My first concert experience in the long gone Met Center(now the Mall of America) in Minneapolis. The concert was in Quadrophonic, excellent at the end of Karn Evil 9! Update ... At 10:19 in the video is a drum solo connected to the synthesizer, each drum had a different sound programmed
Realize that Palmer was 23 when ELP recorded this. The following tour (Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends...) was phenomenal. You should see the live version of this... ;) This was also one if the the very first instance of recorded drum synths. He had triggers on his toms. And as others said, no overdubs here.
Watch it live from California Jam 1974. My first concert that same year.
Yes you do need to go down the rabbit hole.....as another commenter below recommended....do a reaction on: "Karn Evil #9 1st impression part 2". I came back to add this comment as I just revisited this ELP album called Brain Salad Surgery. There are 4 parts to Karn Evil #9.....they are all really awesome and when listened to them in the order of the album they flow together but for your channel I would do first impression part 1, first impression part 2 and third impression (skipping 2nd impression as it is completely different and acoustic). First Impression part 2 is one of their most famous songs. ELP was unique...only 3 guys. Enjoy!
7:30 Carl Palmer did this bit live pretty much exactly like you hear it here, timp mallet in one hand, gong beater in the other. 11:46 More of the same; on the WELCOME BACK album, Palmer plays this live. There are some overdubs in this studio version but ELP conceived this as a live piece and the perc synth business sounds incredible with the live hall ambience. 14:33 You really, really need to listen through the entire WELCOME BACK album - dare I say, especially if you claim to be a drum teacher because that album is one powerful lesson (it was basically what taught *me*).
Carl Palmer was the drummer in the crazy world of Arthur Brown hit Fire.. 18 years old!!!
As I'm sure other commenters have said, you've only scratched the surface on the amazing ELP. But if you want to hear another Carl Palmer song--and one he co-wrote--try Tank. This was one of the songs used for the original "Lazerium" planetarium light-show performances. (Saw it twice. I also saw ELP twice in their prime.) Otherwise, any of their major "albums" will do. How about Tarkus?
One of most iconic prog albums of all time Karn Evil 9 totally unique
I'm intrigued Justin
@@AndrewRooneyDrums Karn Evil 9, 28 plus minutes of some of the greatest music you will ever experience. Then there's the 35 minute version from their live triple album "Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends". I still have my original vinyl version that I bought way back in 1974. The cover and record sleeves are pretty beat up, but the vinyl is still in pretty good condition.
Not one of the most, THE MOST
Yeah !! A master piece !! Wonderful !!
I’ve listened to them for years since I was a kid and it was not until last night that I found out that the wacky sounds in the middle are part of a synthesized drum kit. One of the first efforts at an electronic drum set. So ground-breaking.
There aren’t overdubs by the way. Lol he plays it live.
Toccata is definitely one of their more ‘out there’ pieces. I would highly recommend you check out Karn Evil #9 1st impression part 2.
1, 2 and 3 to hear the whole story :)
And Tarkus!
Toccata is the best when you want to introduce someone to ELP 🙂
In the 80s I put my Electrostatic headphones on a lady I was dating and put on Toccata. The headphones came off pretty quick. It was too much. I used the term "was dating" , right?
@@ghanus2009 Very strange 🙂
ELP ALWAYS said every one of their pieces was written with the intent of playing live .. there have been overdubs on the studio recordings for sure but the eeal maguc occurred on stage. I saw them live twice and it's staggering what they were able to reproduce. Much of it was due to Keith's mastery and virtuosity on the keys. By himself he covered much of was overdubbed.
NO OVERDUBBING ON THIS SONG. See it live, CALIFORNIA JAM!!
You really open a new rabbit hole, my friend! To understand that piece, it's a adaptation of a piano concerto.... and you have to listen the hole album! I'm very sure that you gonna like it a lot!!
Thank you Eduardo!
A lot of what sounds like keyboards is actually Carls use of synth drum heads. Really advanced stuff for the year
They weren't synth drum heads. They placed two microphones on each of his acoustic drums - one for recording the audio and the other was sent to a synthesizer to trigger it. So, pretty cool that they sort of invented a primitive form of triggering before piezo triggering was invented.
I was 23 when this album came out and, knowing that my 58 year old father loved classical music, especially Bach, who wrote complex counterpoint into his compositions, I thought he might like it (as he generally hated all the other music I listened to). He actually listened to the whole album with me. I think he was surprised and happy to realize I didn't listen to pure crap.
@ejb5034 My Mom loved their recording of "Jerusalem" off of BSS. She initially thought I said "Emerson Lincoln Palmer" when I told her the band's name lol. Also, Dad really liked their take on "Honky Tonk Train Blues", so score two for the kids!
Someone wrote that Brain Salad Surgery was a Sci-Fi soundtrack to a movie that does not exist
So many layers where the band shine in the LP and is considered the go to album for getting into
ELP. All this was done live in a massive 10-month world tour for the album from Nov '73 to Aug '74.
he has no idea that those are drum synthesizers. I interviewed palmer on the Welcome back tour, got a personal tour of the drum set, and learned all about the synthesizers from him.
I'm a drum teacher but I've not heard of this Carl Palmer fellow. Might he have a TH-cam channel I could view ?
The keyboards were cutting edge for the time; both Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman helped bring that state of the art stuff to Prog music.
Dude
This is a hell of a rabbit hole to venture into. Carl Palmer is fantastic, check out some live stuff he’s really fun
Carl…my hero…yeah triplets.
yup yup