MUSIC MY SIX BEST ALBUMS

Carl Palmer

CARL PALMER, 67, was the drummer with Emerson, Lake and Palmer, the prog-rock band whose biggest hit was Fanfare For The Common Man in 1973. He later joined the band Asia. An ELP box set, Fanfare, is out now and he tours with ELP Legacy from November.

STEVE WINWOOD: Arc Of A Diver (Universal/Island) We’re both from the Birmingham area and I played with him once when I was about 13. He was in the Spencer Davis Group and I was in the King Bees.

When this came out, my admiration grew. The album is beautifully made up and he’s one of our great artists.

CREAM: Fresh Cream (Polydor) I saw Cream about eight times, the first time when I was supporting them at a club in Birmingham, and became infatuated with them. I was amazed by the amount of noise they could create with three people. From that day, I thought I’d like to play in a trio, where there’s no hiding.

THE WHO: Live At Leeds (Polydor) The Who were the first top 10 group I saw on stage, when I Can’t Explain was No 1. Live albums were frowned upon until this. While it has rough edges, the excitement generated is so good.

THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET: Time Out (Columbia/Legacy) I come from a classical music background and this was my first jazz album, which my parents bought me. It was a big eye-opener: tracks such as Blue Rondo À La Turk sounded superb. It was the blueprint for jazz in the future.

BUDDY RICH: Three Classic Albums Plus (Avid Jazz) I got to hear the album This One’s For Basie [on this set] via my American drum teacher when I was about 12. I heard the track Jumpin’ At The Woodside and thought, “That’s the technique I want to learn” – different rhythmical patterns that could be stitched together in any order.

JOURNEY: Escape (Columbia/Legacy) When I was in the band Asia, Journey had the same producer. I toured with them this year and I was amazed at the amount of beautiful, melodic songs they’d got.

It brought it back: how great this album was. And they did sound like the record when they played live.