Fanfare for the Common Man will be available this spring

Carl Frederik Kendall Palmer was born on March 20, 1950, in Birmingham, England. His upbringing was far from smooth, his real father passed away when Carl was only two years old. Raised by his stepfather in a very music-minded family, Palmer received his first drum on his tenth birthday and thus began a 60-year career that has seen Carl appear on a staggering 50 million-selling albums.

On April 5th, BMG is proud to bring together Palmer’s impressive career across a 3 CD/1 Blu-ray box set called Fanfare of the Common Man, featuring music and visuals from the Carl Palmer Band, Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), Asia, and various other Carl Palmer-affiliated bands and artists, including The Craig, Chris Farlowe, Atomic Rooster and Mike Oldfield. The Blu-ray Disc, entitled The Rhythm of Life, is an audio-visual documentary, narrated by Palmer in which he discusses his career featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and images featuring Frank Sinatra, Carmine Appice, Buddy Rich, Tommy Iommi, Alice Cooper, and more. Also included is a 200-page autobiography which is wonderfully illustrated with photos from Palmer’s archive.

Growing up in 1960s Birmingham to a soundtrack of Elvis, Gene Krupa, Dave Brubeck and Buddy Rich, it was an innovative and exciting time for young Carl. He joined his first band The King Bees when he was just 15 and, after renaming themselves The Craig, Carl got his first taste of chart success with the explosive freakbeat single ‘I Must Be Mad’ which thankfully appears in this collection. From that point on, Carl never looked back and after stints with Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and Atomic Rooster which Carl founded with Vincent Crane, in 1970 he joined forces with the Nice’s Keith Emerson and King Crimson’s Greg Lake and ELP were born. ELP ruled the 1970s with classic albums such as Tarkus and Works, but the trio stopped working together in 1979. Carl then went on to form yet another supergroup, this time joining forces with Steve Howe and Geoff Downes of Yes alongside King Crimson’s John Wetton to form Asia. Asia scored big with huge-selling tunes such as “Heat of The Moment” which ruled the FM airwaves and the then newly launched MTV.

After his success with Asia, Carl reunited with Keith Emerson and with vocalist Robert Berry under the name 3 and two of their songs, “Desda La Vida” and a prog-pop version of the Byrds’ psychedelic classic “Eight Miles High’” also appear in this collection. In 1992, ELP reunited for three albums and several tours before making their final live appearance at the 2010 High Voltage Festival held in front of 30,000 adoring fans in London’s Victoria Park.

Between 2001 and 2021, Carl Palmer has played in his own trio with Paul Bielatowicz on guitar and Simon Fitzpatrick on bass/Chapman stick. Under the name ELP Legacy, they have continued to reinvent the groundbreaking work of ELP which features throughout the third disc.

Carl Palmer is currently on tour in the USA, with the acclaimed Return of Emerson Lake & Palmer show, which combines rare footage of Keith Emerson and Greg Lake from ELP’s 1992 Royal Albert Hall shows with Palmer and his Legacy band live on stage all playing together.

As Carl Palmer approaches his 74th birthday, he shows no sign of resting on his laurels. Aside from all his ELP-related work, Palmer continues to make innovative art through his Carl Palmer Art Of Giving Foundation, raising large sums of money for charity in the process.

CD 1: Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Carl Palmer & Joseph Horovitz

1. Carl Palmer & Joseph Horovitz – Concerto For Percussion (Part Rock)
2. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirits
3. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Bullfrog
4. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Toccata
5. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Close But Not Touching
6. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – LA Nights
7. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Canario
8. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Tank
9. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Karn Evil 9 1st Impression, Part 2
10. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Two-Part Invention In D Minor
11. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Fanfare For The Common Man

CD 2: Carl Palmer’s Various Other Band Recordings

1. The Craig – I Must Be Mad
2. The Craig – Suspense
3. Chris Farlowe – Everyone Makes A Mistake
4. Atomic Rooster – Friday The 13th
5. Atomic Rooster – Decline And Fall
6. Carl Palmer’s PM – You’ve Got Me Rockin’
7. Mike Oldfield – Mount Teidi
8. Mike Oldfield – Ready Mix
9. Asia – Heat Of The Moment
10. Asia – Wildest Dreams
11. Asia – Time Again
12. Asia – Tomorrow The World
13. 3 – Desda La Vida (I. La Vista, II. Frontera, III. Sangre De Toro)
14. 3 – Eight Miles High
15. Carl Palmer and the Buddy Rich Orchestra – Shawnee (Live)

CD 3: Carl Palmer Band Working Live & Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy Live

1. Carl Palmer Band – Carl Palmer Band – Bullfrog
2. Carl Palmer Band – Canario
3. Carl Palmer Band – Carmina Burana
4. Carl Palmer Band – Trilogy
5. Carl Palmer Band – Hoedown
6. Carl Palmer Band – Carl Palmer Band – Romeo And Juliet
7. Carl Palmer Band – In A Moroccan Market
8. Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy – Toccata and Fugue in D minor
9. Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy – Jerusalem
10. Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy – Fanfare For The Common Man / Drum Solo

Blu-ray: The Rhythm of Life