CARL PALMER'S PM: 1 PM

I think that it was in 1980 when saw this album in a record shop (which doesn't exist anymore) and I think that it was the first and only time that I saw it being sold in a record shop in my city, being sold at a very expensive price, as an imported copy from Europe. Of course, I didn't buy it then, but recently I had the chance to finally listen to it.

PM was a band which existed for a year between 1979-1980. Drummer CARL PALMER formed this band with four musicians from the U.S. after EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER split in 1979. Their only album, titled "1 PM", was released in March 1980. When I saw the album in that record shop I thought that it was a Prog Rock album. Well. Thirty six years later I listened to it for the first time...and I was very surprised, because in this album Carl Palmer and his band played and recorded New Wave and Pop Rock music from the early eighties. There are not connections with Palmer's previous Prog Rock musical experiences with ELP at all. I don't know why he decided to follow the new musical trends of that time. And he also did not contribute to the songwriting of the songs in this album (which was done individually by band members Todd Cochran, Barry Finnerty and John Nitzinger ). So, he only plays the drums and percussion in this New Wave / Pop Rock album which sounds a lot influenced by the music of THE CARS (even the lead vocals are very influenced by Ric Ocasek!), THE KNACK, XTC, and others. All the musicians play very well, and the songs also have very good vocals arrangements. But the songs are very similar in musical style. The album was a self-produced project, well done, very professional...but not very interesting for Prog Rock fans.

This album, like JOHN WETTON´s "Caught in the Crossfire" (1980) and YES's "Drama" (1980), sounds more like a preview from ASIA's albums. By 1980, several Prog Rock musicians were looking for a change in musical style and new opportunities to surive in the music industry....also being adviced by some record label executives and producers to record more commercial albums for the new decade.

In youtube there is a video of a TV appearance of PM doing a playback of "Dynamite" in Germany. The band didn't last for too long, and this album is now more a rarity for the most dedicated fans of CARL PALMER and ELP, and it also works more as a preview of ASIA's albums. For collectors / fans only.