Phil Collins’ opinion on ELP and Carl Palmer

Although Phil Collins became a Pop star through his successful solo career, he was also an important figure in British Progressive Rock. He joined Genesis in 1970 as their drummer and five years later, when Peter Gabriel left, he also became the band’s singer. What eventually led them to a more commercial sound that made Genesis one of the best-selling groups of all time.

Collins always had a broad musical taste and curiously wasn’t a big fan of many bands that were part of the Prog Rock movement at the time. Over the decades, he shared his opinions on several of them, including the supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

What is Phil Collins’ opinion on ELP and Carl Palmer

Although Emerson, Lake & Palmer is one of the most praised Progressive Rock bands of all time and called by many the first supergroup of that music genre, Phil Collins was never a big fan of them. He also already said he didn’t like Carl Palmer’s drumming although they were friends and he liked him as a person. One of the first times he shared his opinion on them was back in 1973, when he was asked by Ken CK about the Italian band Premiata Forneria Marconi.

“They were good then, they were then. But I don’t like them so much now. They got too much like ELP for my liking. I don’t like ELP. I don’t like the way they are, as people… Emerson’s alright. I don’t like Carl Palmer’s drumming, I don’t like the music. It’s much too neurotic. And it’s too on one level. It’s all like ‘Karn Evil #9’ to me. I mean, I like new Rock and Roll, I like Mahavishnu neurotic. It seems to be done with taste.”

Phil Collins continued:

“(…) To be fair, I haven’t listened to that much ELP. But what I’ve heard, and I’ve seen backstage, I just don’t like them. (But) I would never doubt the fact that they’re excellent musicians. I don’t like the kind of things that (ELP) did. But the sound on the record is a fine sound. And of the three of them I like (Keith) Emerson, mainly because he used to say nice things about us,” Phil Collins said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).

Although many decades have passed since that conversation, Collins didn’t change his mind about them. During an interview with John Edginton in 2014, he once again mentioned them as a group he didn’t like. “I was a big early Yes fan, less so. Even though I like the guys in the band I didn’t relate to a lot of their music after the first two or three albums. Jethro Tull, ELP not for me, musically. Floyd, I was never a big (Pink) Floyd fan.”

“I probably became more of a Floyd fan in later years than I was at the time, even though I saw them at the Marquee with Arnold Layne. I was aware of what they were doing. But I never was really a fan. I was in a band that was kind of being always put in the same box as that lot. But never felt that we actually were in the same box. But we probably were,” Phil Collins said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).

He is a friend of Carl Palmer but doesn’t like his drumming

One of the most respected Progressive Rock drummers of all time, Carl Palmer started his career back in 1964 and was part of many incredible bands before ELP. He played with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Atomic Rooster and after ELP with the supergroup Asia.

When Collins was still a member of Flaming Youth, he had the chance to see Palmer playing with Atomic Rooster and accidentally disrupted their show when he tripped over some plugs that cut the stage power. He recalled that story in his biography “Not Dead Yet” (2016). “We (Flaming Youth) take gigs whenever and wherever, with varying degrees of success. We support Atomic Rooster at a university show in London. I never went for Carl Palmer much as a drummer, but he’s a nice guy. While the band are playing I’m creeping around backstage, trying to find a good vantage point from which to watch the gig.”

“There’s a Christmas tree of plugs jammed into a socket which, in the gloom, I manage to trip on and kick out. Bang goes all the stage power, and everything flops down: lights, sound, vibe. I scarper, fast, before the now rather sub-atomic headliners can spot me,” Phil Collins said.

In the same book, he recalled that it was difficult for Genesis to conquer the United States market. According to him, other Progressive Rock acts like Emerson, Lake & Palmer did that before them.

Carl Palmer has an explanation for Phil Collins’ back problems

Phil Collins’ opinion of Palmer’s drumming never got in the way of their friendship. Over the past decades, the Genesis drummer has battled numerous back issues due to the years he spent playing the drums. In a 2024 interview with Drummer’s Review, Palmer explained that he believes Collins’ back problems originated from the way he set up his drums.

“A lot of good playing is all about the correct heights and angles for your drums, and the height and position of your stool. Being over the drums, rather than under them, playing on top of the drums, rather than into them. It’s all to do with that. Some players have done a lot of damage through incorrect posture.”

“Phil Collins who is a good friend of mine, is a case in point. Phil has done so much damage to the base of his spine over the years, because he sat too low. His knees were out of the correct alignment with his hips. It’s amazing the amount of damage that can be done to the skeleton and muscle structure in a very very short space of time. Some people have got away with it, Tommy Aldrige always sat very low, but the majority get damage over time. Nicko McBrain sits really low, and he is getting really bad tendonitis in both elbows. The damage you can do without realizing it is a terrible thing. You must make sure you are set up correctly and getting your posture right from the start, if you want a life as a drummer,” Carl Palmer said.

Palmer said that Nic Collins (Phil’s son) impressed him as a drummer

During Phil Collins’ final tours with Genesis, due to his health problems, he didn’t play the drums, and that duty fell to his son Nic, who was praised by many musicians for his performance. One of them was Carl Palmer, who told Anti Hero Magazine in 2021 that he was really impressed by the young artist.

“A scene of Phil Collins’ Genesis has been on YouTube. As you know there’s been an incredible number of clips posted. Lots of different songs they’ve done, shows in Birmingham and just all over the place. I was impressed with his son on the drums. I thought he did a very, very good job. Overall, I thought the sound was pretty good. Phil’s always been a friend. So I wish him well for what he’s trying to do. I understand the restrictions that he’s got,” Carl Palmer said.

Although Emerson, Lake & Palmer conquered the United States market before, the band sold an estimated amount of 48 million records worldwide, less than half of what Genesis sold. They were together from 1970 until 1979, reuniting from 1991 to 1998 and for the last time in 2010. Keith Emerson died back in 2016 at the age of 71 and in that same year Greg Lake also passed away at the age of 69.

Carl Palmer continues to tour around the world with his band and occasionally with Asia. He recently made a “reunion” tour of ELP using live footage of his ex-bandmates.