famous drummers.

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i would find it quite lovely were someone to explain what (for example) phil collins does generally quite well when drumming, and give examples of what they are doing in a particular track that is notable. also: john bonham.

― tom west (thomp), Wednesday, 19 May 2004 23:10 (twenty-two years ago)

or or or or dennis wilson! yeah!

― tom west (thomp), Wednesday, 19 May 2004 23:11 (twenty-two years ago)

I think with great drummers, like Bonham, K. Moon, the recently passed E. Jones, and Danny Richmond, the greatness lies in the balance between the precision of their timekeeping and the breath and life they put into their playing. There is a balance between a drum machine and your typical K records percussionist, and they were able to hit that sweet spot consistently.

― 57 7th (calstars), Wednesday, 19 May 2004 23:42 (twenty-two years ago)

okay bonham hit the drums hard BUT TELL ME MORE ABOUT STUART COPELAND

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Wednesday, 19 May 2004 23:52 (twenty-two years ago)

sixteenth notes on the high hat is all you need to know.

― hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 19 May 2004 23:58 (twenty-two years ago)

and an odd preference for rolls on tiny tom-racks.

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 20 May 2004 00:02 (twenty-two years ago)

keith moon wasn't actually much of a time-keeper was he?

― ARL (Adrian Langston), Thursday, 20 May 2004 00:03 (twenty-two years ago)

No, he was awful with tempo. And every song the Who ever performed without him wasn't the same.

― Rubberband Man (Rubberband Man), Thursday, 20 May 2004 00:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Doktor Avalanche for the humanness and soul that he puts into his playing.

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Thursday, 20 May 2004 00:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Which is to say, there's an intangible element to drumming. But a bad drummer can ruin an otherwise acceptable group by not keeping time or having a poorly tuned instrument. In this respect, Ringo Starr was an impeccable musician.

― Rubberband Man (Rubberband Man), Thursday, 20 May 2004 00:07 (twenty-two years ago)

fe;dih4rgfp8od4yufp8y READ THE QUESTION

― tom west (thomp), Thursday, 20 May 2004 00:29 (twenty-two years ago)

drummer hit tom tom make ears go happy

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Thursday, 20 May 2004 00:30 (twenty-two years ago)

― tom west (thomp), Thursday, 20 May 2004 00:31 (twenty-two years ago)

John Bonham - a huge part of it was the sound, that giant bass drum with no muffling, and he knew how to play it and record it. On one hand he had that crazy deep pocket where he could just play 1 2 3 4 and it would be massive, on the other hand he did have a lot of chops and inventive beats (Fool in the Rain, etc.). Oh, also listen to the first couple breaks in 'Good Times Bad Times' and listen to those really fast triplets he's doing on the bass drum, no one was doing that in rock.

Phil Collins - I'm not a giant Phil Collins fan or anything, but listen to Brand X's 'Nuclear Burn' or anything on Selling England By the Pound and it's pretty clear that he's a really solid jazz-fusion drummer. Lots of nice ghost notey stuff, a light touch, and some interesting voicings in his fills that probably come from being left-handed a la Ringo. Then in the 80s he helped pioneer that no-cymbals, giant gated-reverb snare drum sound like on the first Peter Gabriel album. I sorta hate him for that, but it worked.

You're outta luck with Dennis Wilson, Tom.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 20 May 2004 00:52 (twenty-two years ago)

For me what I look for in rock drummers is an ability to write cool parts for the song that don't sound showy or tasteless, but that are still interesting and personal. I think Stewart Copeland was probably the epitome of this in the 80s with that slick hi-hat shit.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 20 May 2004 00:53 (twenty-two years ago)

hmm, what does _______ do that's so great? Short answer: imo, like all great musicians, it's pretty hard to narrow down one thing about great drummers that makes them great.

A great drummer can be someone who inspires people just from his/her individual playing - like any great solo instrumentalist. Han Bennink, for example, is one of my fave drummers as a soloist. He also happens to have impeccable time, and can play in a free or structured settings creatively. Or, a great drummer could be someone who is able to give so much life to the music without necessarily standing far in front. Take John Bonham - I would say that without his sound and style, Led Zep is just another classic rock band.

My thought on great drummers is that what makes them so interesting has more to do with their personalities and creativity than it does with their technique. Having really great technique is good because it can help you work well with other musicians, and play music that a wide number of people will enjoy. However, technique does not in and of itself give the player interesting ideas. (just like having a degree in journalism or literature does not in and of itself make one an interesting writer)

― dleone (dleone), Thursday, 20 May 2004 00:59 (twenty-two years ago)

I think Dom hit it on the head with technique as a vehicle for communication. (And I hear he's really sexy in person, too!!!)

― Rubberband Man (Rubberband Man), Thursday, 20 May 2004 01:12 (twenty-two years ago)

damn

― dleone (dleone), Thursday, 20 May 2004 01:17 (twenty-two years ago)

A less famous drummer, but if anyone could outline for me in layman's terms why the drummer from Mastodon is so astonishing I would be very grateful!

I'd describe it as ferociously fast, complex and aggressive jazz fusion drumming in a metal context, but any better definitions/ explanations would be welcome.

― M Carty (mj_c), Thursday, 20 May 2004 09:22 (twenty-two years ago)

"TELL ME MORE ABOUT STUART COPELAND"

OK.... on the final Police tour, he loathed Sting so much that he wrote the words "FUCK", "OFF", "YOU" & "C*NT" on his tom skins and pretended it was Sting he was hitting.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 20 May 2004 09:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Their last session was to do loads of remakes of a number of their past hits (is this ever a good idea?). I suspect this was only so Sting could have another go at pronouncing Nabokov properly on "Don't stand so close to me".

Only to sing "just like that old man in that verrrry famous book by naahbukov oh bollocks.."

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 20 May 2004 09:51 (twenty-two years ago)

A drummer I really love is Lloyd "Tinleg" Adams, who can be heard on the likes of "Bucky Skank" by Lee Perry or "Auntie Lulu" by Junior Byles. He has these really unique rolls, which are superfast and slightly out of time. His drumming on the intro of "Bucky Skank" is sheer madness.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 20 May 2004 10:19 (twenty-two years ago)

i have it on good authority that the original title of "don't stand so close to me" was "don't try it."

― Marcello Carlin, Thursday, 20 May 2004 10:26 (twenty-two years ago)

jaki jaki jaki jaki jaki jaki jaki

― cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 20 May 2004 10:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Was Phil Collins the drummer doing the incredibly propulsive tom rolls on Eno's Third Uncle? If so, then he's forgiven for every crap record he's ever made or will make.

― briania (briania), Thursday, 20 May 2004 11:36 (twenty-two years ago)

rubberband man -- OTM. Ringo is unfairly maligned as a drummer.
I'm a Tony Thompson man myself -- king of the funky 4/4.
Tony Williams, too -- incredible on the cymbals.
As far as punk-primitive tribal drumming, nobody tops Scott Asheton of the Stooges, one relentless mean machine.
Dave Grohl was pretty good in Nirvana. Who else from the modern world makes the cut?

― lovebug starski, Thursday, 20 May 2004 11:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Gay Dad had a very talented drummer, so I hear -- not like the drummers you get now, they're all rubbish.

― Enrique (Enrique), Thursday, 20 May 2004 11:47 (twenty-two years ago)

keith leblanc. can spot his style a mile off the man has been the backbone of many a moment of funk for me. superb comination of technique and modern production. and the man did sugarhill beats ..

― mark e (mark e), Thursday, 20 May 2004 12:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Anyone know Mickey Waller. I don't know much about him, but I love his drumming on several early '70s Rod Stewart albums (most notably, Every Picture).

He has this crashing, slightly off-kilter sound that I love.

― Debito (Debito), Thursday, 20 May 2004 12:39 (twenty-two years ago)

For technical ability: John "Drumbo" French - the guy can have every one of his limbs working in a different time signature to every other one and still manage to make the overall sound feel natural rather than mechanical.

Just for hitting the damned things harder and faster than anyone else can 'though: Rat Scabies.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 20 May 2004 12:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Bill Bruford!

― 57 7th (calstars), Thursday, 20 May 2004 13:02 (twenty-two years ago)

I've seen some jazz fans around ILM get down on The Jazz Messingers and hard bop, but Blakey did some absolutely crazy and funky things underneath that band. He could get as powerful and loud as Elvin Jones, but he also would throw in many rolling polyrhythms like someone like Max Roach. The guy was also a teacher of jazz and the list of people that got their big break in his band is astounding. In an interview I read with Bill Bruford, he stated that what his drumming style was taking Art Blakey and applying it to a rock context.

Bill Bruford is someone that I have underrated for a long time and I think he should get much of the kudos that has been given to Neal Peart over the past 25 years or so. Listening to King Crimson and Yes quite a bit over the last couple of years, I have concluded that Peart's style was greatly influenced by Bruford, except that he was much more anal retentive on things and doesn't have the improv background (at least on recordings). I'm not saying that Peart is a bad drummer or anything, but I think Bruford could do everything he could do and probably a bit more. Bruford does some very unique drumming on those 80s Crimson records, nearly eliminating the cymbals and getting away from keeping time on the high hats and it works.

― earlnash, Thursday, 20 May 2004 14:50 (twenty-two years ago)

I definitely like Bruford's new-wave drumming, but my favorite thing about him is all the metric modulation/playing games with the time feel stuff. Favorite examples: the solos he would take on Indiscipline, the first song on the Bruford Levin Upper Extremities record where that's the point of the entire tune (I am dork).

What I like about Art Blakey: the enormous press roll (like at the beginning of Moanin' for ex., I think about him at least subconsciously whenever I play one), the Afro-Cuban beats (Mosaic!!!), the heavy shuffle (Moanin' again), and the way he woud often not interact with the soloist, just keeping swinging on through and marking off the sections with perfect fills. It takes a lot of confidence to pull that off I think, which he obviously did.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 20 May 2004 15:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Not being a drummer I'm interested in what drummers say about Bruford. He always seems such a mixture of contrasts. He plays with fantastic authority within the bar, but over a longer timespan his time isn't that wonderful. He seems inelegant, almost gawky in his movements yet there's a real precision about his playing as well. Live I've preferred his playing with his jazz band to his playing with Crimson, but then again Crimson are a band I find it easier to admire than enjoy.

― ArfArf, Thursday, 20 May 2004 15:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Rob Ellis from PJ Harvey's band is probably my favorite modern-era rock drummer. "Dress" (from Dry) still confounds me as much as it did 12 years ago.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Thursday, 20 May 2004 15:31 (twenty-two years ago)

What I like abt phil collins on old genesis rekkids is that his drumming is not "heavy" in any way, the sound of it is often kind of weak, like "pitter patter pitter patter", but he plays w/this really propulsive feel. He kind of lost that totally later on - I recall this interview w/him where he's all about how he got into john bonham and it changed the way he played the drums & stuff. It was pretty sad.

My favourite drummer at the moment is simon king from hawkwind. At his best he has this feel which is kind of like a big machine getting faster and faster all the time. It's really exciting.

The best drummer I've ever seen live was david francolini from levitation and dark star. he was phenomenally good & almost frighteningly powerful. I'd have probably enjoyed watching him play unaccompanied. Not at all famous though, sadly.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 20 May 2004 15:38 (twenty-two years ago)

They didn't call him "Stamina" King for nothing.

― Sean Witzman (trip maker), Thursday, 20 May 2004 15:45 (twenty-two years ago)

would anybody say that Phil Collins' early drumming was heavily influenced by Wyatt?

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 20 May 2004 15:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Raise your hands if you've seen the Phil Collins Big Band! No? Oh, uh, me either.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 20 May 2004 15:49 (twenty-two years ago)

(x-post) I don't think so, but I'll have a listen to "third" and "the lamb lies down on broadway" tonight anyway!

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 20 May 2004 15:50 (twenty-two years ago)

You could make that case. Collins wasn't as concerned with "tricks" like Bruford was, but more about what would make both the song and himself look good like Wyatt.

I'm probably a little more forgiving of Collins' drumming than most, because I don't think he really tanked until No Jacket Required.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Thursday, 20 May 2004 15:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Many people must have considered Collins a tasty drummer considering how many sessions he did in the 70s and early 80s. I think how Collins utilized early drum machines with live drums on his first solo album and the self-titled Genesis record is really clever and well done. Considering his style, I would bet that Ringo Starr is a big reason he learned to play drums.

― earlnash, Thursday, 20 May 2004 16:06 (twenty-two years ago)

I think he was really more of a jazz guy, I read an interview once where he talked about finding a tape of Young Phil playing a 20 min Buddy Rich-style snare drum solo and hardly believing he used to be able to play like that. It's not his fault he was machine-manufactured to be a pop overlord of the time.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 20 May 2004 16:10 (twenty-two years ago)

one of my housemates is always drumming along to brand x and collins big band on his REMARKABLY LOUD practice pad. it seems to obscure the uh finer points.

thanks all (no one keen on dennis wilson? pity.)

another name i'm curious about how to describe what's actually being done that's remarkable: klaus dinger

― tom west (thomp), Thursday, 20 May 2004 23:14 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm old-fashioned, so I like what Al Jackson Jr. did on those Stax records...the lay-back and the snapping roll.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Thursday, 20 May 2004 23:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Will I burn in ILM hell for mentioning Phil Selway? The man's got technique...

― the impossible shortest special path! (the impossible shortest specia), Friday, 21 May 2004 00:22 (twenty-two years ago)

That Zach guy from Hella. It may be showey, but if someone could show me to another drummer -- it'll probably be free jazz or something, who does something simmilar to his style, Id be very happy.

― David Allen (David Allen), Friday, 21 May 2004 03:18 (twenty-two years ago)

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