Drum Solos: Classic or Dud

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Supernaut by the Sabs = Classic

Golden Earring = Dud

― Venga, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

New pointless showing off answers.

― Venga, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't listen to enough wanky drummer music to have any qualifying answers. But I can think of a few good fills...

3rd verse of Blondie's version of "Hanging on the Telephone"

After the galloping breakdown in Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)"

― paul, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Interminable = "100,000 Years" by Kiss on ALIVE

Inspired but still silly = "YYZ" by Rush on EXIT STAGE LEFT

― Alex in NYC, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm not a huge fan of the drum solo, per se, but I do like cool fills. When did rock bands stop doing this? Do they still have fills in pop songs?

― dleone, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

when people like Meg White started being referred to as 'drummers' instead of 'that person sitting behind a drum kit holding a pair of drumsticks rather awkwardly'

― Dave M., Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

but I do like cool fills. When did rock bands stop doing this?

When drummers started having to be suppliers of looped beats rather than being allowed to do their own thing. I really hate it when indie drummers repeat exactly the same fill throughout a song (although I'm not sure if it's always the drummer's fault - it could be the producer who stupidly opts to paste the 'best' fill over and over again on pro tools or whatever). A good example of this was that recent single by Cooper Temple Clause. I saw them doing it on TOTP and thought 'hmm that was a cool drum roll', but then he did exactly the same roll another six times.

― David, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I think my favourite drum roll of all time is the one Keith Moon does after the first interlude on 'Baba O'Riley'. Nothing particularly complicated about it but I always feel very excited when I hear it.

― David, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

unless it's buddy rich, drum solos = dud

― dyson, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

It's all context. Rock drum solos, especially out of the context of a such, are a big dud. Over a vamp or within a song is better...I can't think of anyone who's done this recently besides Tool.

In jazz or electronic or Cuban or Brazilian or African music: as classic as it gets. Note: I may be biased.

― Jordan, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

We had a thread on this before but I've warmed to rock drum solos since then. (Never had any issues with jazz drum solos.) I actually really like the drum solo on Made In Japan.

― sundar subramanian, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i remember seeing tommy lee spinning around and drumming like amadman, but he was still a dud.

― keith, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Safri Duo

― Siegbran Hetteson, Tuesday, 25 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Carl Palmer, "Karn Evil 9" (the 'Welcome Back My Friends...' live version esp.)

― dave q, Tuesday, 25 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Gerschatzer" by Atomic Rooster: classic.

"Toad" by Cream: dud.

― Matt Riedl (veal), Tuesday, 25 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Drum fills? Two words (OK, not words, really): Dave Grohl. Every time everything around him stops, he fills the air with something to absolutely take your breath away. And I'm not even a real Nirvana fan.

― Matt Riedl (veal), Tuesday, 25 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

only one drummer that I know of who can keep my interest with a drum solo and that is Vinnie Colaiuta. his playing actually scares me it's that good.

― brian, Tuesday, 25 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yep. Meg's no Maureen Tucker.

Drum Fills are only cool if under 20 seconds. I love the way Kenny Jones ended every small faces song with a sloppy drum fill.

― Dave Beckhouse, Tuesday, 25 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

drummers who just sorta solo the whole way thru the song are best. that's why keith moon is the best rock drummer E-Z.

― unknown or illegal user, Tuesday, 25 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I like wacky drum fills like the bit just before the second verse of "Christmas" on Tommy. But drum solos are only really listenable-to when there is a lot of other percussion and funny noises as well. I could listen to a Bill Bruford drum solo for hours.

― Anna Rose, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

bill bruford's really good but he's boring.

― unknown or illegal user, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

that was dumb...he's usually the best thing about boring records.

― unknown or illegal user, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i don't much care to hear him solo tho.

― unknown or illegal user, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I can't think offhand of any rock drum solos I especially like, though there probably are some.

I like the drum solo breaks that frequently occur in salsa songs. I like to break away from my partner and dance free style during those, or at least pay more attention to footwork and less to leading anything.

In general I don't really like drum solos on a standard drum kit.

― DeRayMi, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

there´s a good drum solo song, and that is Bonzo Mountreaux, of Led Zeppelin.. of course , John Bonham was the best drummer ever, and for fills, i´d choose the beatles "Long long long" ones... they are perfect, or Deep Purple`s introduction to I´m so Glad... perfect.

― iñaki in furs, Friday, 28 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

one month passes...

Don't be so legalistic about how a drum solo is suppossed to be. The best ones can be very long and seem hard to follow. Bill Brufford lets music breath. People have different styles of drumming based on the way they think. Don't limit yourself because you think another drummer is "cool". Do what you think would best express the way YOU feel and not how a professional would.

― Rob West, Sunday, 18 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

three years pass...

Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Maker" has some crazy fills (i love the quick open hihats hit at the climax.) and another song, "Rock and Roll" is insane at the very end it has a great ending solo. Another great Bonham solo song would be "Moby Dick" in which he popularized soloing with bare hands and cymbal crashes. "Whole Lotta Love"... yet another classic. It's a shame he was a drunk , just imagine where Led Zeppelin would be today of it could have lasted.

― Issac Sharp, Saturday, 22 April 2006 03:15 (twenty years ago)

Thanks to 'In Through The Out Door' I'd rather not thanks.
btw if you're a fan of Bonham's you really should check out Elvin Jones as Bonzo nicked many soloing ideas from him...not that there's anything wrong with that.

― dr lulu (dr lulu), Saturday, 22 April 2006 04:40 (twenty years ago)

Classic: Bill Bruford's Earthworks, "My Heart Declares a Holiday"

― Joe (Joe), Saturday, 22 April 2006 10:47 (twenty years ago)

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