Best/Worse Drummers of All Time?

  • Thread starter Thread starter .Tyson Studios.
  • Start date Start date
Rimshot said:
And now for the 800 lb. gorilla in the room. Why has nobody mentioned John Bonham? That drummer almost singlehandedly revolutionized rock drumming. He is still as revered today as Jimi Hendrix is as a guitarist by even young musicians.
Click to expand...

My take, and remember some days I mix my meds on purpose, is...... well, Bonham was great and all, but I doubt anyone considered his band important enough. If Ringo played in any other band, who would give 2¢ about what he did? It ain't fair, but that's how I see it. The critics paint them all with a very broad brush.
Now, the 800 pound gorilla's wife says Bonham wasn't anything unique. He ripped off a lot from Jim McCarty, Dino Danelli, Carmine Appice, who else? Watch this early Yardbirds version of Dazed and Confused; YouTube - The Yardbirds - Dazed And Confused (1968). Watch Dino here; YouTube - Young Rascals - Live medley Now here's an unappreciated drummer.
I sort of paint people myself with that same broad paintbrush; those who think Bonham was so unique, and rock drumming wouldn't have been the same without him, and people who think Eddie Van Halen 'invented' tapping, and guitar playing wouldn't be the same without him. Slightly exaggerated, but no one loses an eye over this, so deify whomever you want. This is why ice cream comes in chocolate or vanilla.
Oh, and my Beatles trivia memory seems to recall Paul played drums on Revolution.
 
Bubba po said:
Are you saying that Sting's done anything worthwhile since leaving the Police? :D

Copeland's the first to admit that he had a massive amount of time off from drumming and lost a lot of his chops when doing his film score work etc. He's just a drummer that I really admire - any rock drummer should listen to "Message in a Bottle" as a masterclass in constructing a drum part to a song It's an arrangement which complements the song, drives the energy of the song and builds wonderfully. And it all still sounds so fresh, snappy and off-the-cuff. Awesome.

But just my opinion. :D
Click to expand...

You did read where I said I thought he was a good drummer didn't you? I like listening to his work and I agree that he has some really good ideas. Where I differ with you is in elevating him to the status of one of the greatest drummers of all time. As interesting and competent as he is, I personally don't feel that he is the best I've ever heard. I mentioned two of my personal favorites also (Colaiuta and Watts) but I don't think that they are worthy of that title either. I just really love listening to what they do.
 
Heavens! I thought my choice of Joey Jordison as a steaming heap of doings was the controversial part of my post! :laughings:
 
Bubba po said:
Heavens! I thought my choice of Joey Jordison as a steaming heap of doings was the controversial part of my post! :laughings:
Click to expand...

It just shows that general opinion threads like this are totaly worthless, because people's opinions are totally worthless. The skill of a drummer is directly proportional to what you think of the band. You won't find many Slipknot fans in here, so no one's gonna disagree with you about Joey Jordison. The truth is, he's highly skilled, very precise, and does stuff that Bonham and old farts like Steve Gadd could never dream of doing. But, his band is lame and cheesy, so he'll get no love, which is fine with me because his band sucks shit. People will spill their jizz over Ringo though.
 
See what I mean? The old guard probably doesn't even know who Jordison is, but they know he sucks compared to the old "masters" and get angry and defensive about it.
 
I don't pretend to be an aficionado of Mr. Jordison and I don't really know Steve Gadd's stuff either, but I certainly don't feel angry and defensive about it. But my verdict of the samples I've seen of Jordison's playing is that it's the most repetitive, annoying and unmusical tripe I've ever heard, for someone who tops the polls every year. :D

I ought to study harder. :)

I also like Dave Lovering of the Pixies and Matt Helders of The Arctic Monkeys and Budgie of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Which more than demonstrates Greg's contention that if you don't like the band, the drummer's not going to do much for you. :)
 
Greg_L said:
See what I mean? The old guard probably doesn't even know who Jordison is, but they know he sucks compared to the old "masters" and get angry and defensive about it.
Click to expand...
I know who Jordison is. I've checked out his drumming on you tube along with a whole lot of drummers. I actually try listening to it all. Jordison is out of that same genre of drummers like Travis Barker, Dave Grohl and Danny Carey (although Carey has a bit more diversity). They play fast and hard with very little concern about dynamics and keep the volume up to 11 (it's a reference to "Spinal Tap"). I don't hate what they do at all, it just has very little to do with what I'm interested in. I'm not calling them bad drummers by any means, just not very diverse and rounded (with the possible exception of Carey), but then this is just my opinion and worth as much as yours is. I think that was my point.
 
Lol. I'm not defending Jordison by any means because I'm not a fan, but he's nothing like Grohl, or Carey, or fucking Travis Barker. :laughings: :laughings: :laughings:

That's like saying Keith Moon is the pretty much the same as Charlie Watts. Same time period right? Must be the same.

And thanks for explaining the Spinal Tap reference. That movie, and particularly that quote, is so obscure and all.
 
And as far as Travis Barker goes, I saw one vid of him on youtube where he just appeared to be trying to demolish a Zildjian Z custom in his back yard. Very skilled. :D
 
Bubba po said:
And as far as Travis Barker goes, I saw one vid of him on youtube where he just appeared to be trying to demolish a Zildjian Z custom in his back yard. Very skilled. :D
Click to expand...

Yeah he's a total goon. I don't know why he's so popular.
 
moresound said:
Wasn't that Paul's work on the drums for that song Come Together?
Click to expand...

ranjam said:
Oh, and my Beatles trivia memory seems to recall Paul played drums on Revolution.
Click to expand...
Naw, he played on neither. He did play on a few tracks on the White album before and when Ringo left and on 'The ballad of John & Yoko' the next year.

Greg_L said:
It just shows that general opinion threads like this are totaly worthless,
Click to expand...
I feel ambivalent about this. On the one hand, it's interesting reading peoples' opinions and it promotes debate and discussion more than if the thread would say "discuss great drummers". I dig all that. But they also don't go anywhere. There have been so many drummers, I think most of them underrated. Tons of them never get mentioned in these thingies. Most of them never mentioned in these things !
 
I always fancied Alex Van Halen as a drummer.






Now quick without Googleing ... Who was the drummer of the popular song when I was a lad - "wipe out"?

Every drummer in those days had to be able to play it, or wasn't worth his salt.
 
Oh, was it the end of time already?



How the fuck are we supposed to pick the best drummer OF ALL TIME if there's any damn time left?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top