I was a mere embryo in my Mama's womb while Ringo pounded the skins with the Beatles for the first time.My, how time fly.
Lots of people say this or similar and it's true. I feel the same way about Adam Clayton's bass playing in U2. Sometimes I've said to people "I could've been the bass player in U2".I've always felt that Ringo was a very basic drummer. I mean, I could play along to most Beatles songs when I was a teenager / rookie.
It's a point worth making that the Beatles regarded Ringo as the top drummer in Liverpool and chased him to get him. Now that may not mean much, but in their 7 years once they began to make records and got big, they could've had their pick of pretty much any drummer in the UK or USA. But they never sought to replace him. Even when he quit the band during the White album, Paul McCartney took over on drums for two or three songs but they went after Ringo and got him back. When George Harrison quit a few months later, John Lennon's first reaction was "well, we'll just get in Eric Clapton if he's staying out !!".I've always felt that Ringo was a very basic drummer.
I really like a number of English 60s drummers - Ringo, Charlie Watts, Mick Avory, Nick Mason, Ian Paice, John Bonham, Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, Clem Cattini, Mick Fleetwood, John Coghlan, Jim Capaldi, Rob Townsend, Mitch Mitchell, Skip Alan, Twink, Richard Hudson, Steve Upton, Michael Giles {though I think he was overrated}, Bobby Graham,Tony Oxley, Clive Bunker.......I personally like Keith Moon way better, and Keith Moon was better, but they're not the same kind of drummer.
When I hear people say Ringo was a meat and potatoes kind of a drummer, I don't think they're actually listening to what he was doing. Ringo played to THE SONG and wasn't trying to show people how many times he could hit in a measure. What he did play was always clever and fit the songs pefectly. He didn't over play and I think that's why he's under rated.
That's an interesting one. I've often thought that myself. I love Charlie Watts' drumming. Much has been made of the fact that he was primarilly a jazz drummer before he chucked in with the Stones but that rarely surfaced in his playing. During their psychedelic period, he was coming out with some superbly off the wall bits though, on stuff like "We love you" and "Dandelion". My favourite piece of Stones' drumming is on "You can't always get what you want" which, ironically, wasn't him. It was the producer, Jimmy Miller.Besides, Charlie Watts, I can't see any other drummer laying for that band.
As the decades have worn on and enough distance has been put between the Beatles initial meteoric and social impact, more and more commentators have focused on their actual music and one of the things that doesn't get spoken of much is how much each contributed to particular songs. Like it was George Harrison's idea to combine the two Lennon songs that made "She said she said" and it was he that transformed "And I love her" by putting in that lovely guitar riff that sustains the song from start to end and he brought in the 3/4 waltz idea to "We can work it out". Ringo was responsible for naming the last LP "Abbey Road" and often found the drum parts to various songs. But Paul McCartney also suggested parts not readilly associated with him, among them the drum patterns of "Ticket to ride" and "Tomorrow never knows".As simple and "play for the tune" as he was, he actually came up with some interesting stuff. The beat for "Ticket to Ride" is pretty innovative for the time and I can't imagine that song with just a straight beat.
The beat on "Tomorrow Never Knows" pretty much makes that tune for me.
Yeah, I especially love "Dandelion". I was going to cover it, but I did "She's a Rainbow" instead. Love that era of the StonesDuring their psychedelic period, he was coming out with some superbly off the wall bits though, on stuff like "We love you" and "Dandelion".
Christ, you just shattered my world. That's one of my all-time favorite rock beats in any song. It's so un-conventional, the snare never hits the "2" or "4". That's not Charlie? That's amazing.My favourite piece of Stones' drumming is on "You can't always get what you want" which, ironically, wasn't him. It was the producer, Jimmy Miller.
I didn't know that, but I know he came up with "Tomorrow never knows" and "Hard day's night".Ringo was responsible for naming the last LP "Abbey Road"
More world shattering! My 2 favorite Beatles beats.Paul McCartney also suggested parts not readilly associated with him, among them the drum patterns of "Ticket to ride" and "Tomorrow never knows".
The '65~'69 era of the Stones is also my favourite of theirs. They were progessing in such a vital way and one of the things they're rarely given credit for as so many commentators major on their 'bad boy' raunchiness is their melodic power. They came out with tons of superb melodies. They also came out with some outrageously wonderful backing vocals like in "Dandelion". They knew when to get the right voices in too, with Lennon and McCartney on "We love you", Merry Clayton on "Gimme Shelter" and Nanette Workman, Doris Troy, Madelline Bell and the London Bach choir on "You can't always get what you want".Yeah, I especially love "Dandelion". I was going to cover it, but I did "She's a Rainbow" instead. Love that era of the Stones
I was pretty surprized when I learned it wasn't Charlie. I was reading a Charlie Watts interview and in it, he says that he just couldn't get the part so Jimmy Miller, the producer played it after spending ages trying to show him it. In an interview with Ronnie Wood, Woody says he was stunned when Charlie told him that he didn't play the part !Christ, you just shattered my world. That's one of my all-time favorite rock beats in any song. It's so un-conventional, the snare never hits the "2" or "4". That's not Charlie? That's amazing.
I was surprized about that one too. I knew that they were going to call the album "Everest" after the fags that Geoff Emerick smoked and they were going to fly out to India again but this time to take some photos for the cover at the foot of Mount Everest. I was aware that in a fit of laziness, they changed their mind and decided to call the album "Abbey Road" but until I read Geoff Emerick's autobiography, I didn't know it was Ringo.I didn't know that, but I know he came up with "Tomorrow never knows" and "Hard day's night".
Well, Ringo did play "Ticket" and "Tomorrow", they were patterns contributed by Paul McCartney. Actually, "Tomorrow never knows", though entirely "written" by John Lennon was really a great example of a group and team effort, with George Harrison suggesting the the tambura drone and Paul suggesting the drums, Ken Townshend inventing ADT and Geoff Emerick close miking the drums {which they weren't allowed to do} and stuffing a jumper in the bass drum and routing Lennon's voice through the Leslie speaker of the Hammond organ for that otherworldly sound. They used loads of looped sound effects and part of the solo was added later after "Taxman" was recorded as it's the solo cut up and spun in backwards. On the "Anthology" album, you hear the initial take of "Tomorrow never knows" and it's so lame ! Years before I heard it, I read that it was a "sensational, apocalyptic version......". Not to my ears. The released version is the kingpin and still pretty timeless. Ringo keeps up the same pattern all the way through. I think Ian Paice had this song in mind on Purple's "The Mule" from 'Fireball'.More world shattering! My 2 favorite Beatles beats.
That's 3 of my favortie beats NOT played by the drummer of the band.
I'm just watching a programme that I recorded in June about the making of "Quadrophenia" that I'd totally forgotten that I had as I'm just going through my backlog and I thought I'd just throw in two interesting comments I heard. Pete Townshend said "the extraordinary thing about Keith was that whatever you felt about him as a drummer ~ and I didn't think very much of him as drummer, kind of sacrilege isn't it, but I didn't ~ he listened". And Roger Daltrey said "people would call him a sloppy drummer and he never was a sloppy drummer. He had an extraordinary metronome. He made the music dramatic".Keith Moon way better, and Keith Moon was better
I feel that creativity in music is entirely subjective, just like our taste for foods. What tastes luscious to one person may taste very bad to the next person.We've all heard drummers comment that Ringo was a simple drummer - or the comment - I can play any of those parts. In my younger days, I was much more influenced by Keith Moon and Mitch Mitchell, etc -so I too thought Ringo's drumming was comparitively simple.
Perhaps - but how many of us could have created those parts to start with???
I have played dozens and dozens of Beatle songs in various cover bands - including holding down the drum chair in a Beatle tribute band (where I literally had to learn and reproduce every note on various songs that spanned the entire Beatle catalog - and play on a 4 piece marine pearl kit).
I must admit, that as I really learned many of Ringo's parts I gained a much higher level of respect for his creative approach. Can I play the parts? Sure. Could I have created some of those unique parts? No!!