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Let There Be Drums - The 10 Best Drummers As Picked By MeAug 04 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Who are the greatest rock drummers ever? Who can say for sure? These are my favorites.
Okay, I am going to say one thing right up front. You will not agree with this list. That is a given. You will be mad that I left out Neil Peart, that I included Ringo Starr, that you have never heard of Les James Lester, or some other horrible sin of making a rock drummer list. My response: Not everybody has the same opinion, and what I look for in evaluating a person’s talent and ability may not be what you look for. I will explain every person on this list. In addition, for fun, where available, I’ve included a short quote from the artist on his style, or what it’s like to be a drummer. Lastly, I provide a brief list of a few songs that showcase each drummer’s abilities. Now, with that out of the way, let’s look at the list: 1. Keith Moon of the Who The clown prince of rock music. Legend has it he never truly learned how to play drums. Listening to him, it is easy to believe. He is constantly all over the kit, breaking every "rule" of playing drums. However, he also seems to have a sixth sense about what to play. In the Who, John Entwistle (bass) actually carried the tune, while Pete Townshend (guitar) kept the beat. Moon used to tie them together and fill in the gaps, and he did so masterfully. Quote: “The most important part of playing drums is knowing when not to play.” Best songs: Bargain, Who Are You, My Generation, Dogs, Part 2, and The Real Me. 2. Les James Lester of Webb Wilder; Los Straightjackets Quite a surprising entry this high up on the list. If you’ve never heard his work, you owe it to yourself to track down a few albums. He’s from Nashville, Tennessee and has been working with Webb Wilder since the 1985 album It Came From Nashville. He’s won a Nammie (Nashville area music awards) for three consecutive albums, Webb Wilder’s Doo Dad, Town and Country and Los Straightjackets' The Utterly Fantastic And Totally Unbelievable Sound Of Los Straightjackets. His style is definitely heavily surf influenced (check out Rocket to Nowhere by Webb Wilder or any Los Straightjackets.) Best songs: King Of The Hill (WW), Hoodoo Witch (WW), Talk Talk (WW), Fury (LS), and Carhop (LS). 3. Ringo Starr of The Beatles Another surprising entry. Not because he does not belong on this list somewhere, but because he is so high on the list. There are a few reasons I placed Ringo so high on this list. First, he was highly original and innovative as a drummer. Sure, he mainly just kept a beat, but he threw in the most ingenious fills any drummer has ever played. The other main reason he is here is because he is one of the few drummers who had any real personality behind the kit. Drummers are often overlooked or ignored, but with his personality and charisma, it is hard to ignore Ringo. The third reason is simple… He kept the most rock-solid beat of anybody in rock ‘n’ roll. Once Ringo locks into the beat of a song, he is unshakable. He is a human metronome. Best songs: Ticket To Ride, Rain, Come Together, and I Feel Fine 4. Bun E Carlos of Cheap Trick One of rock ‘n’ rolls’ most overlooked drummers. His style is incredible, his abilities are solid. The genius of Bun E is that his style sounds so simple, until you try to play one of his parts yourself. He seems to play in the spaces that are not in the “comfort zone” of most drummers, and he always has a little twist up his sleeve to make his part unique. Quote: “the reason the drummer always seems to have a bad attitude is because we sit in the back and have to watch everybody else on stage. We see their mistakes, and it ticks us off.” Best songs: Ain’t That a Shame, Invaders Of The Heart, You’re All Talk, ELO Kiddies, and Who D’King 5. Jim Keltner (session player) His resume reads like a who’s who of rock ‘n roll. He has played with Eric Clapton, John Hiatt, Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson, Nick Lowe, George Harrison, Elton John, Tom Petty, Richard Thompson, and just about anybody else you can name. His style is heavy on beat, and very laid back. Best songs: Before You Accuse Me (Eric Clapton), You Got The Look I Like (Nick Lowe), Memphis In The Meantime (John Hiatt), Thing Called Love (John Hiatt), Mother Knows Best (Richard Thompson), and Solar Sex Panel (Little Village). 6. Hal Blaine (session player) The king of sixties session musicians. He played with everyone from Phil Spector to the Beach Boys to The Monkees. His work can be sedate, or grand, loud and bombastic or soft and gentle. He can play any style or part that is asked of him to play. What more needs to be said? Best Songs: Wouldn’t It Be Nice (Beach Boys), Suspicious Minds (Elvis Presley), and You and I (The Monkees). 7. Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac Loud bass drum and unbelievable hi-hat work pretty much sums up what is great about Mick Fleetwood. His bass drum is always tuned low and played loud. He keeps a steady backbeat, never falters, and always moves the song along. His hi-hat work is intricate and always delightful. Oh, and he’s really scary-looking too, looking like some kind of huge fanatical elf with an attitude. Best songs: Tusk, The Chain, Landslide, Not That Funny and My Little Demon. 8. Kenny Aronoff (formerly with John Mellencamp & John Fogerty) If you want a strong backbeat in your song, this is the man to call. He probably plays the loudest, snappiest snare in the business. He can fire through a song without wavering from the beat. He’s as rock solid as they come. Every song he plays is filled with energy, if not from the song itself, then from diffusion of the incredible energy he broadcasts through his drumming. Best songs: Love and Happiness (Mellencamp), Paper In Fire (Mellencamp), Play Guitar (Mellencamp), Walking In A Hurricane (Fogerty) and the entire Premonition CD (Fogerty). 9. Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello & The Attractions Elvis Costello is a bit of a chameleon. He throws so many styles and genres into every one of his songs that it would take a master to figure out what to play. Pete Thomas fits that role perfectly. From the trippy lopsided beat of Pump It Up to the fast and furious intro to Lipstick Vogue, he played whatever the song needed, and did it with style. And just to prove how versatile he really is he has also been a session player on a few Los Lobos and Richard Thompson albums. Quote: “Don’t ask me, I’m just the drummer.” Best songs: Lipstick Vogue, You’ll Never Be A Man, Radio Radio and Tokyo Storm Warning. 10. Stewart Copeland of The Police This may be the real sleeper on this list. Copeland is generally regarded as a great drummer, but not one of the great drummers. However, I feel he’s highly underrated. His style is all about nuance and subtlety, which causes most people look past him to the next overpowering basher. He gently washes the cymbals instead of attacking them like most others. He plays intricate patterns on his toms, rather than thundering through fills. His parts are generally light, but complex and full of amazing moments. Best songs: Syncronicity, Man In A Suitcase, One World (Not Three), and Syncronicity II.  |
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