My brother says Neil Peart is the greatest rock drummer ever (2 Viewers)

[drummer]

BTW, I think Phil Rudd is a criminally underrated rock drummer. I had more fun slamming AC/DC songs then most rock songs. I can play AC/DC music all night. It's fun music to play, you party and have a good time, and then pick up a skank after packing up your 4 to 5 piece kit in a hurry. That's rock and roll.

 

[drummer]

Here is a guy who expressed the power, energy, emotion, and maybe the most entertaining drummer that Keith Moon would had bowed down to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYiZwa0jeP0&feature=share

 

[dhockster]

I would think Ginger Baker, Ringo Starr, John Bonham, Keith Moon and Peart would make a great top 5 to choose from.

Ringo? Really?

Ringo really was a excellent drummer

Love the new avatar

 

[NCCommish]

Not really a Rush geek but I have to argue with the idea that if Peart is the best drummer everyone else in the band is the best thing. Not even sure how that makes sense in any way. Now I like Rush and I think the haters are just that but I think a member of a band can be in the conversation for best at what he does without this idea that every one else is as well.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Even though I do think Rush is the best band ever, I agree that a lot of their fans are annoying, like drummer described. But I do think that part of it is that people who do not like the band often really hate the band, so they go over the top with the criticism, which then makes the fanboys go over the top with the praise. Of course, you can argue about the chicken or the egg and all that, but I think that has a lot to do with it. Also, critics used to rip the living crap out of them, and even though I am someone who doesn't give two ####s what critics think, the same cannot be said for a lot of people, and the average fan is gonna get defensive when seeing their favorite attacked.

As for Alex Lifeson, to me, he is the heart and soul of Rush's music. If he were as technically proficient as Lee and Peart, the band wouldn't be the same or as good. It would be a total wankfest way too often. But Lifeson doesn't really have the chops to do that, in comparison to guys like EVH, Vai, etc., so his playing is usually of the more creative, clever and emotional variety. It's why his solos are almost always so damn great, too. Don't get me wrong, he is still a helluva player from a technical standpoint; just not as technically proficient as his bandmates or certain other guitarists (the guys I mentioned earlier). Plus, when it comes to writing, Lifeson tends to play solos on the spot from the heart instead of working on them over and over and getting them just right. He just plays them from the heart, and that first take is often what makes the records.

 

[Loan Sharks]

I would think Ginger Baker, Ringo Starr, John Bonham, Keith Moon and Peart would make a great top 5 to choose from.

Ringo? Really?

Ringo really was a excellent drummer

Love the new avatar

Thanks, if you can't use a gun toting head shotting 12 year old as your avatar whats the point of living?

 

[Man of Zen]

Now that this has been re-booted:

To consider Peart as the "best" rock drummer, you then would have to call Lifeson the "best" rock guitarist, and Lee as the "best" rock bassist.

There does not appear to be any logic whatsoever to this statement.

 

[drummer]

Even though I do think Rush is the best band ever, I agree that a lot of their fans are annoying, like drummer described. But I do think that part of it is that people who do not like the band often really hate the band, so they go over the top with the criticism, which then makes the fanboys go over the top with the praise. Of course, you can argue about the chicken or the egg and all that, but I think that has a lot to do with it. Also, critics used to rip the living crap out of them, and even though I am someone who doesn't give two ####s what critics think, the same cannot be said for a lot of people, and the average fan is gonna get defensive when seeing their favorite attacked.

As for Alex Lifeson, to me, he is the heart and soul of Rush's music. If he were as technically proficient as Lee and Peart, the band wouldn't be the same or as good. It would be a total wankfest way too often. But Lifeson doesn't really have the chops to do that, in comparison to guys like EVH, Vai, etc., so his playing is usually of the more creative, clever and emotional variety. It's why his solos are almost always so damn great, too. Don't get me wrong, he is still a helluva player from a technical standpoint; just not as technically proficient as his bandmates or certain other guitarists (the guys I mentioned earlier). Plus, when it comes to writing, Lifeson tends to play solos on the spot from the heart instead of working on them over and over and getting them just right. He just plays them from the heart, and that first take is often what makes the records.

I think Lifeson is very technically proficient. But what you are saying points to the core of my point: that compared to other guitarists, he will fall short due what people expect from a guitar player, what they think about technique, and how it is applied. The same holds true to Peart and Lee. I have posted all kinds of examples of "technical" to "non-technical" drummers, most of which have great technique, it's just about the application of it. When it comes to bass players, I could post all kinds of them that are more proficient and influential than Lee.

Peart was talking about technique in an interview, where he said he liked drummers who had great technique, and how important it is for drummers to have it. But not because they could play very difficult parts. It was because they could play simple music, but add more to it due to their technical proficiency by making the music flow and sound effortless. The drummer who he thought does that well? Manu Katche. You pair Katche with Tony Levin and what ya got? Some really great stuff is what ya got.

It goes back to what I have said about calling the whole band "the best". What they all do individually is really not as difficult as it sounds. Technically they are very proficient at what they do, but there are a lot of musicians out there that are just as proficient, but more influential to the evolution of their instruments and music. So to call Peart the best is sort of placating the others, because Peart isn't "technically" the best at his instrument. He does have a great way of putting it all together. He still is a wildly popular drummer in the drum and percussion world. But other drummers have done things that he has checked out and borrowed from. He isn't the first guy to play roundhouse fills over double kick drums behind a guitar, bass, and keys, with all kinds of percussion behind his kit. Hell, even Alex Acuna had a double kick drumset while touring with Weather Report. He could hop to the congas and play those too.

I'll just go out and say that Phil Rudd could be the greatest rock drummer ever. Why? Because Malcom and Angus Young wrote songs with he in mind.

ETA: one guy who is proving very influential in today's rock music: Bill Ward of Black Sabbath. I don't think Stoner Rock would exist without him.

 

[Evilgrin 72]

The BEST rock drummer, imo, is Danny Carey from Tool.

We're trying to be serious here.

He is serious. Carey is unreal. Half of Tool's songs have more time signature changes in a single song than exist on most other bands' entire albums. In some of their songs the isolated drum tracks sound like drum solos when heard stripped out. Yet, when you hear the song in full, the drumming makes perfect sense and never feels flashy for the sake of being flashy, like a Vinnie Vincent guitar solo. Carey is a virtuoso.

I don't argue "best" because that's obviously so subjective, but he's my personal favorite.

Chris Adler from Lamb of God and John Boecklin of Devildriver are terrific drummers in the metal genre as well that I haven't seen mentioned.

 

[drummer]

The BEST rock drummer, imo, is Danny Carey from Tool.

We're trying to be serious here.

He is serious. Carey is unreal. Half of Tool's songs have more time signature changes in a single song than exist on most other bands' entire albums. In some of their songs the isolated drum tracks sound like drum solos when heard stripped out. Yet, when you hear the song in full, the drumming makes perfect sense and never feels flashy for the sake of being flashy, like a Vinnie Vincent guitar solo. Carey is a virtuoso.

I don't argue "best" because that's obviously so subjective, but he's my personal favorite.

Chris Adler from Lamb of God and John Boecklin of Devildriver are terrific drummers in the metal genre as well that I haven't seen mentioned.

Carey's really great at composing drum parts, and plays a lot within the music but never sounds like he is in the way of it. Big fan of Carey.

Oh no! Now instead of Rush fan, we're gonna have Tool fan take over this thread! They're kinda like the new Rush fan.

BTW, I have posted this guy before, but he is worth checking out again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXpFrexDJ4A

A lot of people thought Dream Theater should have him as their drummer. I found that whole DT drummer search - that wound up with they getting Mangini - was a total kick in the balls to Portnoy. Here they are auditioning Virgil Donati, Thomas Lang as well as Mangini and others, and put it on a DVD and YouTube. It was like "Hey Portnoy! Look who we are looking at to replace you!".

I hate Dream Theater.

 

[drummer]

Mini flood of Simon Phillips. I actually had a drum kit that was the size of his, with two bass drums, 4 rack toms, 3 floor toms 2 snares, 2 ride cymbals, 2 hats, basically the whole smack sans the gong drum and Octobans. He was the guy I was trying to clone myself for a while when I was young, with open handed playing and such. My favorite "Big Drumkit" drummer.

With Michael Schenker:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GexCg_wB5Y

With Judas Priest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5YeEmAvOM0

With Jeff Beck:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij7yR0LubxY

With Pete Townsend

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj-OjwQRPfY

With Townsend live, with awesome drumming wearing something that says "49ers" with the number 16 on it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeXf90OGTHE

With Mike Rutherford:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZTal-s7fKc&list=PL22208B1CD4028F7E

With Hiromi and Anthony Jackson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXhhyD1hs_4

Oh, and with The Who:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMR8SNsDtls

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

we're gonna have Tool fan take over this thread! They're kinda like the new Rush fan.

 

[Ghost Rider]

BTW, I have posted this guy before, but he is worth checking out again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXpFrexDJ4A

A lot of people thought Dream Theater should have him as their drummer. I found that whole DT drummer search - that wound up with they getting Mangini - was a total kick in the balls to Portnoy. Here they are auditioning Virgil Donati, Thomas Lang as well as Mangini and others, and put it on a DVD and YouTube. It was like "Hey Portnoy! Look who we are looking at to replace you!".

I hate Dream Theater.

Okay, but that wasn't their idea; Roadrunner insisted on them doing it. Mangini was always gonna be the guy, but RR wanted to make money and get publicity for the band. You can say they didn't have to go along with it, but promotion for a band that had just lost a longtime member is never a bad thing. Besides, Portnoy deserved that kick in the balls (which I don't think it really was) for the way he acted after he left the band (constantly sniping at them in interviews and on social media, acting like they turned their backs on him, when he was the one who left the band when he didn't get his way).

 

[timschochet]

I've always loved The Band. Wasn't Levon Helm considered a great drummer?

 

[drummer]

BTW, I have posted this guy before, but he is worth checking out again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXpFrexDJ4A

A lot of people thought Dream Theater should have him as their drummer. I found that whole DT drummer search - that wound up with they getting Mangini - was a total kick in the balls to Portnoy. Here they are auditioning Virgil Donati, Thomas Lang as well as Mangini and others, and put it on a DVD and YouTube. It was like "Hey Portnoy! Look who we are looking at to replace you!".

I hate Dream Theater.

Okay, but that wasn't their idea; Roadrunner insisted on them doing it. Mangini was always gonna be the guy, but RR wanted to make money and get publicity for the band. You can say they didn't have to go along with it, but promotion for a band that had just lost a longtime member is never a bad thing. Besides, Portnoy deserved that kick in the balls (which I don't think it really was) for the way he acted after he left the band (constantly sniping at them in interviews and on social media, acting like they turned their backs on him, when he was the one who left the band when he didn't get his way).

Oh I know Mangini was gonna be their guy. He fits them with his cheesy histrionics. Jarzombek is probably too redneck for them.

I don't hate DT for the whole Portnoy thing. I just hate DT because it's a pseudo-metal version of Mannheim-Steamroller. I found the whole audition thing cheeseball. Lang and Donati got their own things going on. The others I really didn't watch, because I can only sit through DT for so long. A buddy of mine asked me to go check out a DT movie at the theater with he and his wife, paying for everything including beers after. I told him thanks, but as much as I enjoy their company, sitting through that is like asking me to help them move their house, lol.

 

[Ghost Rider]

I get why some people hate Dream Theater, given how busy and crazy their music often is. Hell, if I had never heard them until recently, I may not like them, if hearing them for the first time now, but I've been a fan since I was 19, so they are a longtime favorite. I really don't like any of that other type of "super busy" prog metal. I usually like my prog to be rock, not metal.

 

[Grace Under Pressure]

Even though I do think Rush is the best band ever, I agree that a lot of their fans are annoying, like drummer described. But I do think that part of it is that people who do not like the band often really hate the band, so they go over the top with the criticism, which then makes the fanboys go over the top with the praise. Of course, you can argue about the chicken or the egg and all that, but I think that has a lot to do with it. Also, critics used to rip the living crap out of them, and even though I am someone who doesn't give two ####s what critics think, the same cannot be said for a lot of people, and the average fan is gonna get defensive when seeing their favorite attacked.

As for Alex Lifeson, to me, he is the heart and soul of Rush's music. If he were as technically proficient as Lee and Peart, the band wouldn't be the same or as good. It would be a total wankfest way too often. But Lifeson doesn't really have the chops to do that, in comparison to guys like EVH, Vai, etc., so his playing is usually of the more creative, clever and emotional variety. It's why his solos are almost always so damn great, too. Don't get me wrong, he is still a helluva player from a technical standpoint; just not as technically proficient as his bandmates or certain other guitarists (the guys I mentioned earlier). Plus, when it comes to writing, Lifeson tends to play solos on the spot from the heart instead of working on them over and over and getting them just right. He just plays them from the heart, and that first take is often what makes the records.

At the risk of turning this thread into Rush-fest, I agree with GR's take on Alex Lifeson. While Geddy and Neil are independently considered more proficient, Alex really ties everything together for the band. The song YYZ is a great example. During a great part, Geddy and Neil go back and forth, and Alex serves as the bridge between the two of them battling back and forth, which then leads into a great trademark Alex solo. Alex tends to serve as the glue, and can claim some amazing solos to his credit as GR points out. Alex is also highly entertaining live, I recommend sitting on his side of the stage when venturing out to see a Rush concert.

 

[drummer]

So if we had a pole here, just using Rush as a baseline:

Best Rock Drummer : Neil Peart

Best Rock Bassist : Geddy Lee

Best Rock Guitarist : Keith Richards (hi tim!)

Yeah...

ETA: tim's misspelling of Neal Peart is my fault.

 

[drummer]

Added value to this thread once it got into the nuts and bolts of music:

Otiswannabe stopped posting in it



*cue Otisgadget posting about how he got his fifth vintage MXR Distortion + off of eBay, asking the tech at his local guitar shop who has several Otisprojects piled up on the shelf - one project trying to wire an old Fender Bronco with a pickup of pulled teeth with fillings - to create an app on whatever smartphone he has this month that can identify and dial in the settings on the MXR's, with the tech looking at TWO digital modeling guitars on the Otis-shelf that need custom fret work, one with Civil War era nickel, the other stainless steel off of David Chang's first kitchen, sitting next to Elephant Tusks to cut for nutwork, along with Elenore Roosevelt's vintage pearls for inlays of HANDSOME and COACH on each respective digital guitar's fingerboards cut from the exotic woods of endangered forests, all at the sum of two new Mercedes.



"I STILL DON'T SOUND LIKE TOM WHAT'S HIS NAME FROM THE BAND BOSTON!!" - *cue Otis and Henry confronting tech. Props of hot soldering iron and old CRT computer monitor. Plug is Edison into wall power, not 1/4" into amplifier. Keep them both from craft services and production crew*

 

[drummer]

Just to reset this discussion now that Simon Phillips is in the room:

The guy I mentioned earlier who I went to High School with who had a Peart kit before I bought my Phillips kit (we both didn't have the tubular bells, whistles, and gong drums in our respective garages to truly replicate their setups) talked about the Schenker track, "Into the Arena" (which you will find in my mini flood of Phillips). He and I wondered who the drummer was, because even my Peart clone buddy dug it. Once I found out who it was, then I became Phillips clone. Too bad we never setup our huge kits together in the same garage, because it could had been a cool "Clone Wars" drum battle that you can smoke a joint to with no Jar-Jar in the same room.

Add the cacophony of two teenage drummers with more drums in the same area than we could find at our local music store trying to play two kicks times two equaling four while trying to play in seven with garage acoustics that could ping a db meter that Seattle Seahawks fans would buy earplugs for, we could have been faced with the same derision you would find people at Guitar Center trying to buy guitar picks, yelling at the guy behind the counter "I SAID, FENDER MEDIUMS!!" with the accessories counter not far from the drum department during the Xmas shopping season.

At least some people forgive George Lucas for Jar-Jar.

The point is: Peart is known for playing in only one band, and you know who the drummer is. Phillips is not as known because he plays for bands you listen to, but don't know who the drummer is.

Reason why? Neil Peart plays in one band that you have a poster of on your wall, while Phillips makes his living recording almost everything, and then go on tour to support that recording when called to, if the money is better than staying at home recording in the studio.

The mini flood of Phillips shows you several things: he can play Rush style music, he can play Who/Pete Townsend style music, Jeff Beck style music, and he can, even with a big drumkit play a Gadd style with Hiromi and Anthony Jackson that recalls Chick Corea era "The Leprechaun". Plus, he played on one of Peart's pet "Burning For Buddy" projects that I didn't link. All with equal technical proficiency of or better than Peart.

Both my high school buddy and I found out later post garages: we had too many drums than the gigs in our formative years required. Thus, we take a kick, snare, a couple of toms, a few cymbals, to then play cheesy "Summer of '69" at a bar that we had to get snuck into, but happy that we are playing a gig that ultimately might propel us out of the garage. We had to save all those rolls for breakfast because "Tear in my Beer" didn't require them. We just became working musicians, and my mantra in life is: the worst thing about work is when you don't have any.

The most challenging gig I ever had growing up was playing in a pit mini orchestra for a play that had dancers. I literally was picked out of my teenage garage realm by the musical director who had no drummer because, well, they didn't have the money to pay one, lol. I was practicing in the garage and this dude walks up, and asks me if I could do this gig. I said sure. He then told me not to bring all those drums, just a few.

I show up at rehearsal, and there are all kinds of "show folk" around: dancers, directors, actors, crew. At this time, I had very little 'formal' training to prepare as a professional in this environment. Of course, I wasn't getting paid hardly. I just got paid in some new drum heads which I needed for the whole rig, some of the rig I didn't use on this gig. That amounted to well over a couple of hundred dollars. For a six day run of about eight shows, that was about as much as I could make stocking shelves at the local JC Penny.

The first rehearsal, I got all kinds of music thrown at me. Everything scripted, cues, breaks, with a musical director trying to be Frank Zappa on speed. I started with several bars of a 3/4 waltz, than a few 5/4 bars that led back into the 3/4, then a latin section for a few more, then a drum solo for four measures, and then go back into the 5/4 bars coming in on the 'and of' the next bar in the 3/4 waltz that cued the lead dancer (who was the girlfriend of the producer) to her spot, then hold for three measures, then kick back into the latin groove, hit a stop to cue, then a floor tom pattern that I ripped off from Zappa's "Live in New York" into crescendo for two measures with a cymbal choke at the final note. Then play incidental stuff for set change.

Now this is just one song out of the whole show.

The kicker is: I had no charts. Even better: the first show was in three hours. I had to cue dancers without killing them onstage with fluctuations of tempo (at one point later that run in rehearsal, they were yelling at the producers that I was killing them, because the musical director decided to add MORE to my plate, thus me rushing the tempo through all of that), I had to cue them hitting spots while not even being able to see them, I had to sync with lighting cues, not be louder than the actors onstage...

I still treasure that experience today because it taught me a lot about being a musician, and especially being a drummer. Of course, there were a lot of perks to go along with the lack of pay. For one thing: hot dancers. I found out dancers love drummers. Of course with show folk, there are a lot of liberal tendencies within that creative community (with said musical director being gay, but never hit on me, yet hooked me up with a real hot exotic dancer in the show who was older than I by a few years), yet in the end, it was a truly collaborative challenge amongst thirty or so people.

If my HS buddy and I had a beer and read this thread, we would laugh at the notion of who was better between Peart and Phillips. We would laugh at how hard we tried play like drummers that ultimately got us gigs, but never playing their music that got us paid. The importance what they do today and for other aspiring drummers is to inspire us, and they aren't alone in doing that. I played in a drum line in high school, one of the best lines at the time in our region of SoCal. Playing with other drummers and percussionists taught me more than playing by myself with my Phillips rig. It still holds true today. I still collaborate with drummers and percussionists because we speak the same language, which is an ancient one.

The "best" drummer isn't the guy you air drum in your car while emulating a stick flip. A drummer's role is to help communicate not only the artists role and vision, but the entire production while making it unique. It's the most challenging, creative, and sometimes thankless gig, even when we do it as our own project. But that's what makes us drummers. Because we love what we do, and when we do, the music is better for it.

 

[Gr00vus]

Dude, you're turning into the Gordon Gekko of music threads.

 

[drummer]

Dude, you're turning into the Gordon Gekko of music threads.

I was definitely channeling him with the help of a good bottle. I think that's how he does it.

 

[Workhorse]

Drummer, what do you think of John Stanier from Helmet/Battles/Tomahawk?

He's one of my favorites these days.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

I get why some people hate Dream Theater, given how busy and crazy their music often is. Hell, if I had never heard them until recently, I may not like them, if hearing them for the first time now, but I've been a fan since I was 19, so they are a longtime favorite. I really don't like any of that other type of "super busy" prog metal. I usually like my prog to be rock, not metal.

I been listening since 1991, however I know the music is "good" it just feels like it lacks soul.

 

[drummer]

Drummer, what do you think of John Stanier from Helmet/Battles/Tomahawk?

He's one of my favorites these days.

I only heard him with Helmet, and only one record, which is this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5mB9U07DT0

I like his playing on the album, although I think his snare could be fatter in the mix, but that might change the overall sound with the guitars.

 

[Gr00vus]

Dude, you're turning into the Gordon Gekko of music threads.

I was definitely channeling him with the help of a good bottle. I think that's how he does it.

That and a megadose of misogyny. Thankfully you've left that out.

 

[Amused to Death]

I get why some people hate Dream Theater, given how busy and crazy their music often is. Hell, if I had never heard them until recently, I may not like them, if hearing them for the first time now, but I've been a fan since I was 19, so they are a longtime favorite. I really don't like any of that other type of "super busy" prog metal. I usually like my prog to be rock, not metal.

I been listening since 1991, however I know the music is "good" it just feels like it lacks soul.

Not to "one-up" people, but I saw DT with their original singer in NY opening for Marillion. First I had heard them and remember thinking the bass player was good. Didn't listen to them again though till I read good things about "Scenes" on a Rush ng site.

 

[drummer]

I don't know if you Prog fans know of this band back in the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpvbRdSiXUY

Lol at the drummer.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

I don't know if you Prog fans know of this band back in the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpvbRdSiXUY

Lol at the drummer.

I like the robe on the keyboard player. Rick Wakeman can keep his capes.

 

[Ghost Rider]

I get why some people hate Dream Theater, given how busy and crazy their music often is. Hell, if I had never heard them until recently, I may not like them, if hearing them for the first time now, but I've been a fan since I was 19, so they are a longtime favorite. I really don't like any of that other type of "super busy" prog metal. I usually like my prog to be rock, not metal.

I been listening since 1991, however I know the music is "good" it just feels like it lacks soul.

To each their own, but there is plenty of soul and emotion in their music, at least to my ears.

 

[timschochet]

Drummer, your posts are both enjoyable and very informative. Good stuff.

 

[drummer]

Drummer, your posts are both enjoyable and very informative. Good stuff.

Thanks, and you should link this thread to your brother. Not to throw a big "YOU'RE WRONG BRO!" at him, but to check out all the drummers talked about in it.

BTW, I'm a big Levon Helm fan (a lot of drummers are), but I don't think of him as a great drummer although he is. I think of Helm as a great musician.

Most drummers I dig are also great musicians. Even the ones I don't know of really, because they are in the orchestra pit of a Broadway or Vegas style musical (or on tour in different venues) playing through all kinds music and cues where nobody can see them, only the conductor. Those musicians I tip my hat to as well. Special nod to the Blue Man Group too. They put on a terrific show, and got to check out all the cool drum toys they have while helping set up a show of theirs with one of their touring companies.

 

[Apple Jack]

Maybe just tell your brother that his entire construct...the framing of "best" in any artistic arena, doesn't reflect well on him.

ETA: Certainly not when it's Rush he's talking about. Reminds me of the kids behind me in line for Who tickets in 1989 arguing about whether Neil was in the Guinness Book for best drummer ever. As a Rush fan myself, it was disturbing to listen to.

 

[timschochet]

Maybe just tell your brother that his entire construct...the framing of "best" in any artistic arena, doesn't reflect well on him.

I can't criticize him for that because I'm just as guilty- all the time in fact.

 

[drummer]

Maybe just tell your brother that his entire construct...the framing of "best" in any artistic arena, doesn't reflect well on him.

ETA: Certainly not when it's Rush he's talking about. Reminds me of the kids behind me in line for Who tickets in 1989 arguing about whether Neil was in the Guinness Book for best drummer ever. As a Rush fan myself, it was disturbing to listen to.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

this guy is pretty good with some buckets.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I don't know #### about playing drums other than I could never do it, but guys like Peart leave me cold. Yeah, I'm impressed you can do 8,000 different things a second. Eddie Van Halen ruined a generation of guitarists in the same way.

To me, a drummer (like the rest in the band) should serve the song, not break it into pieces. Guys like Moon were great because their chops were built into the song from the get-go and made sense melodicaly (he was essentially the lead guitarist and Pete wrote the songs that way).

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Drummer, your posts are both enjoyable and very informative. Good stuff.

Totally agree. Drummer has been the gold standard in this thread.

I am also in the category of drumming novice, so I don't know all the technical jargon.

What is the opinion of Max Weinberg?

I know he is not elaborate or intricate with his drumming, but he seems to have such a presence in all of Springsteen's songs. You always notice the drums, always hear him. Max seems to hit his notes hard exactly at the last line of Bruce's lyrics, like a punctuation mark.

I think he is really good.

 

[otello]

I don't know #### about playing drums other than I could never do it, but guys like Peart leave me cold. Yeah, I'm impressed you can do 8,000 different things a second. Eddie Van Halen ruined a generation of guitarists in the same way.

To me, a drummer (like the rest in the band) should serve the song, not break it into pieces. Guys like Moon were great because their chops were built into the song from the get-go and made sense melodicaly (he was essentially the lead guitarist and Pete wrote the songs that way).

Does Peart's playing YYZ leave you cold?

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Does Peart's playing YYZ leave you cold?

It leaves me code.

 

[Workhorse]

Another underrated studio drummer is Jim Gordon. Great variety of styles throughout his career. His playing on Apostrophe and Pretzel Logic is fantastic. Too bad he went nuts.

 

[CurlyNight]

I agree! I've seen Rush in concert several times, and that full circle drum set Neal drums on is amazing!

 

[Apple Jack]

Im not a big Max fan, as I don't find he swings much at all. Hes too on the front of the beat for my taste. And obvious. Though thats more Bruce's doing. But he is a force of freaking nature. You think Springsteen comes off as tireless? Try being the drummer for that kind of energy night after night, never mind at that age. It's remarkable the guy hasn't dropped dead onstage.

 

[CurlyNight]

Im not a big Max fan, as I don't find he swings much at all. Hes too on the front of the beat for my taste. And obvious. Though thats more Bruce's doing. But he is a force of freaking nature. You think Springsteen comes off as tireless? Try being the drummer for that kind of energy night after night, never mind at that age. It's remarkable the guy hasn't dropped dead onstage.

No kidding. You have to be in great shape physically too in order to pull it off. I've tried drumming as that's my favorite instrument and while I'm in good shape, it is tiring.

 

[drummer]

Drummer, your posts are both enjoyable and very informative. Good stuff.

Totally agree. Drummer has been the gold standard in this thread.

I am also in the category of drumming novice, so I don't know all the technical jargon.

What is the opinion of Max Weinberg?

I know he is not elaborate or intricate with his drumming, but he seems to have such a presence in all of Springsteen's songs. You always notice the drums, always hear him. Max seems to hit his notes hard exactly at the last line of Bruce's lyrics, like a punctuation mark.

I think he is really good.

Max on Conan O'Brian's show was terrific. I don't listen to much Springsteen, but he really showcased a whole different set of chops with the Max Weinberg Orchestra. Sprinsteen's music may sound simple, but it's very intricate. To interpret his music especially live with all his cues for dynamics and breaks along with interpreting the emotion of the songs is stellar. He played "all the way to the back row" in huge arenas, which actually requires drummers to make each note have it's most value.

What I loved about the late night band is that it had that classic "late night" sound, with swing and chops. His fiery opening lick he did consistently every night. Plus, it was television. Guys who do TV and the old classic radio shows have a lot of music in front of them to play. Band leaders are also in production meetings, have a producer in their ear, hold rehearsals to go over rundowns, etc. Plus, be on camera interacting with the host. He's a consummate pro who saw Ed Shaugnessy on Carson's show, wanted to be on a show like, and then was. While playing another dream gig.

What's also amazing is that he had carpal tunnel syndrome once earlier in his career, and had to work through all that. I think he also studied with Bernard Purdie. I highly suggest looking up and reading his book "The Big Beat". He interviews a lot of classic drummers in that book, from Bernard Purdie, Hal Blaine, Levon Helm, Ringo Starr, fellow Jersey guy Dino Danelli, hell here is a link to read the rest:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Big-Beat-Conversations-Greatest/dp/0634082752

 

[Ghost Rider]

I don't know #### about playing drums other than I could never do it, but guys like Peart leave me cold. Yeah, I'm impressed you can do 8,000 different things a second. Eddie Van Halen ruined a generation of guitarists in the same way.

To me, a drummer (like the rest in the band) should serve the song, not break it into pieces. Guys like Moon were great because their chops were built into the song from the get-go and made sense melodicaly (he was essentially the lead guitarist and Pete wrote the songs that way).

To each his own, but to many, Peart combines technical playing with musicality extremely well. You'll never see as much air drumming as you will at a Rush concert, and a big reason is that his drum parts are just fun as hell.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I don't know #### about playing drums other than I could never do it, but guys like Peart leave me cold. Yeah, I'm impressed you can do 8,000 different things a second. Eddie Van Halen ruined a generation of guitarists in the same way.

To me, a drummer (like the rest in the band) should serve the song, not break it into pieces. Guys like Moon were great because their chops were built into the song from the get-go and made sense melodicaly (he was essentially the lead guitarist and Pete wrote the songs that way).

Does Peart's playing YYZ leave you cold?

Considering they couldn't even spell the end of the alphabet right, I'm gonna go with "yes" on this one.

 

[CurlyNight]

Dude is 61. Over 8 minutes of solo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fADeOpIhHIk

 

[otello]

I don't know #### about playing drums other than I could never do it, but guys like Peart leave me cold. Yeah, I'm impressed you can do 8,000 different things a second. Eddie Van Halen ruined a generation of guitarists in the same way.

To me, a drummer (like the rest in the band) should serve the song, not break it into pieces. Guys like Moon were great because their chops were built into the song from the get-go and made sense melodicaly (he was essentially the lead guitarist and Pete wrote the songs that way).

Does Peart's playing YYZ leave you cold?

Considering they couldn't even spell the end of the alphabet right, I'm gonna go with "yes" on this one.

I assume, then, you don't know what YYZ refers to.

 

[Ghost Rider]

I am pretty sure he was just kidding.