I have seen Yes with both drummers, and I have always felt that Alan White was a huge mismatch for the band. Bruford was very good for them, a great technician but I always felt he was a bit to restrained and minimalist, but that was his thing and he was still very good.
Enter Alan White. I have no idea if he was just a personal friend of someone in the band, or it was because he played with John Lennon, and that was a good calling card, but he was , in my opinion completely wrong for them style wise.
Starting a few years back, myself and my concert-going buddy saw him with Yes twice at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, and it was truly sad. The poor man was obviously ill, and could only play a couple of songs before taking a break and being replaced by another drummer whose kit was also set up on the stage.
The really sad part was that it is a round revolving stage at this venue, and when he would take his breaks, he would be slumped over on a stool spinning around for everyone to see! He seemed to be a very nice guy, but he just didn't have the chops to match his bandmates, even when he was well. I'm glad that he's not suffering anymore.
"The poor man was obviously ill, and could only play a couple of songs before taking a break and being replaced by another drummer whose kit was also set up on the stage.
The really sad part was that it is a round revolving stage at this venue, and when he would take his breaks, he would be slumped over on a stool spinning around for everyone to see! He seemed to be a very nice guy, but he just didn’t have the chops to match his bandmates, even when he was well. I’m glad that he’s not suffering anymore. "
Oh dear....
That’s certainly not R&R, roxy54.
I’m convinced R&R stars should just be remembered for their greatness, not being a nostalgia act on some cruise ship, 30+ years later.
R&R guys aren’t like Sinatra or Tony Bennett in their golden years.
Maybe Jagger and his mates, maybe a few others get a pass-otherwise, lets just celebrate their greatness by playing their albums on great hi fi setups.
If my memory serves me; he played on George Harrison’s ‘All Things Must Pass’ and I loved what he did on that record but didn’t care for the other things I heard him play on. Given that I liked him on Harrison’s record, my thought is that he supported bands/musicians in a very specific way and it was either inspiring or it wasn’t. Rock stardom is an odd beast in and of itself.
@goofyfoot: The drummer you hear on All Things Must Pass is Jim Gordon. He is also the drummer on the Derek & The Dominos albums (as well as the writer and player of the piano coda on "Layla"), Dave Mason’s Alone Together (along with Jim Keltner), some of the Delaney & Bonnie albums, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, Early Joe Cocker albums, late period Traffic, Zappa’s Grand Wazoo, Steely Dan’s Pretzel Logic, Art Garfunkel’s Angle Claire, and hundreds of other recordings.
Gordon turned pro at age 17, hired by The Everly Brothers to be in their road band (they also hired Warren Zevon to play piano and lead the band). He is as fine a drummer as I have ever heard (better imo than even Keltner), one of the all-time greats. He unfortunately liked drugs a little too much, and they along with his mental problems (he heard voices) led him to stab his mother to death (the voices told him to). He has been in prison since 1984. Genius is often accompanied by mental and/or emotional instability. When off his meds Brian Wilson also hears voices, but they don't instruct him to murder Mike Love. ;-(
@bdp24All-right, I'm going senile but I was still correct, Alan White is on 'All Things Must Pass' along with Jim Gordon, Ginger Baker and Ringo Starr. I believe Alan White played on Apple Jam somewhere but I can't remember where exactly. Check out the personnel on Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Things_Must_Pass
@goofyfoot: If you go down to the "Contributing Musicians" paragraph in the Wikipedia post, you will see the names Bobby Whitlock (organ and vocals), Carl Radle (bass), Jim Gordon (drums), Bobby Keys and Jim Price (horns), and Dave Mason (guitar, mostly acoustic) listed. Alan White and Mike Gibbins (Badfinger’s drummer) are credited with playing only percussion (tambourine, etc.), not drumset.
In interviews (and in his YouTube videos), Whitlock talks about the recording of the All Thinks Must Pass and Derek & The Dominos albums, opining that Jim Gordon is the best Rock ’n’ Roll drummer of them all. Bobby explains that while he and Keith Moon became close friends during his time in England, he didn’t care for Keith’s drumming style (or that of Ginger Baker and most other UK drummers, Ringo Starr one notable exception). Bobby prefers the "Southern" feel in drumming, heard in the playing of Gordon (though he was born and raised in Southern California), Roger Hawkins (of The Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals house band The Swampers), Levon Helm (The Band), David Kemper (T Bone Burnett), Chuck Blackwell and Jimmy Karstein of the Tulsa, Oklahoma musical community (Leon Russell, J.J. Cale, etc.), and other "feel" players.
One guy who liked Alan White’s drumming was John Lennon. But then he liked Yoko’s "songwriting" and "singing" too.
One UK drummer rarely mentioned is the fantastic studio musician Bobby Graham, who can be heard on The Kinks’ early hits: "You Really Got Me", "All Day And All Of The Night", and "Tired Of Waiting For You". Graham was a very "muscular" drummer, but also possessed relatively-advanced technique. Listen to his double stroke rolls in his fills in "Tired".
Long-time Kinks drummer Mick Avory, like Ringo, did not know the rudiments necessary to play a double stroke roll, but like Ringo, had a charming and musical style which perfectly suited the Kinks’ music. I don’t hear much personality or unique style in the drumming of Alan White, but conceded others may.
I’ve long wondered if Ringo was hurt by none of the other Beatles hiring him to play on their solo albums.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
