I saw Lewis Nash once with Vincent Herring. I spent most of the set watching Nash!
Great musicians who should have been famous except....
I'm throwing this out there as an example. My 16 yr old aspiring drummer son asked me if I had anything in the vinyl collection tonight... apparently the U Tube video tutorials finally got boring. He is really good and practices non stop but it was refreshing when he asked about ideas for sound. In a moment of 30 years past clarity I put on the B side of Van Halen 1984… Is Alex Van Halen the most under rated rock drummer of all time? And is there a better lead in to ANY rock vinyl side than that???
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The "Hot For Teacher" intro has some controversy surrounding it. It's AVH on electronic drums and possibly the exhaust sound of one of EVH's Italian sports car at the very beginning. The drum part is lifted/inspired by a piece by Billy Cobham. I have always admired how the band Van Halen did their writing credits. If you want to hear a tremendous drum opening to an album side, then listen to Tony William's Lifetime "Emergency" side one. |
Tony Williams, Billy Cobham, Vinnie Colaiuta, Lennie White, Chester Thompson - “under rated”. I think not - all of them are some of the most respected and well revered players in the business - dead or alive ( tony) - they have never been under appreciated. Perhaps Roy Haynes might make that list - or Jeff Hamilton - possibly Brian Blade and Bill Stewart - but these are all drum gods - along with many others - hardly under appreciated - they may not have the wealth and exposure of the arena rock power house drummers - but they are appreciated highly by their contemporaries and musician fans |
OP asked for more music? Chris Botti - Live in Boston. One of the best bluray live recordings. Indian summer. Supertramp - Crime of the Century. Intro School and so on..Impressing drumworks. You here it best on vinyl. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath. Best intro ever from a new group? Duncan Browne - Streets of fire (Simon Phillips). Hear it on U tube. Phil Colllins band doing First of Frith live in Rome on U tube. That is hard hitting.. |
The opinion that John Bonham "was great" is one not universally held. Buddy Rich dismissed him, and reportedly did a great (mocking) imitation of him. Buddy also referred to Ginger Baker as a "clown". Tough audience! His comment on Ringo Starr was that he was "adequate". Coming from Buddy, that’s almost a compliment! Well-known studio drummer Jim Keltner (Ry Cooder, John Lennon and George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Bill Frisell, hundreds of others) has said he wishes he played more like one of my favorites, Roger Hawkins of The Swampers (Fame Studios house band, heard on hundreds of records including all the Jerry Wexler-produced Atlantic albums made in that Muscle Shoals, Alabama recording studio). |
One man’s unfounded snipe is another’s expression of musical taste (or the lack thereof). Eric Clapton in The Last Waltz (I paraphrase, but very close to verbatim iirc): "Music had been headed in the wrong direction for a long time. When I heard Music From Big Pink (played to him by George Harrison), I thought ’Well, someone has finally got it right’." As a result of hearing The Band, Clapton disbanded Cream, the biggest band in the world. He no longer wished to play music of the sort in which each player looked outward from their individual instruments, but rather music, like that of The Band, wherein each player (and singer) looked in towards the center (the song), playing so as to benefit the "greater good". That’s advanced musicianship, rarely found in Rock (or English fake Blues) bands. When The Hawks (later known as The Band) met and jammed with Sonny Boy Williamson in 1965 (and began making plans for a U.S. tour together), he told them the bands he had been provided with by the promoter of the British tour he had just returned home from "Wanted to play Blues SO bad. And that’s just how they played it." ;-) One of those bands was The Yardbirds, whose guitarist at that time was.....Eric Clapton. |
Bomd, " As a drummer, and fan of free improv/ avant- jazz, I’m always searching out well recorded, esoteric drummers" Check out: Dave Mitchell & James Payment in "Do Make Say Think's" album: "Winter hymn, country hymn, secret hymn" A couple other great esoteric drummer are Joe Culver & Ed Farnsworth from the band "Bardo Pond" |
Bdp24’ “John Bonham’s famous kick drum triples (ask your son what that means) are played purely to show he can play them---they are musically unrelated to what any other musician is playing.“ Really? Not what I’m hearing. At all. All the players mentioned are great. No need to single out Bonham for a unfounded snipe. He was great, and inspired many. |
To the OP’s question of best drum lead in, I say all you 70’s rock fans should be ashamed of yourselves. It’s clearly Carl Palmer’s Tank. part of the beauty is the original studio version is very different from the Works version with orchestra. Palmer as face forward a style as could be with ELP strongly stated that drum playing should be about the music, not the drummer. Totally changed his style with Asia. Seen him several times show how he can makes umpteen different sounds come out of one cymbal, or drum. |
As a drummer, and fan of free improv/ avant- jazz, I’m always searching out well recorded, esoteric drummers. If willing to listen with an open mind I highly recommend going down Hamid Drake, Tyshawn Sorey, and Han Bennink YouTube rabbit holes. Also check out recordings by Dave King (The Bad Plus, Happy Apple, Trucking Company). King has a wonderfully hilarious drum parody series on YouTube called Rational Funk. A fantastic escape for drummers. ... and any of Paul Motian’s recordings on ECM are masterpieces. |
I never liked anything from the Moody Blues, but as with most working Rock and Roll musicians coming up through the 70s who saw a Little Feat show you'd think, man, that's an astonishing friggin' drummer. Feat were worshipped by Zep and many others, were considered the hottest live American band in their day, and Richie was a big part of their utterly "funky space age" sound. |
Naw Wolf, Richie Hayward was a musician, not a mere technician, which is on what basis so many judge a drummer’s abilities. Like I said, as if drumming is an athletic activity, not an artistic one. By the way, the last time Levon Helm performed in L.A. (at The House Of Blues), Richie got up on stage with Levon and his band (and his daughter Amy, who was singing) and played drums on one song. The love, respect, and admiration of each for the other was obvious. When Levon's autobiography was released, he did a book-signing at Book Soup on Sunset (directly across the street from Tower Records). As I waited in line to have my copy signed, I sensed a commotion behind me. Turning around, I saw Ringo Starr walking up along the line, "taking cuts" to get to the desk where sat Levon. Nobody objected, of course ;-) . |
Introduce your son to Omar Hakim -played with Weather Report, David Bowie, Sting, Madonna, Dire Straits, Journey, Kate Bush, George Benson, Miles Davis, Daft Punk, Mariah Carey Or Aaron Comess from Spin Doctors. Amazing talent. |
IMO the greatest unknown (by the vast majority of even hardcore music lovers, including all y'all ;-) is guitarist Danny Gatton. He's well known amongst good musicians, such as Vince Gill, who nicknamed Danny The Humbler. If you like Bill Frisell (as you "should"), you will love Danny Gatton. When David Sanborn had NRBQ on his TV show, he introduced them as "The best Rock 'n' Roll band in the world". How many here have heard them? One of the coupla best live bands I've ever seen & heard, and that list included The Who with Keith Moon, whom I saw twice. |
All great drummers in the suggestions. My 2 cents are as follows. Brian Downey ( Thin Lizzy) Bill Buford (Yes) +1 Chester Thompson (also played with Early Frank Zappa) Glenn Kotche (Wilco) Tre Cool (Green day) for rock. Don’t get me started on Jazz and blues. Almost and not sure how but who could forget Keith Moon. ( Who ) if my son was a drummer with a rock inclination these drummers have the discipline to add punctuation to music. Which is a drummers role in music. |
Bobby Caldwell. If he wants to listen to a good hard rock drummer get him the self-titled Captain Beyond album. Super playing on every song. Jack DeJohnette, very musical jazz drummer. Many great ones already mentioned here, in many genres. In listening to my Beatles albums I feel Ringo is underrated as a drummer. Billy Cobham also composed much of the music on his solo lps. I love it when I read credits to what I am listening and see that the drummers wrote the song!! |
Check out Gene Krupa in the movie Ball of Fire. He plays a solo on a matchbox with two matchsticks. It was after the director called cut-but the camera man had kept filming. Unbelievable dynamics on an impromptu solo during a movie break. Rest of the movie is blah. So many talented drummers to choose from. |
Take a look at the intro to "Cissy Strut," by the Meters.
Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste
is the drummer and is strong, powerful and musical as hell. A fine example of the drummer "playing the song," on drums. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FBnQvd_xzs - Bob |
Gadd is also on some of the Steely Dan albums. Brian Blade is real good, he works with Buddy Miller too. Porcaro was fantastic, famous for the part he came up with for Boz Scaggs' "Lido Shuffle". Too bad he had to sully his good reputation by being in Toto ;-) . One of my long-time favorites is Harry Stinson, currently drummer in Marty Stuart's fantastic band The Fabulous Superlatives (and the Nashville studios). |
