Lucky Drummers....

[JollyJeweller]

In my opinion, there have been some pretty good bands, who have managed to become successful despite having a pretty rubbish drummer.
Maybe he owned the van, so they couldn't sack him.
Here's 3 from different points in time , to highlight my point.

60/70/80's. Pink Floyd : Nick Mason
90/00's : U2 : Larry Mullen Jr.
00's/Current : Coldplay : Whatever his name is...

These guys must wake up every morning and log onto their Swiss bank accounts, and pinch themselves, and think , how the hell did I get so rich, when I'm so crap !
Any more suggestions will be welcomed, and not necessarily just drummers....

[Rob998]

Of course there was always John Lennons opinion of his drummer when asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world?

"He's not even the best drummer in the Beatles!!!!" (best delivered in a sardonic scouse accent.

[shropshire lad]

Of course there was always John Lennons opinion of his drummer when asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world?

"He's not even the best drummer in the Beatles!!!!" (best delivered in a sardonic scouse accent.

That's as may be , but he was pretty brilliant at reading the script in the Thomas The Tank Engine programmes !

[newdreams]

As a drummer, I always thought Ringo although not a virtuoso technician was pretty good, in that he played the right lines for the songs, and had a distincive sound and feel. Now we know that some of the licks were directed by Paul. Still, it would be hard to imagine the Beatles with an average-sounding drummer. Ringo provided character both on the drums and off...

Similarly with Nick Mason, he is not fast, but did play some nice memorable licks.

Lucky drummers? Some just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and have nowhere near the talent of the rest of the band, but can play simply and supportively behind them. I was fired from one well-paying club job for refusing to play like a drum machine. I just couldn't do it.

And some bands had superb drummers who seemingly came out of nowhere, like Ian Paice (Deep Purple), Mitch Mitchell (Jimi), Ginger Baker with Cream, Phil Collins with early Genesis, and so on.

Among my favorite drummers from the 70s (another topic) were
John Marshall (Soft Machine)
Pierre Moerlen (Gong)
Phil Collins (Genesis)
Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson)
Jon Christensen (various ECM jazz groups)
Pip Pyle (Hatfield & The North)
Clive Brooks (Egg)
Robert Wyatt (Soft Machine, Matching Mole)
As you can see, I had a decided bias towards UK prog-rock

[Jim Leach]

I dissagree on Larry Mullen Jr. but otherwise agree that (with all muscians) there seems to be a lot more 'luck' than 'talent' getting recod deals landed...

[Dadimo]

Ringo is what I call a "beat drummer". He plays for the song, and he played on a lot of hits. I like drummers that do not over-play. A drummer that plays in a progressive band is obviously going to need more chops.

[mickb69]

In my opinion, there have been some pretty good bands, who have managed to become successful despite having a pretty rubbish drummer.
Maybe he owned the van, so they couldn't sack him.
Here's 3 from different points in time , to highlight my point.

60/70/80's. Pink Floyd : Nick Mason
90/00's : U2 : Larry Mullen Jr.
00's/Current : Coldplay : Whatever his name is...

These guys must wake up every morning and log onto their Swiss bank accounts, and pinch themselves, and think , how the hell did I get so rich, when I'm so crap !
Any more suggestions will be welcomed, and not necessarily just drummers....

Ridiculous! How can you say that nick mason is a rubbish drummer?
That's no different than saying David Gilmour's a rubbish guitarist.

[flavio81]

In my opinion, there have been some pretty good bands, who have managed to become successful despite having a pretty rubbish drummer.
Maybe he owned the van, so they couldn't sack him.
Here's 3 from different points in time , to highlight my point.

60/70/80's. Pink Floyd : Nick Mason
90/00's : U2 : Larry Mullen Jr.
00's/Current : Coldplay : Whatever his name is...

These guys must wake up every morning and log onto their Swiss bank accounts, and pinch themselves, and think , how the hell did I get so rich, when I'm so crap !
Any more suggestions will be welcomed, and not necessarily just drummers....

Ridiculous! How can you say that nick mason is a rubbish drummer?
That's no different than saying David Gilmour's a rubbish guitarist.

Well i was a huge Floyd fan and i was never very impressed with Nick Mason as a drummer. Unless you maybe can point out some interesting drum work made by Mason so i can appreciate him more. (And NO, "the grand vizier garden's party" does not count!!)

[mickb69]

The point is, he is'nt rubbish, he might not be doing anything overly impressive technically, but it just is not required by the band or the music they make. He doesn't make mistakes or play out of time.
You want to see something impressive that he has done?
Pick any pink Floyd album or song, the songs you like are good because of every element being right.
It's like you are trying to say he was rubbish just because he did'nt play fast aggressive drum solos with fireworks explosions going off, that might be ok for rainbow or motley cure or some hard rock or heavy metal band, but it's Floyd, it's a completely preposterous statement.

He himself would probably admit he was lucky his life went the way it did, and that he is'nt the most impressive drummer, but he is'nt bad or inadequate and his job and is an important part of the pink Floyd sound,

David Gilmour rarely played anything beyond the Pentatonic scale, but has made some of the most amazing music ever, and is one of the most revered guitarists in the world, yet his technical ability is arguably crap.

Mostly, in general, drums are'nt that noticeable, same as bass, you only really notice them when they are gone or played sloppily.

[mickb69]

Any drummer, singer, guitarist, bassist, keyboard player can be called "lucky" if they have made it, regardless of technical ability.

[james73_2008]

Nick Mason and Larry Mullen were the first names that came to mind when I saw the
thread title. Those two, plus Jez Strode from Kajagoogoo...


James H

[prt1969]

Sometimes as a musician, you serve the song; not the other way around. A band full of virtuosos doesn't always make a good band or a good song.

[newdreams]

Just saw a documentary on the making of DSOTM, and Nick Mason's simplicity in drumming is mentioned as a favorable element of Floyd's sound.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2246193019071105716

On the other hand, I saw Chad Wackerman drumming with Allan Holdsworth years back, and he played over the top of Allan at full tilt all night. Very impressive licks, great drumming, but not appropriate in my mind.

I think Nick and Ringo played to the music rather than showing off, but were both capable of inventive licks. Likely neither are at the level of Pierre Moerlen (Gong) or Phil Collins.

I love great prog and jazz drummers, but also appreciate those who can lay down a simple groove or simply play the right thing for the song.

[george2210]

Ringo Starr played the drums with an incredibly unique feel that nobody can really copy, although many fine drummers have tried and failed.

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