"How about some love for Simon King? 'Silver Machine' an obvious
clip but doesn't he look cool? More like a lead guitarist of the Michael Karoli
school than a drummer.
"King also played on Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets, check out
his minimal underpinning of' Driving Me Backwards'"
"More David Essex with Rock On - bit of an
Eno vibe about it dontcha think?
[as with 'Jump Into the Fire', I think bassman Herbie Flowers steals the show here but yeah drumstuff's great - Barry DeSouza again + percussion from Ray Cooper]
"Surprised The Fall haven't been mentioned yet. [think they have actually] Smith's
always had good drummers behind him. Here's two, Karl Burns and Paul
Hanley, on Tempo House . Listen to that (those) snare(s)!
"Finally an honourable mention for Phil Calvert with Zoo Music Girl and Big Jesus Can"
Robert Dansby:
"I
suppose we are overlooking Mr. Prog/Jazz - Bill Bruford - work with
early Yes was actually amazing ( particularly Fragile ) among his best unsung
work was HQ with Roy Harper. Very NASTY precision, but also keen moments
of rock-out-ness.
"Side
2 of Starless and Bible Black ( title track & Fracture) are
live and almost entirely improvised. These tracks are some of the most complex
and at the same time amazingly aggressive percussion I've ever heard…The
signature snare drum sound sets him apart as well... The
work he did with Jamie Muir on Larks Tongue's in Aspic set up a
psychological space that at the time was pretty ahead of it's time both
technically and conceptually"
[after years of taking for granted the punk position on Yes, based on barest acquaintance plus received prejudice,iwas surprised-- finally giving them a fair and proper listen -- by how aggressive and fierce the playing is on a lot of the stuff]
[this thing of putting whole albums up on YouTube....]
[Re the Gap Band/snarethwack, Dansby notes: "that snare wasn't programmed - too early ( 82?) - but Bowie
has already done treatments with tony V. & eno on snares along these lines
circa 77 - 79.eventide, aphex and delays really changed how the snare
operated in the mix."]
Ed Crooks:
"1) The instrumental (not exactly a solo) in Lynyrd Skynyrd 'Freebird'
has always reminded me of a trance anthem, the way it cycles around ever-higher
peaks towards the climactic summit.
What makes it explicit is the point when the drums rise
up out of the mix, pushing the intensity way into the red.
Here, it kicks in at about 9'20"....It's not quite as obvious here as in the album version or
the OGWT studio performance (also available on YouTube), but I like this one
for the shots of the Knebworth '76 ravers getting into it, and out of it.
Collective ecstasy or what?"
[ooh gosh... in the long hot summer of 76, on the Wrong Side of History but gloriously so]
2) We've had some Motörhead already, but this is my
favourite bit: the seven-second bursts of syncopation in 'Ace of Spades', first
heard here at 1'11":
Like everything in the song: concise, economical, and devastatingly
effective.
The additional percussion effect is known to the band as
"the tap-dancing bit", according to Fast Eddie Clarke. It sounds like
it is played on the spoons, apparently because it is actually played on the
spoons, by Philthy Animal Taylor.
3) We've also had Stephen Morris, but this is my
favourite performance. He plays with such concentration and intensity that you
can't take your eyes off him:
4) There hasn't been any discussion of drumming in the
European Classical tradition so far, but if we can have jazz, then why not some
of that as well? I wouldn't claim to be any kind of expert, but of the pre-20th
century composers, Beethoven seems like the king of rhythm. There's a great
moment where the drums come in at the start of the fourth movement of the Ninth
symphony that always reminds me of Bonham's entry in 'Stairway to Heaven',
His greatest percussion moment, though, must be the first
movement of the Seventh symphony where the interplay between the strings, reeds
and drums on the main riff (sorry, "theme") is almost funky.
Check it out here, from about 4' 23":
Julian Bond:
"Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy -- This is the finest 2m47s of pop single, evah, is it not?
Clearly there are lots of elements here that define the sound but it wouldn't
have worked as well without that tribal drum beat."
[actually saw Bow Wow Wow this year, they were bottom of the bill of a 80s lineup at Hollywood Bowl headlined by the Go Go's, who were great. Bow Wow, which now comprises Annabellaand Matthew the slapbassman + two hired hands, tried gamely, and made for an endearing spectacle. But in the absence of half the original band -- and with original drummer Dave Barbarossa particularly missed -- you could say that Bow Wow Now most definitelyain't Got the Beat]
John Lydon (via Ashley Bodenham):
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
and a smatter of bloggage about drummage:
Aaron At Airport Through the Trees picks up again with more tipsy thoughts, part 1 of promised 2 on the Seventies
I was about to do another post of my own (got somewhere between seven and seventy lined up, mentally) but the mailbag is bulging, so here's a few from the crew
But first, bloggers:
Ashley Bodenham, whose first selection is an unexpected, shrewd one and hey, the album title actually has the word "Drum" in it. (Also, those ceremonial-but-bouncy beats are making me flash on my favourite Belbury Poly tune). The other two choices: yes yes.
Funnily enough the Phil Zone's next post is called The Tin Drum but there's nothing by Jansen here - the drummage comes from that era, though (take a bow, Robert, Donald, Big Paul) and the thesis, challenging the vitalist assumption that rhythm is life-affirming, is typically provocative.
Alex Niven at The Fantastic Hopeavers that when it comes to drumming, "shitter = better". Not sure I agree with that, or that Ringo is proof of the proposition ("Rain" - really don't hear that as clunky. In fact I was going to "do" that tune + "Tomorrow Never Knows" if nobody else did). Meters, Can, Reni - yes yes yes.
Meters crop up again in Our God Is Speed's next post, focused on a single crucial city, and mostly on a single sideman supreme.
Julian Bond at Voidstar with a really unusual pick that momentarily makes me understand why Can invited him to join the band.
Hey hey hey, it's the mighty Woebot! Matthew writes:
It’s
funny to think back to the nineties! Suddenly it seemed like we all got such a
kick out of rhythmic music. The trade in vinyl was driven by our insatiable
desire to hear the lockstep of basslines and sampled drums. Drugs played their
part but there must have been other currents there, some magnetic-mystic social
undercurrent polarizing the musical DNA. The new stuff was great, but man, the
old stuff was something else – the electrifying horror, HORROR – there’s no
other word to describe it, of hearing things for the first time like Sun Ra’s
“Twin Stars of Thence”, Augustus Pablo’s “Rockers Meet King Tubby's In a Fire
House” or Neu!’s “E-Musik” – the recognition, the mirror-image staring back at
one down the ages was enough to turn one’s ego inside out.
One
of my great gentle pleasures of those bad old days was, in contrast, an example
of how rhythm could be more tonal, could still flow as determinedly downstream
but feel free: Don Cherry’s largely under-sung Mu (Second Part). The B-side
starting with “Mysticism of My Sound” commences an exquisite suite driven
entirely by New Orleans native Ed Blackwell’s syncopated percussion. Ranging
right across the conventional drum kit over onto bells and woodblocks, other
instruments jump in, a striding piano, a melancholic flute on “Bamboo Night”,
hands are clapped – but it is Blackwell who is the quiet star.
Well I can't seem to find Mu 2 on YouTube. Here's that Sun Ra joint though.
Eric Rosenberg is blunt and to the point:
at the risk of more obvious, someone has to stick up, so
to speak, for Ringo:
1. She Loves You
2. Ticket to Ride
3. The End
ps.
4. Let it Be
5. Come Together
6. Rain
I'm going to "do" "Come Together" later, but let it "Rain"
Bob Clunesssidesteps the undoubted attraction of "classic Bonham/Peart/Ulrich type exuberance" forthe less in-your-facepleasures of:
of which he says:
One of those instances when the drumming takes
the character of the song. The style isn't forceful. It lurks in the
background. But like the Pusherman, it's
insistent, doesn't mess around, and it´s always on the move with
that relentless beat. Motorik-soul if you will.
and also
of which:
'Roots Man Dub' almost got in there, but this one won out.
Sly Dunbar is an incredible producer/drummer. It's the way he adds that little
roll with every second beat that gives that little extra edge and
energy. Then the rest of the percussion drifts in and out of the background
like a ghost. Waves of dread and power.
and also:
Possibly one of my all time favourite post-punk tracks.
The way the timing of the drums seems to consistently slip and out of the rigid
structures of the bass/guitar, yet reins itself back in with a clever
little roll.
and even:
Way before the rap stylings of Nu-Metal, you had this.
Bombing rock rap rythmns. Mike Bordin was not the largest of guys, yet his
style was so heavy on the snare and floor toms. you never knew who or what was
going to break first.
and finally:
This caused a fellow reviewer last year to leap
naked out of a hot tub during a stag do, exclaiming "THIS SONG!!" We
saw them in Iceland last year, and were completely amazed by the way
they eq'd the drums in the live show. It felt like bombs going off in your
head. She also has a very unusual style of playing, very loose, but incredibly
efficient. Bought the album the next day.
Robert Dansby, part 2:
everything close mic'd
bashing loud snare and the kick is as loud as the snare
Well, he'll get no argument from me there. Memory of that TOTP burned into my brain, it is.
Dansby also offers "fucking terry chambers" and "terry fucking chambers 2"
Piotr from Warszawa reminds me he nominated Dungen for a Guitar Solo last year and he's opting for them again
Another Gustav Ejstes production- opener for his brilliant "Ta
Det Lugnt" album from 2004. I'm talking specifically about the intro and
drum bridge - it sounds organic (first 2 seconds when the guy behind the drums
starts speeding up and thickening up his part), subtle (jazzy snare fills) and
aggressive at the same time. It's the best kind of progrock virtuosity I can
think of. Of course guitars, melody, bass and vocals also move me in a special
way, which makes "Panda" one of my favourite 00's songs
("Panda" is a Swedish slang term for attractive gothic girl, because
of the thick black eyeliner - though I have no idea what the lyrics are about,
the title is another reason why this song takes you somewhere).
AJ Ramirez, from Pop Matters, also joined in last year, but here participates in epistolary fashion:
1. Foo Fighters, "Everlong" - Gotta list something by Dave Grohl, but
instead of picking something he laid down for Nirvana, I'm opting for the best
Foo Fighters song ever recorded. The story goes that Grohl re-recorded all of
William Goldsmiths' drum parts for 'The Colour and the Shape' without telling
him (understandably, he quit the band once he found out) which is a spectacular
dick move, but every time I listen to the flurry of drum fills in the chorus I
have to respect Grohl for picking up the sticks for this song.
2. Nine Inch Nails, "March of the Pigs" - Fucking monstrous.
Post-industrial industrial, where the synthetic is broken down and reclaimed by
the undergrowth, visceral nature reclaiming the man-made.
3. Helmet, "Unsung" - Fitting title. Love the way the snare hits
right in between the dead spaces of the guitar in the verses.
[It's funny that you can now hear "Nineties Drum Sound", after years and years of people complaining about Eighties Drum Sound making so many records from that time unlistenable or at least so muchless powerful than they could have been. The Nineties drum sound is almost the opposite: too loud, too live, too vivid. Who do we blame? Butch Vig?]
4. Adam and the Ants, "Stand and Deliver" - Pop revelry. Having been
born after the song came out, I can't fully imagine how thrilling it must've
sounded to hear those Burundi drum rolls popping out of every radio.
[It was pretty fucking thrilling let me tell you! Live too: the Ants, just on the very cusp of superstardom, were my second gig. #1 = Slits, #3 = Killing Joke.]
5. Smashing Pumpkins, "Hummer" - Have to give a nod to the (former)
beat-keeper for my favorite band. Coming from a jazz background, Jimmy
Chamberlin has a subtle and varied touch characterized by wonderful little
flares and flourishes, but he can pound it out as hard as fellow alt-rocker
Dave Grohl whenever the music warrants it.
6. Ready for the World, "Oh Sheila" - Skirting your rules a bit, as
from what I've heard this is a main drum beat with fills overdubbed on top.
Rock-solid groove, though. An exemplar of why I love the more uptempo end of
'80s R&B that eventually evolved into new jack swing.
And to close, some levity:
John Mullen, with Christmas drumming
and hey hey, it's Jon Dale - with an actual response to my first post, reminding me that Mick Fleetwood may be a stalwart sticksman but he can also be a bit of buffoon. Wait for the infamous "vest solo" to really take off at about 2.20.
