25 Great Moments in Rock Drumming – Day 11: Ginger Baker, “White Room,” from Wheels Of Fire by Cream Technically, Ginger Baker was probably the equal of any rock drummer of his day and, for many, he set the benchmark for heavy drumming with Cream. Baker also had jazz chops and musicality to match the [...]
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25 Great Moments in Rock Drumming – Day 10: Ringo Starr, “A Day In The Life,” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles It’s easy to overlook a drummer like Ringo Starr, particularly in a band where the music’s melodies and harmonies figure so heavily. Starr rarely plays anything flashy, but he [...]
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25 Great Moments in Rock Drumming – Day 9: Barriemore Barlow, “Thick As A Brick,” from Thick As A Brick by Jethro Tull During Jethro Tull’s halcyon days (1972-78), Barriemore Barlow was the man behind the Tull traps, keeping time with Ian Anderson’s idiosyncratic musical visions. Barlow’s facility for playing hard rock, jazz, folk and [...]
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25 Great Moments in Rock Drumming – Day 8: Rod Morgenstein, “Take It Off The Top,” from What If by Dixie Dregs Rod Morgenstein’s challenge in the Dixie Dregs was to keep time playing everything from rock to country to bluegrass and more. His ability to play seamlessly across these twisting musical avenues is just [...]
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25 Great Moments in Rock Drumming – Day 7: Clive Burr, “Run To The Hills,” from Number Of The Beast by Iron Maiden From the opening hi-hat beats of “Run To The Hills,” Clive Burr begins breaking down the bulwark that would push the Iron Maiden ship into New Wave of British Heavy Metal legend. [...]
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25 Great Moments in Rock Drumming – Day 6: Charlie Watts, “Honky Tonk Women,” from Hot Rocks 1964-1971 by The Rolling Stones In the drumming school of “less is more,” Charlie Watts is the dean. The opening beats of The Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women” are among the most recognizable in all of rock music. [...]
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25 Great Moments in Rock Drumming – Day 5: Bernard Purdie, “Kid Charlemagne,” from The Royal Scam by Steely Dan “Kid Charlegmagne” is full of session wiz Bernard Purdie’s crisp, tight drumming full of sizzle and pizzazz. Like Donald Fagen and Walter Becker’s “Bodhisattva,” Purdie shines like Japan, while his clean hi-hat and snare work [...]
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25 Great Moments in Rock Drumming – Day 4: Mick Fleetwood, “Hypnotized,” from Mystery To Me by Fleetwood Mac On this early Mac classic penned by Bob Welch, Mick Fleetwood opens with one of the great rock drum riffs. It’s a beat that almost sounds “backward” – he plays one beat on the snare followed [...]
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25 Great Moments in Rock Drumming – Day 3: Vinnie Colauita, “The Central Scrutinizer,” from Joe’s Garage by Frank Zappa Vinnie Colauita has the ability to make the challenging seem easy and likewise the near-impossible. His drumming on the opening track to Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage is a rhythmic pastiche so off-kilter and devilishly difficult [...]
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25 Great Moments in Rock Drumming – Day 2: Eric Carr, “I Love It Loud,” from Kiss’s Creatures Of The Night Eric Carr was cut from the John Bonham cloth, employing a massive attack, emphasizing big and burly beating. Yet Carr was a more polished musician than Kiss predecessor Peter Criss. “I Love It Loud” [...]
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