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Re: other great drummers



The post on drummers making the sound of their bands was very good - and
showed correctly that great drummers could stand above the rest of the crowd
to define their instrument.  I always liked Keith's philosophy of "who needs
drum solos."  As a drummer I agree - if you can't show what you can do within
the framework of the band then you should not be on the stage - period.

Having had to sit through tons of self-indulgent crummy drum solos (including
two by John Bonham who got worse as a drummer the older he got), I can
probably count on less than one hand those that were worth seeing.  Two were
from drummers that were technically good but that wasn't what struck me about
them.  Rather, it was their flair in the solo - the other things they did
that tried to stretch the boring drum solo formula - and in this they
succeeded.  They were the drummers for the Strawbs and the Sweet.  The former
played very well, very succinctly and even got off the kit and played the
stage, lighting towers amps and then ended back on the drums.  A novel
approach.  The Sweet's drummer palyed against himself via him live going up
against a triptych screen of him playing on film.  He would play - the film
would play - back and forth.  Another very novel approach.  Probably the best
drummer for the straight typical drum solo segment that I would not mind
seeing again was Ian Paice, the excellent drummer for Deep Purple.  He was,
and has always been, one of my favorite rock drummers and did not fall into
the self-indulgent too much in his solos.

As for drummers in a band context that seem to never get mentioned:  the
drummer for the Hollies, the late B.J. Wilson - the drummer for Procol Harum,
and, to top the list Caesar Zuiderwicjk - the outstanding drummer for Golden
Earring.  He is among the top three drummers I have ever seen live -
absolutely tremendous.  Of course, Keith Moon is the best rock ensemble
drummer I have ever seen - and I got that privilege 5 times.

Greg Biggs