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| My man Billham, smackin' th' traps! |
The first drummer I heard who had an immediately recognisable signature sound wasn't Ringo Starr - he was the first I knew by name - but Keith Moon. I didn't know if he was technically any good or not (still don't), but his full-on style was his alone, like he loved the drums but also wanted to beat the shit out of them. Scary guy. But the one I came to worship was Billy Cobham, first heard on the first Mahavishnu Orchestra album. He was busy, but never unnecessary, every faster-than-thought beat in exactly the right place at exactly the right time, and he sounded like nobody else, that tash-tash-tash cymbal. He drove the beat but never rushed it, and he was all over the kit, which is what I like to hear. Not for me the *cough* motorik minimalist metronome, I want value from my album investment. I paid for those drums, and I want to hear them.
He's also a first-rate composer, and his solo albums have always had melody at the heart of them. It's like he's playing chords on his kit. Spectrum and Crosswinds are both pinnacles of musical excellence, no matter how you label them, and I listen to his solo works far more than I listen to McLaughlin's. Today's deliverable is a sweet pair of albums he recorded in rsrch date pse ed [pse fuck yourself - Ed.], featuring luxe arrangements of older tunes and a few new ones. His Panamanian roots are showing in the steel pans and the Caribbean lilt, and there's nothing too brow-furrowing here, which is a good thing. Pure enjoyment.
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| I'm guessing this was designed by Stevie Wonder |
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| If you know what this is about, Billham may have to kill you |
This post made possible by funding from the Old Guy Underwear Xchange, Pork Bend, Alaska
Worst and best drummers. I'm going to be predictably controversial with my choice of worst - Moe Tucker (although I liked her when she was in the power trio with Larry and Curly). Best - this guy above, Tony Williams, NOT Buddy Rich who was just a showman, no matter how technically dazzling. Ritchie Hayward.
ReplyDeleteI know some bands in the 80s having so much trouble finding a decent drummer they used a drumcomputer in desperation. So I nominate The Drummer of Big Black, Eton Crop and Sisters of Mercy.
ReplyDeleteThere is only one best drummer in my book: Han Bennink
Dave Mattacks, love watching him play.
ReplyDeleteMichael Jerome, who used to play with Richard Thompson, and who now is in The Third Mind with Dave Alvin. Powerful drummer.
Listening to the Thirdies new album just this morning.
DeleteBest
ReplyDeleteMax Roach, Art Blakey, Hal Blaine, Elvin Jones, and Tony Williams
Worst
I’ll second Mo Tucker (but she was perfect for V.U.), Meg White (not unlike Mo tucker her style works in the context of the White Stripes), Don Henley, Lars Ulrich, Patrick Carney, and Dennis Wilson (not to be confused with Hal Blaine) .
Best: Herlin Riley, Milton Banana and Dom um Romao. Worst: Too many to list, but pick any 3 piece hard rock band and sniff around.
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