the worst drummers

She made The White Stripes interesting to me.
Stopped being a fan of Jack when the band split up.

 

Worst drumming I've ever heard on an otherwise great album is Pete Townshend's drumming on Who Came First.

 

Not that it matters, but I love the Stones. And the other members of the band do a bang up job. And obviously Watts wouldn't care what me or anyone has to say about his playing, BECAUSE HE'S THE DRUMMER OF THE STONES.

But yes, when I listen to them on my stereo, he barely utilizes the bass drum. That is typical of a jazz drummer of that period. Studios also didn't really record the bass drum well enough, which is why Zeppelin/Bonham was so obsessed with capturing bass drum. The lack of bass drum in some jazz playing and studio recording of that time period may have influenced Watts' lack of bass drum in his own playing. But I tell you what, James Brown would not have hired Watts. The bass drum is the "sex" in rock and roll. Thankfully the Stones had a front man who made up for it, and a guitarist who knew how to write with the best of them.

 

I'm the exact opposite: I find Jack's solo albums to be infinitely more interesting, and better played, than the White Stripes ones.

("Ball and Biscuit" still rocks, though.)

 

Yep. 'Barely passable' would be pushing it as far as it could go for Dave Holland.

 

I have no idea if he sucks, but that was funny.

 

Why? Should we only just make lists of people we like. That gets really exciting after 400 threads.

 

Intersting, I never noticed the lack of bass drum on Stones records. I recall reading a review for the Still Life live LP in Creem that criticized the overuse of the bass drum!
Is Watts using the bass drum on the Honky Tonk Woman intro?

 

You know, a transcription of a typical Charlie Watts part would read like something I learned in my first month of drum lessons, but when I sit down to play it, it doesn't sound like him or, consequently, the Stones.

 

Honky Tonk Women has my all time favorite bass drum sound. That song and a lot of other Stones records only had one or two microphones for the drums. They used a single Neumann U87 mic for the whole kit. Because of EQ and bouncing down tracks, the kick would sometimes get a little lost. All the great Jimmy Miller produced Stones records have a kick you can hear and feel. Charlies groove on things like Brown Sugar and Bitch( just to name two), is really the very best part of what rock n'roll is all about for me. Rock AND Roll !

 

"That angry guy from Grand Funk Railroad, as seen in VH1's Behind The Music."


(TMBG's Dial-a-Drum-Solo from the live version of She's Actual Size)

 

that's exactly why i don't like him. i dream of the smiths with bill Berry.

 

Yeah? Seems like a lateral move.

 

I couldn't care less how complicated the parts Watts plays - all I know is he's the backbone of that band. If you see them live and Charlie's off, it's gonna be a bad show. If Charlie's on, it's gonna be a good show.

The Stones can endure bad performances by anyone in the band other than Charlie - their live shows sink or swim with him...

 

Who listens to the drummer?

 

Roger Taylor of Queen. That thing he does with the open hi-hat is such a lame idea, and of course he has to do it every time he hits the snare. I bet he thought he'd reinvented drumming when he first did it.

Very influential on Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters, I've read. Well, exactly.

 

Ditmasduke offered a fair and knowledgeable opinion as to why Charlie Watts is, at the very least, and overrated drummer, and I completely agree. Like Ditmasduke, I am also a drummer.

Your opinion, however, is the one that's backed up by ignorance and silly personal insults.

 

I thought I was defending him!

 

To be fair, that's true of any band. A band can't stay together if the drummer's timing is off. And while you didn't intend to, I think you made the exact opposite point you intended to make. If Charlie Watts, professional drummer for the Rolling Stones is off often enough for you to notice the pattern, he has no business being a drummer in the Rolling Stones.

 

Well that was a joke. Some people are just quicker on the draw.

 

You were - my post was meant to agree with/support yours. Sorry it came across as arguing with you!

 

No, that's not what I was saying. By "off", I don't mean he can't keep a beat - I mean he just "doesn't have it" that night. Everyone has off nights - some more than others, but it's unreasonable to expect every musician to be "on" every night.

I've seen a lot of concerts in my day, and I've never seen a band that lives or dies by the drummer to the level the Stones do - I don't at all agree it's true of every band. I've seen shows where Charlie has single-handedly assured that they were good, and there are very few drummers who have that level of importance in a band's performances, IMO...

 

Exactly. I find that a lot of times, when drummers critique other drummers (not you obviously, but others on this thread) they focus too much on things like technical skill and the difficulty of the parts played, rather than the more important factors: does it sound good, and does it complement the music? Watts may not be that great a drummer in the technical sense, but his unique style and feel works perfectly with the Stones. Like all great bands, the Stones are a case where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It's like the question of whether the Ramones would have been better with Buddy Rich as their drummer. Sometimes getting "better" players in the skill sense makes a band worse overall.

 

That theory is wrong. Watts is one of the finest drummers ever. It takes more talent to handle the top end then the bottom end.

 

I can't believe this... You're dissing Charlie?! Charlie Watts' name appearing on a "worst drummers" thread?!? Unbelievable... What next? Ian Paice is awful because he's left-handed? Jeez...