positively the worst drummer?

Rather than calling them the "worst", I'll mention two that I think didn't serve the bands they were playing in well::

Peter Kriss
John Densmore

In each case, I think the music would be greatly improved with by someone who was a better ROCK drummer.

There's nothing like listening to an "absolutely live" performance to really evaluate the
drumming.

My favorites are Moon, Bonham, and Mitch Mitchell, but a couple I think should be more praised and who are fantastic are:

Bill Ward
Rat Scabies

As to Mo Tucker and Meg White, I love them. They may not have the "chops" of some others, but in the context of what they do or did, they are great. Does anyone really prefer the VU at Max's Kansas City drumming?

 

Green Day's drummer..

 

Hate to jump on the hate wagon, but I have to agree with those who say Keith Moon and Ringo Starr. Maybe if they weren't in such high profile bands I wouldn't dislike them so much [I challenge you to correctly parse that statement].

 

Laurence Tolhurst from The Cure

He was so bad as a drummer they moved him to keyboards.
He was so bad at keyboards, they hired a second keyboardist.
Eventually they just kicked him out of the band.

Larry Mullen Jr. looks (and sounds) like he's struggling to get through every song. Competant but not great IMO - and I love U2.

 

How was he? Well he got an actor (Muguel Ferrer) to play drums on his solo "Two Sides Of The Moon". But that was obviously part of the joke.

 

Not to mention David Crosby. Michael Clarke had PRESSURES, folks.

 

I enjoy the drumming of Loaded/Max's Kansas City drumming more than the earlier style. It's a bit more Rock N' Roll to my ears.

How about we hit the finer points of poor drumming?

I dislike Dave Clark's snare rolls on the song "Bits & Pieces". Any 10 year old drummer can do the same.

"Soul on Fire" by Laverne Baker - Possibly her greatest song. That nameless drummer SLOOOOOWS down by the 3rd verse. I can feel that drummer counting as I'm listeing to the recording.

 

As a drummer, I have noted that some people prefer a drummer with animal passion. Others seem to want technical excellence. Hence, Ringo lovers tend to bash the Neil Pearts of the world, and vice versa. Com si Com sa!

Not that they need defending but I'll stand by ALL the drummers mentioned so far. Each and every one, including the little girl from the Shaggs, was/is trying to do what is best for the particular band they are with.

Having said that--

Ringo rules! So does Keith! And Mitch! And John Densmore! And Tre! And Larry Mullen! And Michael Clarke!

 

But Zak is great!!

 

Man that is Dannie Richmond. Jazz drummer par excellence also kicked it for Mark Almond. Great drummer and what a lousy picture. Welllllll I remember some of the things I wore in the Seventies

 

Yes, indeedy ... that is Dannie Richmond. I was reluctant to post his name because of the title of this thread. I just got such a kick out of the picture. Yes, the seventies -- now where did Huggy Bear go?

 

You've merged the CSNY rhythm section into one guy. The drummer was Dallas Tayor, Greg Reeves of course was the bass player.

As for Micky Waller, he is still one of the greatest, and unsung drummers I have ever seen. Saw him twice with Beck and he was stunning. You had to take into consideration he looked like Woody Allen. For all the praise Bonham gets, it was Waller who was the heavier of the two. Granted Bonham did introduce some very unique licks. I saw JBG and LZ just a couple of weeks apart, so the contrast in styles was pretty fresh. I'd suspect Micky Waller was the more versitile of the two.

It was Ron Wood who was the frustrated guitar player! He essentially played "lead bass". Did see Beck hand him a guitar in the encore, but the sudden change totally baffled Woody, who couldn't get his hands to find the smaller strings. Beck scowled and took the Les Paul back!!

The thing with drummers is that it's all feel. Some guys have no skills, but loads of feel.

 

Anything post-MTV is terrible? Talk about living in the past, dude.

 

I hate to pile it on, but after witnessing a few missed beats on their recent Tonight Show appearance, I'd have to go with Meg White too. Perhaps a little too busy looking cool? That wouldn't explain the studio stuff tho

On the positive side, I've always liked the flailing (a good thing) English style ala Moon, Mitchell, Baker, Bonham, etc... A little over-the-top at times, but entertaining as hell to watch on old film. Maybe a special "hats off" to Mitchell for trying to keep Hendrix in line.

 

Very true(check out Steve Winwood's drumming on "Roll With It") but some people have neither. Take "One of Us" by Joan Osborne. That was a big hit with an abysmal drum track. I saw that Rob Hyman (Hooters keyboardist) is credited with drumming. Why is that? The only clue I have is that Eric Bazilian wrote it. Whomever the drummer is, he pushes forward, pulls back, and generally makes the track feel uncomfortable as all heck. He fills and crashes in weird places. Was this a demo that got turned into a track?


Dan

 

While he's not the worst drummer, 'The Troggs Tapes' comes to mind.

 

Micky Dolenz...ok, I guess that's not fair...he wasn't half bad considering he was an actor who had to learn the drums.

Dennis Wilson

The Guy from Poison

Pete Best

Chad Channing

None of these guys are actually bad, just not quite professional IMO.

 

I remember listening to a song by Loverboy on the radiop and thinking their drummer is really not too good.Not familiar with the band though.

 

I forget his name, but the drummer on Bruce Springsteen's "Greetings from Asbury Park" album is not good at all (in my opinion).

 

Micky Dolenz turned into a fine drummer, not the caliber of Ringo, but fine enough. Doesn't legend hold it that Frank Zappa asked him to drum in the Mothers of Invention after the Monkees disbanded in 1970?

In addition, critics at the time praised his drumming on the JUSTUS album in 1996. And he did a great job behind the skins on some of the Monkees revival tours...particuarly in 1987 and 1997...the highlight of the show was him behind the drums!

 

There's an extra track of studio dialog on one of the Byrds reissues (it might have been the 4th, I don't recall) where Crosby is arguing with their drummer trying to get him to play a certain way for one of the tunes, and the guy just isn't getting it He has a bad attitude as well and is getting ticked off. Crosby gets ticked off too and starts riding him and criticizing his attitude. You can feel the tensions rise.

 

Dallas Taylor -- right, thanks. I agree with you. A drum track like "Wooden Ships" for instance, I don't think a schooled drummer could play that. What in the world is he doing? I think he's playing the guitar on the drums. He keeps capriciously tacking back and forth, like anywhere the wind blows -- maybe that's a metaphor for the tune. Maybe he's at the helm of this rudderless vessel run amuck. But still it comes out so great. It cracks me up. He's like Mr. Magoo out there, and it all somehow fits.

 

I will admit he can be a little too busy on some of the songs, but he is awesome drummer. Just watch him work on "Won't Get Fooled Again" on "the Kids are Alright" movie.

 

Oh, now you've done it!
Excuse me, I have to take a break and take some deep breaths here, 'til my anger subsides.