Was Pete Best really that bad of a drummer?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by RichieSnare, Mar 17, 2013.

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  1. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    thanks my wife loved it as well.: )
     
  2. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    heartbreaking...
     
  3. rednoise

    rednoise Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston
    I was wondering whose idea it was. If Pete's, I have give him some credit for being more adventurous than I usually think of him. The changeups he introduces are not very tasteful or well-executed, but at least he's trying to "play for the song" by dramatizing the different sections, rather than just plowing through the whole thing with one idea. A recording session was probably not the best place for such experiments.

    It sounds stilted and unnatural coming from Pete. For Ringo it was as easy as breathing.
     
    Ginger Ale likes this.
  4. You're right, it isn't! He was a bad drummer and his personality didn't mesh with the others!

    Now hit the bricks, Best boys! :)
     
  5. Rufus rag

    Rufus rag Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    He was no worse than Ringo !
     
  6. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    :rolleyes:
     
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  7. moople72

    moople72 Forum Resident

    Location:
    KC
    Ahhh you found it!

    Still hilarious after all these years.
     
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  8. swedwards1960

    swedwards1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canton OH
    Quincy Jones said Pete wasn’t too bad.
     
  9. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    :laughup:
     
  10. BadJack

    BadJack doorman who always high-fives children of divorce

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    True story! The drum part that Q claimed Ringo couldn't handle was actually that legendary Atom Beat!
     
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  11. guitarman1969

    guitarman1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    He seemed to nail it pretty well on the '63 version of One After 909 (with some not so suitable coaxing from John after take 1: 'What are you doin'? You're outta yer mind! Do the boom-boom-boom soft lad!').

    Happened to find this interview with Pete from 2012 where he claims that the A&R team at Parlophone couldn't handle his powerful sound and that Ringo stole his beat. The expression on the interviewer's face is priceless. It starts at 2.49.



    What's interesting is that he lists the songs they did and says they were just setting out their portfolio for the A&R team. Yet in this interview from around the same time, he says that they were there because they had a recording contract (starts at 0.15):

    Pete Best on his drumming at the Parlophone session

    Make your mind up Pete!
     
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  12. AlmostHeavenWV

    AlmostHeavenWV The poster formerly known as AlmostHeavenWV

    Location:
    Lancaster UK
    Irrespective of drumming ability, would A Hard Day's Night have been as good a movie with Pete Best, rather than Ringo?
     
  13. guitarman1969

    guitarman1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Would it even have been made?
     
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  14. xilef regnu

    xilef regnu Senior Member

    Location:
    PNW
    Pete Best was kind of rude
    Probably because he'd been screwed
    A truly unfortunate Dude
    In this day and age...(stop)
    He might have sued
    Oh Oh, he might have sued
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2018
  15. guitarman1969

    guitarman1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Sheer poetic genius.
     
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  16. goodiesguy

    goodiesguy Confide In Me

    Location:
    New Zealand
    I think I've said this before, but Pete's drumming reminds me of the drumming on various sessions at Festival Records in Australia, where Engineer Robert Iredale refused any kick-drum whatsoever.

    This #1 of 1960 sounds just like the kind of stuff Best was doing with the Beatles IMO:



    And another with even less drums
     
  17. Price.pittsburgh

    Price.pittsburgh Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    It doesn't matter he will always be Best
     
  18. A Saucerful of Scarlets

    A Saucerful of Scarlets Commenter Turned Viewer

    I'm not a drummer and I have no idea what makes a good drummer and even I could tell how abysmal his work on Band on the Run was (haven't heard Come Together yet). Is this seriously him?
     
  19. rednoise

    rednoise Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston
    No. No. No. It's the McCartney track minus the drums and with a bad drum machine dubbed on top. That is, it's a total fake.
     
  20. A Saucerful of Scarlets

    A Saucerful of Scarlets Commenter Turned Viewer

    Ahh, right.
    I thought maybe someone had even taken the drums from something else he did and edited it together as a joke.
     
  21. rednoise

    rednoise Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston
    Somebody's done that, too. I forget what song it is, but it's probably also on Youtube. It's something that was funny for about 10 seconds the first time I heard it, thereafter just the opposite.
     
  22. Hey Vinyl Man

    Hey Vinyl Man Another bloody Yank down under...

    Paul's real drumming on "Band on the Run" impressed no less than Keith Moon. Hard to top that, I think.
     
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  23. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    I don't know if I'd go far as a Keith Moon comparison but I'm pretty surprised at some of the negativity towards Paul's drumming here. Is it, "great"? Not by any means Is it as good (or better) than Ringo (re: USSR, Prudence...)? Resoundingly not (in fact, it's the drumming on USSR which I think, is a mess...even thought, somehow, it "works"). But his drumming on BOTR overall, I'd say is quite competent. My problem with it is the boxy way in which it was recorded/mixed (and yet, the album won a Grammy for best engineering...go figure).
     
  24. Colin Allstations

    Colin Allstations Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    He was not even the Best drummer in Beatles
     
  25. Diamond Star Halo

    Diamond Star Halo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver
    It’s funny
     
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