Friday, September 21, 2012

"Give The Drummer Some Pt. 2" : THE WEEKEND MIX



I was pleasantly surprised by how many readers didn't call for my head over my remarks about the "Mighty" Max Weinberg's playing. Comments are still coming in and while many good points are being made, I stand by what I said, though I do regret using the phrase, "pretty terrible drummer." That's just not true. Max is not a terrible drummer. But, his playing irks me more than it doesn't, and I still feel he's got some major issues with tempo.

As I said in the comments, I'm not looking for Bill Bruford fills in "Adam Raised A Cain." I just expect a drummer to not speed up or slow down the song as he keeps time. My problem with Max is that I notice those imperfections more times than I should. I notice it with Max more than any other drummer I've listened to.

That said, I've got drumming on my mind and this mix proves it. You will be familiar with some of what's here. Every drummer represented offers something I love on the kit. The drummer's name follows the artist's name. I did this once before. It's here.

TRACKLIST

Duck Feathers (edit)- Donald harrison Jr. (Ricky Sebastian)
Fool In The Rain (Isolated Drum Track)- Led Zeppelin (John Bonham)
Big'Uns Get The Ball Rolling- Stanton Moore (Stanton Moore)
Chinatown- Thin Lizzy (Brian Downey)
Rain- The Beatles (Little Ricky Ricardo)
Might Just Take Your Life- Deep Purple (Ian Paice)
The Horse -Booker T. & The MGs- (Al Jackson Jr.)
King Harvest-The Band (Levon Helm)
That's Neat, That's Nice- NRBQ (Tom Ardolino)
What Is The Reason-The Rascals (Dino Danelli)
Watcher Of The Skies (Rare Single Mix)-Genesis (Phil Collins)
I've Got Five Dollars- Bing Crosby (Alvin Stoller)
Stay With Me- Faces (Kenney Jones)
Aja- Steely Dan (Steve Gadd)

Zip


14 comments:

soundsource said...

Great follow up post and i'm gonna pass this mix along with part 1 along to some young drummers I know who although they may have great technical chops and feel and are pretty good drummers are not schooled and have no history to pull from. In addition they are not schooled in the history of the kit.
As regards yesterdays post I thought it was interesting and thought provoking and like all great historians you are able to revise and reedit, so Max is not a pretty terrible drummer just maybe not as great or as perfect as many think.
Thanks again for making my brain work.

Aaron said...

It was just this week that I realized that somehow mix 1 got lost among the interwebs for me. Bummer. T'would be great for you to re-host - is that the right word? Can't wait to hear this one.

Jeff Matthews said...

I met Max once, at a masters class of sorts (though I am not a drummer). One of the things he mentioned was that Bruce tightly constrains the beats - he would allow boom-bah-boom-boom-bah and boom-bah-boom-bah-bah but little beyond that. The lack of swing in his post-Born To Run records always bothered me, mostly because I missed the manic energy of TWTI&TESS. But I agree, Sal, it's more than that. Max never seems to be in the pocket - mechanical, unimaginative fills, and often drags the songs down.

buzzbabyjesus said...

I can't listen to music if I don't like the drummer. The best part of watching The Who at the Isle Of Wight is Keith Moon.

iggy said...

Perfect way to spend the weekend. Thanks, Sal.

Iggy

buzzbabyjesus said...

Here's the Medley by Fairport Convention from "Liege And Lief".
It features one of my favorite drummers, Dave Mattacks. He's one of Richard Thompson's favorites too.
This would be kind of boring without Dave driving it. When I listen to it I kind of tune everything else out and concentrate on the drums.
It's a great performance.


http://alanwalkerart.com/audio/fairport_medley.mp3

Anonymous said...

Hello all, no, please remain seated.

One quick response, or observation, really. In small combo jazz sometimes it falls to the bass player to be the main time-keeper, but in popular music it's obviously the drummer's job. So an even tempo should be the sine qua non of a drummer, right?

But I gotta tell you...one of my favorite tracks on the Stones Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out is Stray Cat Blues. And that song starts out mid-tempo but accelerates throughout the song. Is Keith following Charlie, or vice versa? No clue, myself...but I've always loved the acceleration in that song.

regards,

RichD

buzzbabyjesus said...

From what I've read it's Charlie following Keith in that case.

Thanks for the mixes. I just reread part 1. A lot of musician jokes last time.

Q) What has three legs and an asshole?

A) A drum stool.

(Ouch, sorry Sal)


Anonymous said...

can we talk about David Sancious now?

Noam Sane said...

I missed your column yesterday, but I have to add an AMEN. For whatever reason, I need two things in my music: swing and blues. Not a lot of either, necessarily, but some.

I still hear blues in Bruce's music, but not an ounce of swing since "Born..." And it makes me crazy.

As for the playlist, great to see Tommy A.'s shining moment there. I added "That's Neat That's Nice" to my band's setlist a few months ago. My regular drummer does the drum break his way, and that's fine, I don't tell my guys what to play - that's why you hire great musicians, right?

But I had a fill-in for a festival gig a couple of weeks ago, and he learned every song to-the-T. And so, when it came to that part in "That's Neat..." - he played it EXACTLY like the live version. I could have plotzed. I almost forgot to come back in for that last verse. I wish every Q fan could experience that at least once, it was a golden moment.

Thanks as always Sal. I don't chime in as much these days but I'm always reading.

soundsource said...

yeah Dave Mattacks a seriously great underrated drummer (well maybe under appreciated)
and BJ Wilson, that guy could do things with a cowbell or a cymbal

buzzbabyjesus said...

I spent much of the afternoon watching Buddy Rich videos.

Anonymous said...

Nice selection Sal, particularly like the Rascals and what the hell I like them all.


regards


Rhod

A walk in the woods said...

Awesome mix! Thanks Sal!