If The Drummer Is Great It Won’t Be Bad Music

Friday is fun, because it’s about music. And there’s a playlist. And some links. Today: Good drummers make bands better. Facts. Just facts. A band is only great if it has a great drummer…

A good band is made better by a great drummer. A great band is only a really great band because of the drummer. I can listen to a bad band with a really good drummer. But, to be honest, it’s very unlikely they’ll be a bad band if they have a really good drummer. And yes, great bass players and guitarists and singers and keyboard players are all vital ingredients; bands that play together (and stay together) develop an intuition and can be greater than the sum of its parts. But the crucial ingredient to an excellent band is always having a very good drummer.

I think about this often.

Charlie Watts held the Rolling Stones together for so long, particularly since they stopped making music we absolutely needed to have and hear back in 1978. Ringo Starr is now rightfully adored as a pioneering pop drummer who played inventive fills and interesting ideas that were never dominant, but always just right for the song. (Hard to believe there was a time when people tried to talk down Ringo’s ability. They’re often fans of the bands TOOL and/or Rush or Phish). Mick Fleetwood, Karen Carpenter, Moe Tucker, Mike D of the Beastie Boys, Levon Helm from The Band, Victor DeLorenzo of Violent Femmes, AC/DC’s Phil Rudd, none of them anyone’s first choice for all-time greatest, flashiest, most amazing drummer, but all of them amazing…all of them part of my ongoing Drummers You Just Can’t Beat series (have a look through the archives here).

Last night I was thinking about it when I watched Rick Beato interview Stewart Copeland. It’s a recent interview, and it’s a lot of fun.

But then, I love Stewart Copeland. He is by far my favourite member of The Police, he is one of my all-time favourite drummers. And he’s one of the players, like Steve Gadd, that somewhat changed the game. In the 70s and 80s there were a handful of drummers doing things and everyone was watching. Everyone was listening.

You could add Bill Bruford and Neil Peart and Billy Cobham to that list. Game-changers. I don’t really rate Neil Peart at all, but I seem to be in the absolute minority there.

Anyway, watching this interview made me think about that idea again. The music of The Police largely bugs me or bores me these days, with one or two exceptions. The thing that stands out about it, and the only thing that keeps me listening to any of it, is the contribution from Copeland. His creative, exciting, driving playing elevates those songs, it covers up any of the weak moments and absolute charges the electric ones.

Sting was a great singer, Andy Summers was no slouch as a guitar player — but anyone could stand in and make the guitar sounds (within reason). And Sting’s voice was one thing, but his lyrics are (mostly) ridiculous. The cod-reggae is cancellable by today’s standards, and rightly so I will add. It’s insulting. And the very definition of white privilege to have these rich white guys having a laff. But, fuck, what saves it every time is Stewart Copeland.

Another band I have similar feelings about is The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Every time I go to hate them I am reminded of the brilliance of Chad Smith. How much he elevates them, makes them something. Imagine how horrific they would be without him? They had other good drummers, notably Cliff Martinez (ex Captain Beefheart, and now best known for his amazing film score work across the last quarter century). But it’s Smith that shines brightest in the band for me. By miles and absolute miles.

These dopey-af songs, which, of course, I loved when I was 15 and 16 and even 22 and 25 and maybe even at 30 and sometimes past 40…but really the only thing ever saving them at all is the drumming.

Once a year or so I can listen to Blood Sugar Sex Magik and it’s a little bit for the contribution of John Frusciante (guitar) but it’s a lot for the drumming of Chad Smith. And when you see Smith grooving on tunes by others, or classic RHCP songs, when you watch his lessons, listen to him talk on documentaries and in interviews it does nothing but add to any appreciation of his playing.

I mentioned recently that I’d been digging U2 a lot more than was often the case. And that’s entirely because I’ve fallen head over heels — once again — for the simple, perfect drumming of Larry Mullen Jr. I really do think he is the key to the band, it’s his band after all. He started it. He’s the one that put up the poster, looking for band mates. It’s sad to think, currently, he’s the only one not there. Not in the line-up at present, recovering from a playing-related injury and surgery. And taking time out to think about next moves. Larry’s playing is as much the sound of U2 as The Edge’s distinctive guitar lines. He has created signature drum riffs and patterns. Sunday Bloody Sunday and The Unforgettable Fire and Pride (In The Name of Love) and With Or Without You. They all work because of Larry’s touch. His decision to leave things in. To leave things out. To hit with absolute authority.

There’s a lot I don’t like about U2’s music — whole albums I could never be bothered with, but Larry is making me love the best of their work all over again. And I’m listening to Zooropa and The Unforgettable Fire and Under A Blood Red Sky entirely for Larry Mullen’s contributions.

I cannot listen to Metallica at all these days, and I have tried. And it is for the same reason in reverse — the drummer (Lars Ulrich) has gone backwards. He is all but a laughing stock these days. Horrible tuning. Terrible approach. Struggling to keep up. He simply stopped practicing many years ago. And it shows.

And, look, Lars might never have been Dave Lombardo, or Tomas Haake, or Chris Adler, or Dave McClain, or Raymond Herrera, or Vinnie Paul, or whoever your favourite metal drummer is, but he did have chops, he did play better, he was the creator of some innovative and interesting patterns in a band that was pioneering. But that was when he was young and hungry and vital and interested. And sometimes even interesting…

Anyway, I wonder if you have bands you can listen to because of the drummer. Or bands you cannot listen to because of the drummer?

---

Now, with all that in mind, have a listen to the 161st A Little Something For The Weekend…Sounds Good! playlist. Some great drummers on here. Though I chose all of this music before I’d even though to write on this topic. So it’s either coincidence, or it’s looking like this is my pre-requisite for music-listening. I’ll let you decide. But as always I sincerely hope you find something on this playlist you like, whether brand new to you or a nice reminder of something you knew already but hadn’t heard in an age. And I sincerely thank you for your interest in this newsletter. For reading. For listening. For subscribing. For engaging. Have a fantastic weekend.