All-Time Greatest R & R Drummer?

I will say that these two were both great drummers. Portnoy does stuff that sounds impossible, until you go to try it yourself, and you realize that he just has great chops. Don’t get me wrong, he has great chops. But for my money, I’d want Carter in my band. He is rock solid, he can give you any style you want, he knows how to lay down a groove, and he pulls out the wicked solo when he needs to.

Also, I have to put my grassroots plug in here. 311 may not be grassroots, but they are damn close. Chad Sexton marched drum corps in his younger days, so the guy KNOWS rhythm. He is the most rock-solid drummer out there, and if you listen to early stuff, he can play on the off-16th beat, and it sounds like it fits.

Weinberg really isn’t up there in the top ten but he is a very good drummer. When he’s playing in Conan’s band he’s hamming it up. If you watch him at a Bruce Springsteen concert he’s a very workmanlike drummer, dead on the beat IMHO.

I’ve only heard their stuff with Mike Patton, and honestly, that drumming sounds like it’s turned up to 78rpm. Fast as helllllllllllll. No clue who it is, but it sounds to fast to be real-time.

My personal favorite is Danny Carey of tool. Drums in Fibonacci sequences just to keep things interesting for himself. He’s definitely the best of the newer generation of rock bands, but I’m not sure his body of work is extensive enough to call him the greatest yet.

Dave Grohl
Bonham
Todd Trainer from Shellac
Danny Carey
John McIntyre from Tortoise and about a 100 other thrill jockey bands

I never understand everybody rateing Charlie Watts so highly. Too pedestrian/workmanlike for my tastes. Same with Ringo Starr. Come on you dont listen to the Stones for the drumming now, do you?

I, too, throw a shout out for Neil Peart and Stewart Copeland.

Copeland’s high-hat work really has to be heard to be believed. He may be the one drummer capable of bringing a song along JUST with his high-hat. Subtle, precise, and with a groove.

And I always choose Neil Peart for the ‘can anyone ELSE do all that?’ vote. He constantly pushes past it. And his Buddy Guy tribute video several years ago in which he essentially decided to stop playing the way he always had earns big marks from me. He changed grips, positions and playing style between two albums and never went back. That’s almost unheard of.

My username here on the SDMB is a giveaway that I’m quite the Dave Grohl fan.

Over the years I’ve followed Dave’s interviews in various rock magazines and he remains unfailingly polite and generous towards his greatest influences as both a guitarist, and as a rock drummer.

Interestingly (and I’m trying real hard from memory to be accurate here)… but this is Dave Grohl’s list of fave drummers… (in no particular order).

Stewart Copeland from his “Police” days. Fantastic cymbal and hi hat work.

John Bonham. Dave’s personal “epiphony” drummer.

Ringo Starr - Dave quotes the drumming from “Rubber Soul” as being very special stuff that all students of drumming should listen to.

Keith Moon - just a total monster.

And the guy from Rush… yes, that’s right, Dave Grohl couldn’t even remember his name - merely that the guy from “Rush” is really, really good.

Funny stuff, huh?

Certainly, Dave Grohl himself is very highly regarded - and obviously, a 3 piece like Nirvana needs a great drummer to make a mark in the music world (like The Police 15 years earlier). He’s very modest about his own drumming abilities - when people describe him as being the greatest drummer alive blah blah blah - he always responds with “People… I’m not that guy OK? I do NOT want to be that guy…”

Just something to bear in mind however… great drummers need two things to look really good… they need great songwriters who can write music which allows the drummer to shine, and they need a rythm section which allows them to become part of the “engine room”. It’s ironic, but great drummers need other talented people to really be at their best - and many is the great drummer who never had such good fortune I rather think.

Oh lordy how predictable
1: John Bonham
2: Keith Moon

I was wondering the other day about my teenage tastes and the riff from “Heartbreaker” came to mind (dunno why). I was thinking hey that really is a dull riff why did I used to listen to that stuff? So I dug out the CD and it’s not the guitar that drives the song it’s the drums - go have a listen. There’s just something about Bonzo’s timing.

As for Moony have y’all heard Live at Leeds? It’s like one non-stop drum fill -manic.

Neither of these guys were technicians they just generated incredible drive.

Yeah that Nirvana guy is quite usefull too.

Another vote for Bonzo - who I was lucky enough to see live - truly an awesome player.

I don’t get Neil Peart at all - maybe it’s because he’s in a shit band?

On Keith Moon: He never was taught to play the drums at all, and he never practiced between tours. Because of this he used to “forget” how to play. So every time the 'orrible 'oo went out he had to learn from scratch again.

The one that’s been going through my mind of late is Fool in the Rain - the way he slouches to the beat, leaving an extra taste of silence rather than just hitting it dead-on. He could play with muscularity, but also had so much finesse. The fact that they ceased operations without him also says a lot.

I was so delighted to see people mentioning Stewart Copeland - I totally forgot about him, and he’s one of my absolute favorites. Rumble Fish is amazing, and he went to Africa to do The Rhythmatist well before Paul Simon.

Another drummer who occurred to me is Hal Blaine, the great session artist. Not that any of his Partridge Family work showcased amazing talent, but for versatility and longevity he deserves some mention.

The best I ever saw…
Tad Hutchinson from The Young Fresh Fellows.

John motherf’n Bonham!!!

Terry Bozzio. The guy was amazing playing with Zappa. If you haven’t seen the Baby Snakes concert video you really should…great stuff.

I’ve always been a big Neil Peart fan. One of the reasons for this is that he creates a lot of very memorable hooks and melodies with his drums within the songs…if that makes any sense.

John Bonham…duh.

Danny Carey of Tool

Stewart Copeland is amazing.

I’ll second that!
I’ll also have to agree on the John Bonham, Carey, Bequford, and Peart.

Being a huge fan of the grateful dead, I’ll also have to second Mickey Harts nomination based not only on his excellent rock talent and style, but also his grasp of african drumming and percussion, as well as latin influences.

And I gotta throw in a vote for Jon Fishman (Phish), it is absolutely amazing to watch this guy play, his style is effortless and smooth, while still retaining power and impeccable timing.

I’m a drummer, so my list could go on and on, but it’s way to personal of a choice for me :slight_smile:

Along with Keith Moon and Stewart Copeland, another of my favorites is Carl Palmer. I never really paid much attention to drums until I saw him live at an ELP concert and his solo just blew me away. Now if only he and Emerson could’ve told Lake to just play the guitar and keep his yap shut, ELP would have been perfect, IMO.

Just a quick nod to some of the better drummers at the extreme end of the spectrum - Dave Lombardo of Slayer, Grip Inc. and Fantomas fame and Gene Hoglan of Dark Angel, Death and Strapping Young Lad, and Charlie Benate of Anthrax(Listen to Nobody Knows Anything of their latest album.). Just for being able to keep up careers were they need to play at 210 bpm everynight. (I’ve often held that Thrash Metal was only created to kill drummers)

Well, heck … someone needs to mention Iain Paice (Deep Purple).

As I always ask in “best of” threads: What do you mean by “best”? The reason people rave about Peart is because he has chops beyond belief and he never plays the same thing two measures in a row. Many folk, especially technical drumers, find that impressive. If you’re looking for “big stadium drums” you won’t like him so much. If you want no-flash/support-the band/keep-it-steady drumming, then you’ll want Charlie Watts. Keith Moon was a fine player for what he did, but he wasn’t particularly flexible–if he didn’t get it right away, he wasn’t going to get it.

They we get into the “best little-known” whatever. How well known do you have to be to be the “All-Time Greatest”?

Anyway, I hate “who’s the best” questions, but I always look. I suppose it’s rather like a traffic accident. IM (never very) HO, Rush is not a R & R band, so the prize goes to Bonzo.

[big hijack]
Fessie? How’s your…uh…condition?
[/hijack]

I can see your points - but I’ve enjoyed reading other people’s opinions of various musicians, plus there’s always someone new to learn about.

My condition (think “tradition”, as in “when I’m no longer pregnant, doobie doobie doobie, doobie doobie doobie doobie dooooo”) — well, they’re looking like 7 pounders according to today’s ultrasound, and they’re both feet-first so the C-section is scheduled for Tuesday. My FIL says that mean’s they’re gonna hit the ground running! I had to pick the date & thought having one’s birthday on Groundhog Day might be a bummer, while 02/03/04 sounds musical to me (isn’t there an old Lawrence Welk joke in here somewhere?). Thanks so much for asking! I hope your family is well!!

I also think it depends on the definition of “best”. With regards to best playing ability as shown by their recordings, I think it’s pointless to even compare r+r drummers, as jazz and, frankly, other genres even less related to rock are better representatives of virtuosity. R+r just isnt meant to showboat drumming abilities.

That said, the drummer that’s most enjoyable to me is Nick Mason. He does not seem to be the most technically accomplished drummer, but even though his stuff seems very simple, I have never heard anyone play like him. (Previously I held that feeling also about Syd Barrett’s floyd years, but that was before hearing the pale comparison that is Hawkwind :))

Other posters have said that a certain album was just made by the drumming. On no album I know of is this more true than DSOTM. Without Mason, DSOTM would be nowhere as great as it is (and it’s only my 3rd or 4th favorite floyd album, but it’s still superb stuff.)

There are other Floyd tunes that call back (forward? :)) to this sound, such as “The Narrow Way”, and “In the flesh”, but I have yet to heard anyone repeat the nearly minimalistic, yet perfectly emotionally timed, display of drumming that is Nick Mason.

Neil Peart, without a doubt. That guy is amazing.

Jonathan Chance; do you know if that video you mentioned can be found anywhere? I’d like to see it.