I don’t see your point at all, but I won’t continue to hijack the thread.
Peter Chriss from KISS. He was not a stellar drummer to begin with and as the annimostity between him and Gene and Paul grew he became more unreliable and would intentionally sabotage live shows by changing the tempo or stopping playing altogether mid-song. He did not even record the last two albums he was credited on before he left the band. He was replaced by Anton Fig as session drummer for Dynasty and Unmasked and replaced permently by Eric Carr.
I guess Ralph Molina from Crazy Horse gets a bad rap. I’m no musician, so I’m not going to judge- he does a fine job IMO. Now that I think about it, I’ve seen Crazy Horse a bunch of times and I don’t recall him ever having a solo. But then again he’s onstage with Neil Young, and Neil gets the solos! (Poncho Sampedro, the other guitar player does not solo, and neither does the bassist Billy Talbot.)
Less is more with drummers and bassists. A kick-ass drum solo is not the mark of a great drummer, keeping the beat is. Ringo had a star quality the other Beatles aspired to when they first met him, one rooted more in personality and stage presence than in drumming virtuosity.
I’ve liked Jack White better with other drummers–Patrick Keeler comes to mind–but his talent is taking two or three dirt-simple elements and combining them in a way that makes them sound incredibly complex. Meg may well have been the right one for the job.
Weak? Wally Ingram, Timbuk 3. When you replace a drum machine and the band never has another hit, it’s not a good sign.
While I am on record opining Ringo isn’t that great a drummer, he’s the best for the Beatles. Ringo was the one I liked, the one I’d want to be. His are the scenes I remember in Help! and Yellow Submarine sandwich.
They were the stereotypical fluke one-hit wonder off the first album and then two more albums without sniffing a hit, I don’t think any drummer in the world on album four was going to alter that downward spiral.
Ringo was just as good of a drummer as John and George were at rhythm and lead guitar. Obviously his songwriting skills weren’t close to theirs, but his technical ability at his instrument was equal to theirs. Most layman non-musicians don’t have as discerning an ear for the drum track of a song, so they’re just not as cognizant of Ringo’s fills. But he did use them effectively, and very melodically. A drum kit IS a melodic instrument with an array of different pitches and it CAN be played melodically, this is just not as readily evident to non-musicians as the pitch of instruments like guitars. But Ringo pulled it off. He always deployed all the right fills in all the right places without overshadowing anyone else, showing off, or EVER losing the flow of the song.
Molina is perfect for Crazy Horse, which is not the same as beinmg a great drummer, but he’s not a weak link! Also, if you’re interested, Sampredo has now retired and Nils Lofgren is back with the Horse.
Keeping the beat is not the mark of a great drummer (or bassist), it’s the bare minimum necessary for the position. If all they do is keep time, just use a metronome.
I did not know that. I was in high school when I saw the Berlin special with Nils in the band and I became a die hard fan right then. Thanks.
ETA: Neil’s band, not Crazy Horse for that tour.
Nitpick: Peter Criss.
Absolutely. I’ve seen them only once in concert, but oh my what a show! Never owned any of their work, but how two people like that could just fill up a room with sound and energy was a treat to witness. Meg hits the drums with authority, she has a natural instinct for the feel of the song, and gives Jack plenty of sonic space to do his noisy guitar hero thingy. Quite simply, she rocks in the way jazz cats swing.
Together, their music just had a lot of character and swagger. Listening to Jack play with technically more proficient drummers like in the Raconteurs, just left me wanting to hear the White Stripes more. There was just something in the musical chemistry between him and Meg that was suited to Jack’s songwriting and guitar stylings.
Beyond the Lighted Stage, very entertaining documentary, addresses this.
Their first tour manager said he was fired. Not because of his drumming, but because of his health. He said that John had uncontrolled diabetes and was a heavy drinker. They were afraid that if they took him on tour with them, he would not have survived.
I don’t know how true that is, but Wiki has this:
He was 55.
Nitpick: The drummer for Yellow Submarine Sandwich was Barry Wom. 
True, and the opposite thing can be said about R.E.M. We thought Bill Berry was just there behind the drumkit, but truthfully, he was their songwriter, and while they did release some great tunes after he retired, they just weren’t the same.
I really don’t think this was true. He was “a” songwriter, but from everything I’ve read he wasn’t THE dominant figure in the studio. Berry created a number of tunes, but so did Buck and Mills, with Stipe doing ~95% of the lyrics. I’m pretty much in agreement that they went downhill after his departure, but I think it was a symptom more than a cause.
They just got old, man :). Musical creativity hits peaks and valleys, but it almost inevitably seems to decline over time. Bands that are as creatively vital 20 years in as they were in their early years are pretty rare.
Don’t take this the wrong way, but the answer is Moe Tucker. Everyone can (rightfully) point out that she was a good fit for The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed’s often minimalist approach, but you can’t deny that she was absolutely a limiting factor for the band and by far the weakest musician*.
Years later, we can point to interviews with industry magazines, awards, and a variety of inductions into the Halls of XYZ to prove what a great drummer she was/is. However, this is seeking justification after the fact.
- Assuming we don’t consider Nico at all.
And it’s a little ironic given Jack’s props on the kit himself.
I’m a huge VU fan, but I’ll also be the first to admit that none of the members were great musicians. Yes, Moe wasn’t much of a drummer, but Lou Reed was a very mediocre guitarist and knew next to nothing about musical arrangements. John Cale proved that an average musician can get accolades from the pretentious crowd by doing weird/avant-garde stuff. Sterling Morrison was above average. Doug Yule was probably the most talented person to be in the band, and today he builds guitars.