# Songs with BIG tribal sounding drums **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214 "2005-11-22T05:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![stanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@stanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stanger)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/1 "2005-11-22T05:58:39Z")
A few months ago I went with a friend to a local stadium where high school marching bands from around the country were competeing. I was right on the field and up close to the bands and was generally impressed by all of them. I can appreciate the time and effort that went into perfecting their performances. One part of the competition had a smaller group of each band perform facing the audience without having to do any marching or movements at all. Several of the bands brought in these _huge_ drums for certain parts of their performance. These dang things moved some air! Each band did some song that was heavy on percussion and at some point used these large drums. Guys were literally beating these things as hard as they could with small bats! The style was very tribal, almost agressive and war-like, but very crowd pleasing. The effect of these drums and the songs they did was overwhelming. The songs were definitely a “drum” type of song using all the various drums, but highlighting these large ones. The songs were great! Can anyone recommend songs that are primarily these types of drum songs and feature these impressive large drums? ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/2 "2005-11-22T06:08:19Z")
Google for “taiko” and I’m sure you’ll get plenty of hits. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/3 "2005-11-22T06:12:45Z")
Tusk by Fleetwood Mac uses a high school marching band with a big drum sound. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/4 "2005-11-22T06:52:30Z")
Dunno how big the drums were, but Echo and the Bunnymen’s song “All My Colours” (aka “Zimbo”) had the tribal drum sound going. It’s a good song, too. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/5 "2005-11-22T08:18:06Z")
“The Rhythm of the Heat” by Peter Gabriel (from _Security_) has a very powerful ending with tribal drums. ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/6 "2005-11-22T08:50:40Z")
“The Jungle Line” by Joni Mitchell off her “Hissing of Summer Lawns” album is exactly like this. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/7 "2005-11-22T08:54:13Z")
Were they [timpanis](http://music.unm.edu/departments/percussion/Timpani%20fundamentals%20class.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/8 "2005-11-22T13:23:47Z")
[“Planet Drum”](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000009O6/104-1836641-7771109?v=glance&n=5174&s=music&v=glance) has one or two moments like that. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/9 "2005-11-22T13:44:52Z")
> [@stanger](#): > > Can anyone recommend songs that are primarily these types of drum songs and feature these impressive large drums? I think you would enjoy [Stomp Out Loud](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0783112793/102-6099549-8137758?v=glance) - it doesn’t actually use any real drums (it’s all junk items like oil drums and buckets), but a couple of the big numbers have a real ‘tribal’ feel to them. It’s also worth watching purely for the skill of the players. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/10 "2005-11-22T13:47:52Z")
Also, the Blue Man Group DVD of _The Complex Rock Tour Live_ is very much a feast of percussion and features a massive drum mounted on shock absorbers; it is played with an enormous stick the size of a sledgehammer (it is also played in much the same way as one might use such an implement). ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/11 "2005-11-22T13:48:56Z")
The live version of “Yulunga (Spirit Dance)” by **Dead Can Dance** has some nice tribal sounding percussion and there is a nice percussive section in the live version of “Oman”, as well. I also like the studio version of “Nierika” for that feel, as well. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/12 "2005-11-22T13:49:00Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > Tusk by Fleetwood Mac uses a high school marching band with a big drum sound. That’s the first thing that came to my mind. There is somthing subtle and powerful about that song. It’s always been one of my favs. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/13 "2005-11-22T14:01:46Z")
Peter Gabriel’s Security has already been mentioned - lots of HUGE drum sounds on that one; my fave is “Lay Your Hands on Me” There was a hit in the 80’s by a band - Pigbeat? Big Pig? I think that’s it - Big Pig. The song was called Getaway or something. Lots of big drums… ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/14 "2005-11-22T14:12:50Z")
An oft-posted-about and personal favorite, _Huron ‘Beltane’ Firedance_ by **Loreena McKennitt** , on her Parallel Dreams album. There’s also a phenominal drumming solo that closes out the live version of _Good Things_ by the **BoDeans** that can be found on their 2 disk offering Joe Dirt Car. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/15 "2005-11-22T14:27:09Z")
:smack: How could I forget **Enya’s** \*Storms in Africa (parts I and II) \* on her Watermark album, as well as on her “best of” disk, Paint The Sky With Stars and her Only Time collection. Speaking of Enya, she has a new cd out this week… 😃😃😃 ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/16 "2005-11-23T00:49:10Z")
taiko is fantastic. kodo is one of the top groups. there are quite a few american groups as well. nyc’s group is very good as well as san jose’s. there is a car commercial that has a taiko group in it. they are wearing bright red dresses. i’m fairly sure it is a mitsubishi commercial. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/17 "2005-11-23T01:07:18Z")
> [@rocking chair](#): > > taiko is fantastic. > > kodo is one of the top groups. Kodo is excellent, I saw them for my 20th birthday in Royce Hall. It was awesome, in the strict meaning of the word. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/18 "2005-11-23T01:22:26Z")
Sepultura’s **Roots** is a fantastic album that features lots of tribal drumming. Nothing beats grinding death metal with tribal drumming recorded in the Brazilian jungle by actual tribes! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/19 "2005-11-23T01:26:32Z")
_The Last Beat of my Heart_ by Siouxsie and the Banshees has a nice drum bit at the front. ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/20 "2005-11-23T02:36:11Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > There was a hit in the 80’s by a band - Pigbeat? Big Pig? I think that’s it - Big Pig. The song was called Getaway or something. Lots of big drums… PigBag? Early Adam and the Ants had a big drum sound (2 full drum kits). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214.md?page=2)