# 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:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/41 "2015-10-31T00:37:18Z")
If anyone would like to see a video representation of Taiko drumming, there is a scene in the film Rising Sun (1993) starring Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes. > **[Rising Sun (1993) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107969/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_14)** > > Rising Sun: Directed by Philip Kaufman. With Sean Connery, Wesley Snipes, Harvey Keitel, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. When an escort girl is found dead in the offices of a Japanese company in Los Angeles, detectives Web Smith and John Connor act as liaison... IMHO, this is one of the most underrated films on IMDB. I thought the film was great and I still watch it periodically. The scene with the drums comes kind of early. I’m guessing around the 20 minute mark. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/42 "2015-10-31T01:32:10Z")
Slightly silly examples, perhaps: [Adam & The Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hEn_rEDzp0) [Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMICD3aMZpw) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/43 "2015-10-31T01:51:58Z")
Joni Mitchell: [The Tenth World/Dreamland](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyxbzwTdTQM) (My first choice, “The Jungle Line,” having already been mentioned ten years ago.) ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/44 "2015-10-31T09:53:43Z")
I have no idea if the OP is still searching for the elusive tribal drum sound but I will mention Crowded House (a white New Zealand band perhaps best known for the ballad Don’t Dream It’s Over) broke out an ethnic New Zealand Maori choir and Log Drummers for the album Together Alone. Particularly on the title track and the opening track Kare Kare. Great album by the way. The obvious rock drummer with a ‘Big Sound’ hasn’t been mentioned - John Bonham from Led Zepplin. However I was listening to Rainbow and Light In The Black from Rainbow Rising just the other night and that, to me, is a BIG track in terms of vocals, guitars and Cozy Powell is slaughtering those drums. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/45 "2015-10-31T10:29:12Z")
Adam Ant and Bow Wow Wow have already been mentioned but to add a little context. Adam and the Ants were a post punk UK band who were managed by the Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren. They became interested in the drum sounds of the Burundi Drummers at the end of the 1970s at which point McLaren, looking for some Sex Pistols style controversy, took the band away from Adam Ant. He installed a 14 year old girl as singer, fed the press shocking stories of underage sex and that was Bow Wow Wow. Their first big single C30, C60, C90 - Go was a tribute to home taping which was another controversial issue at the time. It had a drums and vocal first verse. Adam Ant, having kept nothing from McLaren but the name, formed a new band and started having the hit singles previously elusive. As mentioned they would use two drummers for a while. The hit single Antmusic is ‘only’ pop but it is a great pop song and makes full use of the double drums. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/46 "2015-10-31T11:37:08Z")
“Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil)” by Yes has a wicked crazy drum section in the middle, right around the [14-minute mark.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqYO-GTfd3g&t=860) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/47 "2015-10-31T15:15:12Z")
[Fanfarra](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwgHebDiEoA), the intro song to Sergio Mendes’s brilliant album _Brasileiro_. It really lights up at just after the minute mark. Crank it up. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/48 "2015-10-31T17:33:33Z")
[The Creatures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creatures)’ had BIG drums on all of their records. I didn’t see them mentioned, though Siouxsie is. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/49 "2015-11-01T14:56:22Z")
I second the mention of Godsmack - most of their songs have a tribal feel to them. Not necessarily what one might call “Tribal” but the huge drums used in [THIS BLUE MAN GROUP CLIP](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iFBXjRbVl0&list=RD0iFBXjRbVl0) are so much fun to watch and listen to. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/50 "2015-11-01T15:12:17Z")
One of the very first albums I ever bought was \* Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers ‎- Drum Suite \* which had mostly drumming on one side and one of his early combos on the other. An example of the drumming is [Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers ‎- The Sacrifice.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDHmbzHeTzU) I was into this sort of thing in those years. Still am! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/51 "2015-11-01T15:25:38Z")
Other decent drums things from my teen years: Chet Atkins - Boo Boo Stick Beat Preston Epps - Bongo rock Sandy Nelson - Teen Beat Cozy Cole - Topsy Part I & II Les Baxter Skins -- complete album ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/52 "2015-11-01T15:59:26Z")
And then there’s that whole subject of **Drumline** and the like. I have yet to find a more convincing performance than [The Swiss Top Secret Drum Corp](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHXNaYoguNU) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mr.Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Me)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/53 "2015-11-01T16:10:49Z")
[Jane’s Addiction - Chip Away](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIKz-_zP1yI) ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_of\_Words](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@Jack\_of\_Words](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_of_Words)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214/54 "2015-11-01T16:41:21Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Joni Mitchell: [The Tenth World/Dreamland](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyxbzwTdTQM) > > (My first choice, “The Jungle Line,” having already been mentioned ten years ago.) Also came in to say Jungle Line, but hadn’t noticed quite how late I was… Also beaten to the punch with the Burundi Beat of Adam & the Ants/Bow Wow Wow. I didn’t see a definitive correction of ‘Big Pig’ yet - I think it’s probably [Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KippOtDVa4) by Pigbag. You could do worse than check out Mickey Hart’s ‘Planet Drum’ - a collective of some of the world’s best drummers from a range of traditions. It’s not all BIG but it’s all FINE and some of it’s ENORMOUS (they did some percussion work for the Apoc.Now soundtrack, using a steel girder strung from the ceiling and struck for the sound of napalm). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-big-tribal-sounding-drums/332214.md?page=2)