Well, Ringo was lovable, whereas at one time or another one should expect to get annoyed at each of the other three. To modify what I said, I think he was really just the least prolific as a named songwriter. George was, well, George Harrison; Paul knew how to write pop like nobody; John was able to play off Paul pretty well (and a little of his later stuff is quite good). Ringo was always the guy making their rhythm sections work, so when you hear a Ringo song, it seems like basic generic Beatles. Arguably he really did give them a basic sound, but the fan expectation is that he’s a drummer, so how important could he be?
Grant Hart from Husker Du…can’t stand his drumming, don’t like his voice, and his songs are mediocre compared to Bob Mould’s…IMO. Even his drumkit sounds horrible on their earlier albums. I think the only song I really like by him is ‘Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely’
Thank you. Listen to Warehouse Songs and Stories. Almost all the Bob Mould songs are fantastic, you can skip the Grant Hart songs with no loss.
[CITE???]
ISTR hearing on some television program that at one point, Bon Jovi (okay, not a very otherwise-talented band as things go) fired their bassist for being bad at playing the bass, which would be one of the less rock n’ roll ways ever to be thrown out of a band. I don’t think I made up (hearing that at least) but no details (and if it happened on day 2 of garage band practice, hardly very germane to the OP). Anyone remember any more detail?
Alex John Such was the bass player and he was fired after a few albums. Can’t recall if it was due to bad bass playing, not being a good enough member of the Bon Jovi family (apparently they take pride on their All-for-One approach)…maybe he spoke to the media out of turn??
ETA: Wiki link
Ah, that last paragraph was what I was thinking of about the “stays in the family” part of the issue…
A great rock drummer is one who plays beats that don’t overpower the rest of the band. For these purposes Ringo is perfect. A showy drummer would have been a detriment to the Beatles.
I suppose I should mention Anthony “Top” Topham, the first guitarist in the Yardbirds… not that he was bad, just that he got replaced by three blokes named Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.
- “13 Reasons to give Ringo some respect”
http://medisinmusicforthemasses.wordpress.com/historically-influential-drummers/*
I think you’re absolutely right. Back in the 60’s I read some reviewer who referred to Bill’s bass playing with the Stones as “utilitarian”; I agreed then, and still do. I don’t know how well Bill can or can’t play, but I think that for whatever reasons, his heart was never in the Stones, and it showed.
And as you obviously know, the list of Stones songs with Keith on bass is longer than many people might expect.
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