When I was 15, I saw the band Rush live in Portland Oregon. It was a very good concert, but the thing that really left an impression on me was the big guy in the back playing the drums as if the sticks were natural extensions of his arms. If you don't know his name, then you probably do not follow Rock and Roll very closely, or you have been living on the moon as far as Rock knowledge goes. Neil Peart treated the audience to a 12 minute drum solo that was nothing short of jaw dropping. It was after that experience that I started paying attention to the drums in the music that I listened to. Unfortunately for them, all drummers from then on, in my mind were held up to the Neil Peart standard. Not surprisingly, most fell short. I have since revised my criteria for what constitutes good drumming, and just because they are not Peart does not mean that they are bad. In fact this post is about my three favorite drum/percussion performances on albums. That is to say the albums that in my experience have the most impressive, noteworthy, creative or just Kick-A drum performances.
Keep in mind that this is a highly subjective evaluation of drum performances from a non-drummer, and from my own experience. By no means am I claiming these to be the best performances of all time, but they are my own three favorites. So here we go.
At number three we have the Metal band Kamelot. The album? "Ghost Opera." Drummer Casey Grillo, in my opinion, is a very solid and versatile drummer. For all of you Kam fans out there, you are welcome to contradict me if you wish, but here is my take. I have only heard Epica, Black Halo, and Ghost Opera. The drumming on Epica and Black Halo, while impressive and solid, don't really separate Grillo from the pack. However, the musicality that he displays on Ghost Opera is very impressive (compare and contrast the songs Ghost Opera, and the Human Stain.) Through my limited Metal listening experience, it seems that most of the drummers that I have heard just seem to want to show off how fast and how long they can pummel the double bass. In every song on the album, in 4/4 time. Grillo, however, and admittedly I'm sure the rest of the band has a hand in this, shows off and amazing ability to change up his playing. He tailors his drums very well to the heavily composed Kamelot music and really shows that he his a drummer who deserves to be at the top of the pack. Although I have not yet sat down to listen to it, I look forward to hearing "Poetry For The Poisoned."
Here is a link to one of Kamelots more well known songs:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9hGHnXPEi4
My number two, and this might be surprising to you considering the opening paragraph to this post, is Rush's album "2112." Why Pert ends up at number two I'll explain later. This album was my first and remains my favorite Rush experience. All I have to say about this is Neil Peart at the top of his game. Enough said. Check out the first few minutes of the 20 minute epic 2112 to see what I mean. Here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCj3oBHSA5M
Now. Are you ready for left field? Here comes my favorite drum performance of all time. Drum roll please.....
"Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" by The Flaming Lips. If you have not heard it, go listen to it right now. Some of you may be scratching your heads right now. Kamelot, Rush and......The Flaming Lips? What the huh???
Let me justify my choice. On "Yoshimi" Drummer Steven Drozd really shines. It seems that these days most rock drummers seem to forget that they have anything to work with besides a kick, snare and toms. This album is produced and played in such a manner that you almost don't notice that the kick is there on many of the tracks. This in no way detracts from the amazing performance. Drozds work on this album is (at least from my non-drummer perspective) mind blowing. How he can get his mind to wrap itself around those crazy rhythms and change-ups, I'll never know. Some notable songs that really show this off are: "Are you a hypnotist??" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czd3fgnHPoc and, "In the Morning of the Magicians" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jTuKHKIT4w&feature=iv&src_vid=NHK9C5cy74c&annotation_id=annotation_268723
Well there you have it. Let me reiterate, before I get 10,000 troll comments. Those are MY favorite based upon MY experience. If you take exception, by all means, expand my horizons. Tell me about some more drum/percussion performances that I should not miss. So what are your top three? Please let me know and tell me why.
