Was Dennis a good drummer?

[Beach Boy]

I don't often use such rudimentary terms to describe my disdain for any specific musician, but Neil Peart friggin' sucks. Yes, I know he's a technical wizard. Yes, I know he has about two dozen different drums in his setup. His playing is boring as friggin' hell.

Testify!!!! 

I have to disagree here. I think Neil Peart is one of the most exciting drummers I have ever seen live in concert. Other favorite drummers of mine include Ringo, Bill Bruford, any of Zappa's drummers from about 1973 on, Bonham, Moon, etc. And I enjoy DW's performances on the Long Beach '81 and Seattle '83 shows.

Least favorite drummers? How about Tommy Lee from Motley Crue and Lars Ulrich from Metallica?

Funny, Tommy always reminds me of Dennis, not only because of the simple playing, more than that Tommy has a great heart too and is like Denny the crowd favourite and even when he talks he sounds a bit like him.  I think Lars Urlich was great in the eighties, when I first listened to albums like Master of Puppets or And Justice For All I thought he might be the best. Nowadays he does not deliver that passion and sound anymore. 

I think the mentioned Long Beach and Hawaii performances in the early eighties really rule. BTW This is the only time I saw Dennis playing drums on Help Me Rhonda after the mid-seventies.  Dennis IS rock and roll. In my perfect rock band he would be in with Bon Scott providing vocals, Keith Richards playing guitar and Cliff Burton bass. They are all not the best (with the exception of the latter maybe ) but they really show the passion and so stand for rock and roll. 

My second favourite drummer would be Eric Carr.

[Emdeeh]

Am I the only one here who suspects the Muppet character Animal was inspired by Dennis Wilson and Keith Moon?  



"Sahhhh-reeeeeen!"

[Rob Dean]

I love this thread , and have noticed that it appears there are a number of Drummers in our ranks 

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I don't often use such rudimentary terms to describe my disdain for any specific musician, but Neil Peart friggin' sucks. Yes, I know he's a technical wizard. Yes, I know he has about two dozen different drums in his setup. His playing is boring as friggin' hell.

Testify!!!! 

I have to disagree here. I think Neil Peart is one of the most exciting drummers I have ever seen live in concert. Other favorite drummers of mine include Ringo, Bill Bruford, any of Zappa's drummers from about 1973 on, Bonham, Moon, etc. And I enjoy DW's performances on the Long Beach '81 and Seattle '83 shows.

Least favorite drummers? How about Tommy Lee from Motley Crue and Lars Ulrich from Metallica?

Funny, Tommy always reminds me of Dennis, not only because of the simple playing, more than that Tommy has a great heart too and is like Denny the crowd favourite and even when he talks he sounds a bit like him.  I think Lars Urlich was great in the eighties, when I first listened to albums like Master of Puppets or And Justice For All I thought he might be the best. Nowadays he does not deliver that passion and sound anymore. 

I think the mentioned Long Beach and Hawaii performances in the early eighties really rule. BTW This is the only time I saw Dennis playing drums on Help Me Rhonda after the mid-seventies.  Dennis IS rock and roll. In my perfect rock band he would be in with Bon Scott providing vocals, Keith Richards playing guitar and Cliff Burton bass. They are all not the best (with the exception of the latter maybe ) but they really show the passion and so stand for rock and roll. 

My second favourite drummer would be Eric Carr.

Peter Chris and Eric Carr are two of the greats as well!

Peter Chris is a great example of a flashy guy with tons of drums but who still played loose and swung and played with a lot of heart and knew damn well when to simplify!

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

BTW, my mom was at the TAMI show with a bunch of her girlfriends, and they apparently split after the Beach Boys because they all just went to see Dennis and nothing more 

[adamghost]

[I think the mentioned Long Beach and Hawaii performances in the early eighties really rule. BTW This is the only time I saw Dennis playing drums on Help Me Rhonda after the mid-seventies.  Dennis IS rock and roll. In my perfect rock band he would be in with Bon Scott providing vocals, Keith Richards playing guitar and Cliff Burton bass. They are all not the best (with the exception of the latter maybe ) but they really show the passion and so stand for rock and roll.  

My second favourite drummer would be Eric Carr.

Wow, normally I hate fantasy band ideas, but what an interesting band that would be!

That's the thing about Dennis' 2/4 style...you can plug it into almost any situation and it's gonna work.  Neil Peart not so much.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

One of the funniest things I ever heard was, Neil Peart had to go take lessons from some Uber Drum Guru guy just to go back to square one and be able to strip it down and play simple!

[Beekeeper]

I don't often use such rudimentary terms to describe my disdain for any specific musician, but Neil Peart friggin' sucks. Yes, I know he's a technical wizard. Yes, I know he has about two dozen different drums in his setup. His playing is boring as friggin' hell.

Testify!!!! 

I have to disagree here. I think Neil Peart is one of the most exciting drummers I have ever seen live in concert. Other favorite drummers of mine include Ringo, Bill Bruford, any of Zappa's drummers from about 1973 on, Bonham, Moon, etc. And I enjoy DW's performances on the Long Beach '81 and Seattle '83 shows.

Least favorite drummers? How about Tommy Lee from Motley Crue and Lars Ulrich from Metallica?

Funny, Tommy always reminds me of Dennis, not only because of the simple playing, more than that Tommy has a great heart too and is like Denny the crowd favourite and even when he talks he sounds a bit like him.  I think Lars Urlich was great in the eighties, when I first listened to albums like Master of Puppets or And Justice For All I thought he might be the best. Nowadays he does not deliver that passion and sound anymore. 

I think the mentioned Long Beach and Hawaii performances in the early eighties really rule. BTW This is the only time I saw Dennis playing drums on Help Me Rhonda after the mid-seventies.  Dennis IS rock and roll. In my perfect rock band he would be in with Bon Scott providing vocals, Keith Richards playing guitar and Cliff Burton bass. They are all not the best (with the exception of the latter maybe ) but they really show the passion and so stand for rock and roll. 

My second favourite drummer would be Eric Carr.

Peter Chris and Eric Carr are two of the greats as well!

Peter Chris is a great example of a flashy guy with tons of drums but who still played loose and swung and played with a lot of heart and knew damn well when to simplify!

Peter Criss couldnt play in time. The live stuff is horrible.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I dunno. KISS ALIVE seemed to make boatloads of people happy enough, complete with out-of-time drumming.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Am I the only one here who suspects the Muppet character Animal was inspired by Dennis Wilson and Keith Moon?  



"Sahhhh-reeeeeen!"

I think it's pretty well established Animal was based partly on Keith... not considered Dennis but yes, good chance.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

I think the people who care the most about song meter/time are producers and guys programming stuff: "beats per minute" types. Some of my favorite live stuff goes in and out of time, and I get a kick out of it because it means the drummer was enthused or the band was getting caught up in the enjoyment of playing live.

Not that there aren't examples of someone just being sloppy, but still.....

[Beekeeper]

When Ive gone to see a band play live I want to hear the song as it was recorded that is the drummer plays consistently in his tempo.

BK

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Well, we don't always get what we want!

Music is an organic experience played by humans. If you're in a bad mood it will affect how you play, just as being in a good mood will!

Look at Money by Pink Floyd: when it comes back from all the solos/breakdowns it's about twice as fast as they started it, but who's complaining? Listen to the various live takes of the song floating around, and the meter is more consistent? Therefore, why the hell did they keep and issue a take for the album that went up in meter? Because it feels great and kicks ass, that's why!

[Beekeeper]

Well, we don't always get what we want!

Music is an organic experience played by humans. If you're in a bad mood it will affect how you play, just as being in a good mood will!

Look at Money by Pink Floyd: when it comes back from all the solos/breakdowns it's about twice as fast as they started it, but who's complaining? Listen to the various live takes of the song floating around, and the meter is more consistent? Therefore, why the hell did they keep and issue a take for the album that went up in meter? Because it feels great and kicks ass, that's why!

I guess Im biased because Ive been playing the drums since 1982. When I play live I try to keep the tempo consistent because its the audience that is paying me to play music that will help them get away from their problems for a couple of hours and for me to let my mood affect my playing wouldnt be professional.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

That's certainly one way of looking at it, and is a responsible and professional approach, and correct for I'd say 90% of the experience. And I'm probably just making excuses for drummers I like but who don't have perfect meter. But the other part of me says the audience, by and large, don't really care about such things. We all love Dennis therefore he could literally fall over his drums and we'd still be clapping. Musicians are people and a good portion of why we give a damn is because it's just people communicating something to us and creating an even on stage/on record/whatever.

[Beekeeper]

I agree with what you are saying up to a point. My only contention is this. If the drummers tempo is not consistent then the whole song will not sound right as it is being played live.  True Ive seen the audience (people in the bar) dancing away because they were too drunk to stop and say, " Hey this sounds like crap"!!!

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Trust me, I know what you mean. I've seen some Grateful Dead shows where someone would start a song WAY too slow or fast and the band would kinda have to commit to playing it at that tempo and it was sometimes very painful to witness. Micky Hart would usually start playing faster in order to pick it up and Bill would be trying to figure out what Phil or Bob were yelling at him, and it would be a mess..... But then they'd come together and it would be magic..... So, it's a bit of give and take for entertainment value sometimes.

Then there's that moment on Cheap Trick: Live At Budukon where Bun E. Carlos misses his snare! I love that moment! Not even sure why, but I do!

[Mikie]

I think the mentioned Long Beach and Hawaii performances in the early eighties really rule.

You serious?? One of the worst Beach Boys concerts I ever saw. No Carl, wasted Dennis, Brian's vocals sucked, Adrian Baker's falsettos sucked even worse. We talking about the same concert? Queen Mary, Long Beach, July 5, 1981?

[oldsurferdude]

Ricky Fataar could play circles around Dennis Wilson. I saw Ricky play live with the Beach Boys three times in 1973 and 1974. The guy could really play. I remembering asking a girlfriend who went to the early concerts with me, "Who is this guy"? I never knew for a long time why Dennis was standing up front and not behind the drums. But Ricky rocked the joint!

From 1975 to 1982 I saw Dennis play and he usually hit the skins very hard. It was a blast watching him play. When he was intoxicated, he had trouble keeping time (see the 1980 Washington HBO special or Queen Mary '81 for examples) but he was still a lot of fun to watch. You had to be there. The wimin LOVED the guy and when he stood up, they screamed bloody murder! I can see why some of you don't think he was that great of technical drummer, but when the Boys first came on stage and he sauntered across it then jumped up on the drum riser, the sound of his drums boomed across the P.A. system and really rocked the place. California Girls was usually the first song and people stood up for the first 3 0r 4 songs then sat down. I enjoyed the hell out of watching Dennis.

When I think of Dennis playing with the Boys, I think immediately of those live shows in the 70's in San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento. I also think of his playing on the March '64 Lost Concert footage (kinda back asswards) and the '64 concert album.

This post had you landing right on the money.

[Bill Ed]

Am I the only one here who suspects the Muppet character Animal was inspired by Dennis Wilson and Keith Moon?  



"Sahhhh-reeeeeen!"

The first time I saw Animal I thought "Dennis Wilson"!

I saw the Beach Boys in 1972 with Fataar on drums, but the first time I saw Dennis on drums was when they played Memphis in November of '75. It was the best concert I've ever attended and Dennis was the star. His drumming (and persona) drove the show. Thanks Dennis.

My favorite drummer is this guy, and I'm not even a huge jazz fan. According to what I've read on him or heard about him, he's also a genuinely modest and generous man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwXjgti7GyY

[Jay]

Well, you have to admit that Dennis seems to be having a fairly good time in Long Beach. I love whe he says "I love Shawn" in Help Me Rhonda.   I thought that the Hawaii Mike Douglas performance was pretty damn good for the period. Carl's guitar playingwas on fire.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

The Long Beach show is hideous in all respects other than Dennis!

He looks to be having a blast and is doing all these big old fills across the toms! Magic!

[Mike's Beard]

Gene Simmons has said plenty of times that Peter Criss was not a very good drummer.

[Rocker]

I wonder why no one mentioned Ron Tutt yet. Fantastic drummer !

[Roger Ryan]

Look at Money by Pink Floyd: when it comes back from all the solos/breakdowns it's about twice as fast as they started it, but who's complaining? Listen to the various live takes of the song floating around, and the meter is more consistent? Therefore, why the hell did they keep and issue a take for the album that went up in meter? Because it feels great and kicks ass, that's why!

Whoa, wait a minute...the doubletime tempo in "Money" during the last solo is definitely part of the arrangement (at least for the studio version); there's no way something like that happened by accident and was left in. But, yes, is feels great and kicks ass.

Personally, I find Nick Mason's drumming to be superb. His very deliberate, non-showy style is perfect for Pink Floyd. Those slow motion drum fills on "Dogs" are quite unique and what I enjoy the most about the song.