The 10 Most Underrated Drummers in the History of Rock

[geardaddy]

http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2015/01/the_ten_most_underrated_drummers_in_the_history_of_rock.php
With all the real injustice on the streets -- and in the courtrooms -- of America currently, you might consider it trivial to examine 10 drummers who deserve more credit and attention than they've received. And you'd be right. But music is, if nothing else, a way to make sense of this wicked world through pure release; ostensibly, music geekdom -- enjoying and dissecting -- is a meaningful part of that release.

Widely read drum magazines, like their guitar counterparts, focus almost exclusively on musicians who want to stand out, often fatefully above the strength of a song, and who often sound like they're getting paid by the note. We're here to instead celebrate originality and overall effectiveness, rather than monster fills and rotating double-bass drum kits. Up for discussion below is a list of extraordinary drummers who are rarely, if ever, mentioned among the greats in rock history.

10. Aynsley Dunbar

Legend has it that Jimi Hendrix decided on Mitch Mitchell as his drummer for the Experience via coin flip; the reason for that flip was Aynsley Dunbar, a 20-year-old Liverpool kid. Dunbar went on to play in two English institutions: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and the Jeff Beck Group before kicking all kinds of ass on about a dozen albums by some mad American genius named Frank Zappa. Dunbar's simultaneously languid and hard-hitting style -- most notably heard on well-known Zappa jams like "Transylvania Boogie" and Zappa classical freakouts like "Big Swifty" -- is a more precise, intellectual-but-explosive version of Keith Moon, sounding less like the grand finale of a fireworks show than a captivating lead-up. After starring on a couple of classic early-'70s albums by David Bowie and Lou Reed (Diamond Dogs and Berlin), Dunbar's talents were somewhat wasted in collaboration with the likes of Sammy Hagar, Whitesnake, and Journey; probably for that reason, he is terribly overlooked as one of classic rock's most exciting and important drummers.

The rest at link.

[KamaAina]

1. Did you hear the one about the band that locked themselves out of their van?

It took them 45 minutes to get the drummer out.

[bif]

3. What's the definition of a band?

Three musicians and a drummer.

[Throd]

5. How do you know when the stage is level?

The drummer drools from both sides of his mouth.

[geardaddy]

6. How can you tell when the drummer is knocking at the door?

He/she speeds up.

[ProfessorGAC]

2. This List is A Critics' Circle Jerk

Too cool by half. There are only two or three that belong on that list.

The whole thing just oozes "read my list because i'm so much cooler than you!"

On Edit: I read the underrated guitarist list too. More of the same. Puke

[geardaddy]

4. Yeah, it's from The City Pages

which is Minneapolis' answer to the Village Voice.

Some of the writers for that paper are real dopes.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

7. ..and where is Pete Best???