Absolutely @gpgr4blu. Hal Blaine was my first favorite studio drummer, once I learned there was such a thing. I left out Jim Keltner, considering him an obvious member of the musical drummer fraternity. His playing on Randy Newman's early albums really raised the bar for me. He is Ry Cooder's first choice for recording. I saw and heard the two perform live together in Little Village, an amazing experience.
To hear a drum solo that is not only technically sophisticated, but also very musical, give a listen to the two short little drum breaks in "Beyond The Sea" by Bobby Darin. The drummer is Don Lamond, who had been in Woody Herman's band. Fantastic!
It's not well known, but The Band's pianist/singer Richard Manuel plays drums on about half the song's on the s/t brown album, including "Up On Cripple Creek" and "Rag Mama Rag". His playing is a little stiff and slightly awkward, but the parts he created for the songs are "signature" parts, very important to the feel and character of the songs. Charlie Watts was also a little stiff, but had a more identifiable sound and style than do many more technical players. Which is more valuable?
Emitt Rhodes started out on drums (in L.A. group The Palace Guard, while still in High School) switching to guitar when he formed The Merry-Go-Round. He plays all the instruments and sings all the vocals on his debut album, later employing drummer Jim Gordon on his second and third. When I recorded with Emitt in the late-90's (he was engineering and producing), he told me Gordon was the best musician he ever worked with. Not just best drummer, but best musician. A deeply, deeply musical drummer. Bobby Whitlock (Delaney & Bonnie, Derek & The Dominos) has said he considers Gordon the best Rock 'n' Roll drummer of all-time. I don't know, Earl Palmer was awfully good ;-) .
To hear a drum solo that is not only technically sophisticated, but also very musical, give a listen to the two short little drum breaks in "Beyond The Sea" by Bobby Darin. The drummer is Don Lamond, who had been in Woody Herman's band. Fantastic!
It's not well known, but The Band's pianist/singer Richard Manuel plays drums on about half the song's on the s/t brown album, including "Up On Cripple Creek" and "Rag Mama Rag". His playing is a little stiff and slightly awkward, but the parts he created for the songs are "signature" parts, very important to the feel and character of the songs. Charlie Watts was also a little stiff, but had a more identifiable sound and style than do many more technical players. Which is more valuable?
Emitt Rhodes started out on drums (in L.A. group The Palace Guard, while still in High School) switching to guitar when he formed The Merry-Go-Round. He plays all the instruments and sings all the vocals on his debut album, later employing drummer Jim Gordon on his second and third. When I recorded with Emitt in the late-90's (he was engineering and producing), he told me Gordon was the best musician he ever worked with. Not just best drummer, but best musician. A deeply, deeply musical drummer. Bobby Whitlock (Delaney & Bonnie, Derek & The Dominos) has said he considers Gordon the best Rock 'n' Roll drummer of all-time. I don't know, Earl Palmer was awfully good ;-) .