just to touch on this lightly drew, ringo wasn't a drummer until he was put into the beatles so therefore his early drumming was a bit primitive, and while he never became a structuralist like bonnom (sp?) he was able to think outside of the box and put some really wonderful beats down. The beatles were a group of extraordinarily talented musicians. It was not just John and Paul. So my overall feeling is that he was a badass and I wish my drumming were as good as his.
Most talented? Hell no. However, the man simply knew what to play when. He knew what would just feel right in a song and did it, and never anything more. You put someone like Carter Beauford behind the Beatles, and the band is not NEARLY as good as they were as that style of playing would take away from the song, where as Ringo just fit everything perfectly.
Actually Studogg Ringo was an established drummer before the Beatles. My take on him as a drummer is this - is he a technical genius - no. Was he the perfect drummer for the Beatles - yes. The reason is that he had just the right amount of agreeability in a group full of superstars that the band could gel. He also had great innate timing and did not drown out the Beatles melodies with overbearing fills. His fills were subtle and supportive. If you get down to it none of the Beatles were really amazing at anything except songwritting. They were decent singers, guitar players, and musicians but they were amazing composers. Composition is the most important thing for musicians. That is how you get complete crap guitar players and singers (Kurt Cobain, Billy Corgan, Green Day) and they become huge stars. They now how to compose. There are several unknown musicians with technical talent that far surpasses many popular acts but you will never hear of them because they can't compose.
As LeGrouper stated, Ringo was an established drummer way before he ever joined the Beatles. He was the drummer for the best band in Liverpool at that time, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. And Ringo was the best drummer in Liverpool as well. Very underrated drummer. George Martin (Beatles producer) stated several years ago that he and several other Beatle historians went back and listened to most of the tapes from the recording sessions at Abbey Road from 1963-1970 and the one thing that stood out to all of them was that Ringo was damn near perfect on every one of those recordings. Every song that broke down was caused by either John, Paul or George, never Ringo. Simply amazing.
Ringo was definitely a great drummer. Listen to his drumming on songs as diverse as "Rain" and "A Day in a Life," as well as all of the snappy early beat music. He was great.
A little off-topic, but I know a few years ago that Bernard Perdie claimed that he played on a few of the Beatle's tracks and never got credit for it. Said he was gonna come out with a book. I haven't heard of anything since then though. Doubt it was true anyway.
He was kind of like the Trent Dilfer of drummers. Perfectly competent, not a superstar, but imagine the group without him. He was perfect for them as he was an excellent timekeeper.
Thank you for bringing up Rain. That was some great drumming. Was he the greatest drum virtuoso? No. Did he do some creative things, add the right parts at the right times to the songs? Yes. He gets a bum rap by a lot of people, but the guy was steady. And he also popularized the kind of broken drum roll as a fill. Instead of rolling straight through the fill, he popularized breaking up the roll. Ringo also swings.
Very basic stuff. Not a Beatles fan at all but do acknowledge that they were a huge influence to many and were certainly a talented group of musicians and ESPECIALLY song writers!
Very basic stuff. Not a Beatles fan at all but do acknowledge that they were a huge influence to many and were certainly a talented group of musicians and ESPECIALLY song writers!
lol, but true. the guy isn't john bonham but what would the beatles need with john bonham anyway. for your poll i choose both,i mean of course he's lucky, he played with maybe the two greatest songwriters ever, but he earned his spot. ringo was absolutely perfect to the songs and to the image.
The most important thing about ringo is how he played. Any drummer who lookes at him playes sees nothing special. the truth is that he created the modern style of playing on a kit. he just picked up the sticks and played. This is the style all rock drummers use today. Before him it was more like what you see jazz drummers do. for this simple reason he is the man.
as much as ill make fun of billy-wearing-a-black-cape era pumpkins was, he was quite a ripping guitar player. have you ever heard gish? thats him bustin out all those hendrix esque solos. you are right about his voice though...its crap. in answer to the above querry, i would say its a little bit of ringo being the luckiest b*stard in the world for stumbling into the beatles and the fact that he was indeed a talented and CREATIVE melodic drummer. he was lucky b/c he joined the beatles right before they exploded. it really didnt matter who the drummer was, they were going to be who they became. ringo was in the right place at the right time. and i always thought that he was already an established drummer who was known about town for his solid backbeat. however, although he never rocked it like john bonham, ringo definately had a unique and subtle style all his own. he never overplayed on a song. tastefulness like his is a rare quality in a drummer. ringo gave each song what it needed and nothing more. he as influenced as many drummers as anyone else out there. what he was doing, especially in the later years was pretty creative and pushing the boundaries of drumming in terms of his melodic approach to playing. sure, the drum solo on "the end" is kind of puny when compared to say "moby dick", but its ringo for gods sake! ringo! i couldnt imagine anyone else playing drums for the beatles. god save ringo and god save the queen!
Hmm...no. I own gish, love the album, but Billy has no technical ability. He is extremely creative and comes across as having a unique and complex sound, but if Billy was invited to a jam session with some of the Houston jazz musicians he would eventually be asked to sit out. Don't forget how much manipulating you can do in the studio.
