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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: erwinrafael on December 07, 2017, 01:18:53 AM
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I've been arranging the playlists in my phone and because it has limited space, I decided to just fill it with my favorite drumming albums. Here are my albums so far:
Dream Theater (Mike Mangini) - This album showcased the Mike Mangini with his full arsenal so far. Yes, there are problems with the production, but I can get past it because I love how this is signature Mangini with amazing playing while not calling attention to himself and working instead to integrate the whole music of the band with a solid rhythmic backbone. Right-Left cymbals? Check. The best footwork in the drumming world? Check. Polythyrhms? Check. Melodic playing to complement the other instruments? Check. Illumination Theory is the best druming in a Dream Theater song I have ever heard. However, based on the released singles, Into The Great Divide might become my signature Mangini listen in the future. We'll see.
Awake (Mike Portnoy) - My favorite drumming album in terms of composition. Before Portnoy became obsessed with fills, he was a master of composing distinct memorable drum patterns to mark different sections in a song. The Mirror is a masterpiece in this regard, but you could also find much of this composition genius in the other songs in this album.
Human Hardware (Virgil Donati) - In terms of technical playing, Donati's best is still Planet X's Quantum. But it's quite different hearing Donati going crazy in songs with vocals. Coming up with one unconventional hit after another but still working in the context of the song, Donati's drumming in Icefish's debut album is a joy to listen to.
Hand.Cannot.Erase (Marco Minnemann) - speaking of being a joy to listen to, I always associated Marco's drumming to a sense of fun. It's like when he plays, you can feel how much he loves to play. He has so many other technically better drumming in other albums, but I love Hand.Cannot.Erase the most because the subdued contemplative parts contrasts well when Marco is "unleashed," making me go "Oh yeah, hit those drums!" Marco just explodes in First Regret/3 Years Older, Home Invasion and most especially in Ancestral.
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (Alex Van Halen) - I always found Alex's drumming brimming with energy, as if he is drumming on instinct. In F.U.C.K., though, we got a "mature" Alex that still has that feel but also a great sense of composition. Right Now is my favorite in this album. The drum composition in the song is perfect.
The Seventh One (Jeff Porcaro) - It's Jeff Porcaro with Toto. This has the song These Chains. That's all.
Sex and Religion (Terry Bozzio) - Just like Donati, Bozzio has so many other albums which showcase his technique. But hearing it in the context of songs with vocals is different. Here and Now, and Still My Bleeding Heart are Bozzio's gifts to drummerkind.
III Sides to Every Story (Paul Geary) - A childhood favorite. The perfect example of perfect minimalist drumming. Cupid's Dead is a must-learn for all aspiring drummers.
How about you? What are your favorite drumming albums?
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That's some nice picks erwinrafael! :tup
On the top of my head:
Michel Camilo - Why Not? (Dave Weckl)
It's Weckl, not much more is needed to be said.
Panzerballett - Tank Goodness (Sebastian Lanser)
Sebastian is kind of a new discovery but I love his creative playing with this band.
Styx - The Mission (Todd Sucherman)
Discovered Todd a few years ago, since then he's grown to be one of my favourite prog rock drummers today.
Meshuggah - Obzen (Thomas Haake) It's not my favourite album by theirs but his performance on Bleed make it stand out. Was completely blown away when I first heard it, it's kind of a "simple" foot pattern and yet so well composed to the music. It's also a lesson in foot stamina. :lol
Randy Waldman - Unreel (Vinnie Colaiuta)
Vinnie in top form is always a treat, keep in mind this was basically a one take session for Vinnie.
Haven't actually heard Human Hardware yet even though Virgil been one of my favourite drummers for years.
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Richard Christy’s performance on Death’s The Sound Of Perseverance blows me away. The man manages to throw in splash and China hits into so many tight spaces and it just sounds frenetic and crazy.
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WASP's Crimson Idol was the first that popped in my mind. Love what both Frankie Banali and Stet Howard do on this one.
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The first one that came to mind is Catch without arms by dredg. Which is weird, because I wouldn't even call their drummer one of my favorite drummers.
Then, most Rush albums would be good choices.
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Fear of a Blank Planet - Gavin Harrison
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Testament - The Gathering
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An oldie, Romantic Warrior (Return to Forever) Lenny White on drums
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Tool - Lateralus
Led Zeppelin - 1, 2, 4, Physical Graffiti
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Off the top of my head..
Dream Theater (Mike Portnoy)-Images And Words
Rush (Neal Peart)-Hemispheres
Rainbow (Cozy Powell)-On Stage
Heavenly (Max Pilo)-Dust To Dust
Lost Horizon (Christian Nyquist)- A Flame To The Ground Beneath
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I'm just gonna names the bands, since each has so many good albums with good drummers.
Dream theater
Rush
Fate's warning (Zonder)
Porcupine tree (Gavin)
King crimson (Bruford)
Dave matthews band ( Carter Beauford)
Tool (Danny Carey)
Led zeppelin (bonham)
Guitar is the instrument that I play, but I am fascinated by drums and those are some of my favorites off the top of my head.
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I can name albums (Wind and Wuthering, Moving Pictures, Physical Grafitti, SFAM, TSOAD) but generally speaking, I listen to Phil Collins, Neil Peart, and Mike Portnoy just because.
There are other albums where the drumming is pretty killer; Bill Ward knocks it flat on Paranoid. The guys in the Dead are pretty solid on Terrapin Station (though the album isn't that good other than the epic). I agree with the "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" reference. I actually like Dave Holland on Screaming... Lateralus is a strong suggestion. Ian Mosley on Clutching At Straws. Pretty much any Deep Purple album from 1970 (In Rock) through 1974 (Burn) has some tasty Ian Paice moments.
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Michel Camilo - Why Not? (Dave Weckl)
It's Weckl, not much more is needed to be said.
Weckl is a freaking cheat code. Like Jeff Porcaro, Horacio Hernandez and Dennis Chambers.
Meshuggah - Obzen (Thomas Haake) It's not my favourite album by theirs but his performance on Bleed make it stand out. Was completely blown away when I first heard it, it's kind of a "simple" foot pattern and yet so well composed to the music. It's also a lesson in foot stamina. :lol
I once thought that such kind of playing is studio only, then I watched a Mike Mangini video for Annihilator playing Chasing the High which proved to me that it is humanly possible. :lol
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Scenes From a Memory (Portnoy): This is Mike Portnoy at his very best. The Dance of Eternity and Finally Free alone would make this top 5.
Avenged Sevenfold (The Rev): This was a tough choice with Nightmare and The Stage close behind, but I couldn’t in good conscience rank the drumming on those albums over anything that the late James Sullivan did. With standout performances on songs like Almost Easy, Scream, and Unbound (the Wild Ride) along with the masterful composition that is A Little Piece of Heaven, this album is The Rev at his very best.
Dream Theater (Mangini): The second self titled album to make this list, this is signature Mangini. The first time I heard the drum solo in Enigma Machine, it blew my mind and Illumination Theory is a masterclass in drum composition.
...And Justice for All (Ulrich): Lars gets a lot of crap, but there’s no denying that he was at the top of his game for this album.
There’s so many more, and a lot of repeat performances from Portnoy, but these are the four that stand out.
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Black Light Syndrome - Bozzio Levin Stevens
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Stadler: Ian Paice is so underrated. No idea why his name doesn't crop up more often
My favourite drumming album is The Great Misdirect by BTBAM. Just listening to Swim to the Moon wears me out
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Lost Horizon (Christian Nyquist)- A Flame To The Ground Beneath
:tup :tup
That's a nice gem, their debut was such a breath of fresh air into the power metal genre at the time. So much energy and power. I remember being blown away the first time I heard them and it's still today one of my favourite albums of the genre. The sequel is everything turned up to 11. :lol
I had the same reaction when Dragonforce entered the scene.
So sad that the band completely disappeared.
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WASP's Crimson Idol was the first that popped in my mind. Love what both Frankie Banali and Stet Howard do on this one.
I stopped listening to WASP after the second album, but I stumbled across Still Not Black Enough on YT the other night and there's some great music on there. Frankie Banali jumped out at me. While he doesn't list Keith Moon as an inspiration he sure as hell has his style. At least on that album it seemed like he was emulating him.
Rainbow (Cozy Powell)-On Stage
Was never a big Cozy fan, I always thought his bag of tricks was rather small, but live the man was a machine. There are some boots from the Japan tour and his live playing on Light in the Black is really something else.
Anyhoo, Lateralus and Moving Pictures are no-brainers for me. I'll also throw out Unleashed in the East (Les Fucking Binks) for a live album contribution.
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I don't really pay much attention to drums, but:
Snarky Puppy - We Like it Here
Diablo Swing Orchestra - Pandora's Pinata
Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I
Tool - Lateralus
Meshuggah - Obzen
I could probably list any NeO, Tool, or Meshuggah album tho.
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So I just completed the playlists in my phone. These two were added:
Superunknown (Matt Cameron) - Matt just makes drumming sound effortless. I pretty much learned how to drum to odd time signatures because of this album where Matt just makes it sound easy.
Master of Puppets (Lars Ulrich) - Har har har. A Lars Ulrich album in this list. The drumming here is far from perfect but I am including it here because for some reason it's so addicting. No fail, whenever I listen to MoP, whether at home, in the office, on the train, I can't help but drum Lars' parts. My feet and hands can't help it.
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Not sure if we are discounting live albums, but for me The Who/Keith Moon - Live at Leeds.
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Like has been said already. you can pretty much pick just about any Rush album (except the debut). Neil Peart is the King for a reason.
Carnal Knowledge is a good pick for Alex Van Halen on the strength of Pleasure Dome alone, but Fair Warning would be my pick for him.
For Bonham, I am going with II or Houses of the Holy, the latter on the strength alone of The Ocean.
For Moon, Tommy, easily.
For Portnoy, this pick might surprise some, but I might go with the first Liquid Tension Experiment record, although Awake or one of the first three Transatlantic albums could nudge it out.
And I am throwing Spock's X in there for Nick D'Virgilio.
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Billy Cobham - Crosswinds comes to mind. My first encounter with a pure solo-drumming album.
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Superunknown (Matt Cameron) - Matt just makes drumming sound effortless. I pretty much learned how to drum to odd time signatures because of this album where Matt just makes it sound easy.
My friend and I used to joke (in a good way) that every Cameron record has at least one fill that makes you go "WTF?" That guy is a monster; I've talked a lot here about the Temple of the Dog show I saw at MSG; Cameron carried the band on his back for "Achilles Last Stand", making it ebb and flow like the very best Zeppelin did. Really powerful and moving performance.
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Rainbow (Cozy Powell)-On Stage
Was never a big Cozy fan, I always thought his bag of tricks was rather small, but live the man was a machine. There are some boots from the Japan tour and his live playing on Light in the Black is really something else.
I hear what you're saying, but early autos were probably great inventions in and of themselves, no? I mean, his influence on the next generation cannot be understated. The guy was so powerful in his playing; so heavy. Especially with the traditional grip on his left hand. I watch him whip that stick and my left hand hurts just watching it.
I was lucky enough to see him twice. First was in '86 with ELPowell. We actually met him after the show. I have a pic of him, and he also signed my ticket. I'll have to scan them in when I get a chance.
But the second time I saw him was a total surprise. I saw Brian May open for GnR at the old Boston Garden in '93 and Cozy was playing drums for May. I was screaming like a school girl "There's Cozy Powell! It's fucking Cozy Powell. Holy shit! Oh, and there's Neil Murray. But There's Cozy fucking Powell!!"