Greatest Rock Drummers


Given the subject line many names come to mind such as  Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, Phil Collins and Carl Palmer but, is Neil Peart the greatest rock drummer of all time?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSToKcbWz1k
128x128falconquest

Ya beat me to it, lowrider57! About Ringo being a musical drummer, that is. There’s a saying in the Christian faith, that you can’t serve two masters. A drummer can approach a song and choose to play it in one of two ways: either in a way to make the song sound better than if he wasn’t playing (and/or make the singer and/or other musicians sound "better"), or in a way to make himself sound as good as possible. While both criteria can and have been satisfied in rare examples (by the best of the best---Levon Helm, Roger Hawkins, Jim’s Gordon and Keltner, Al Jackson Jr., Steve Gadd amongst that elite group), it is usually one or the other---one precluding the other.

I’m not here to denigrate the drumming of John Bonham; it is what it is. He was indeed very instrumental in creating the Led Zeppelin style of music, and remains hugely influential, much more so than drummers whose playing I personally prefer. Lowrider, you are very correct in saying that Bonham didn’t play "with" the bassist, as is the norm in a band with a true rhythm section. It’s hard to call two-thirds of a 3-piece band a rhythm "section"!

The over-playing in his style that I was speaking of can be demonstrated by playing any number of LZ songs, and, as you noted, involves his interaction with Page’s guitar parts. What Bonham does is play an overly-long (imo) run around his toms, duplicating, on his "untuned" (drums are tensioned, not tuned to notes, generally speaking) instrument (specifically his tom toms) what Page is already playing. Playing those notes all around his toms serves no musical purpose (there’s that term again), and creates a one-dimensional style of music, with no depth, no layers. True, Bonham doesn’t play that way all the time in every song, but it IS his basic approach. Recall the guitar, drum, and bass parts in "Good Times, Bad Times", for example; all three are accenting the same rhythm. SO one dimensional! If each would play "off" each other, rather than in unison, it would make for more interesting music, imo.

What the best drummers (and other musicians) do is play parts that compliment the playing of the other musicians, rather than doubling what is already being played. John Paul Jones often does the same thing as Bonham, playing the same notes on bass as is Page on guitar, but of course an octave lower. That is the basis of "Riff Rock" style music. It is, for those desiring depth in music, very boring.

Compare the drum and bass playing on the first Led Zeppelin album to that on the first Band album. A world of difference! The Band’s bassist Rick Danko creates almost "songs within songs"---using counterpoint, inversions, octaves, syncopation, and other techniques to enrich the music. Drummer Levon Helm does the same, leaving "holes" where the others are already playing a note, putting one in where no one else is. Listen to all the "passing of the musical baton" going on in "This Wheel’s On Fire" on Music From Big Pink. Insanely great! Every time the song comes around again to the "stop" in the middle of the chorus, the guitar, drums, and bass play their "pick-up" note in a different order from the last time. Depth, baby! Playing in this manner enriches the musicality of the song, is far more interesting, and just sounds cooler. It is also far harder to do, and requires musical taste (an understanding of what not to play), which, I’m sorry to say, John Bonham lacked. Just my opinion, of course.

Rock drummer who overplayed the most--Keith Moon
But, then again--Baba O'Riley--sublime drumming 
No band before or after Zeppelin ever sounded like Zeppelin. They were truly unique and had a sound, songs and style all their own.

Bonham and Jones were far more inventive and musical than Danko and Helm could ever hope to be.

I’ll bet people here remember more Zep songs than Band songs. Nuff said.
@bdp24 ,
What Bonham does is play an overly-long (imo) run around his toms, duplicating, on his "untuned" (drums are tensioned, not tuned to notes, generally speaking) instrument (specifically his tom toms) what Page is already playing. Playing those notes all around his toms serves no musical purpose (there’s that term again), and creates a one-dimensional style of music, with no depth, no layers. True, Bonham doesn’t play that way all the time in every song, but it IS his basic approach. Recall the guitar, drum, and bass parts in "Good Times, Bad Times", for example; all three are accenting the same rhythm. SO one dimensional!
Ah, I see what you are saying with this statement. I'll admit there are times when his fills are overdone and could have been more restrained. I'll make the excuse that he was trying to take Carmine Appice's licks to the next level. :-)
IMO, part of Bonzo's brilliance is how he plays a rhythm that is complementary to the guitar. He's not just there to provide a beat or be the rhythm section, and as @shadorne stated, he plays behind the beat and he still always lands on "1."
   You make a valid point with Good Times, Bad Times, but it was the early days and looking back we could also go on about how unrefined Jimmy Page's guitar playing was. But what came out of LZ-I was a unique marriage of American blues and hard rock; a very different take on the "Riff Rock" of the day.
My last comment on Zep is that as they progressed as a group, you will find plenty of counterpoint in their music with a great deal of depth.

Now, the Band with Levon Helm as a drummer was a very different experience, I'd even call it a different genre than Zep. Brilliant writing and musicianship which influenced many artists in many different types of music.
Rock music includes so many different styles, that the term "greatest drummers" would actually include a very large membership.



Wow surprised no one mentioned Jim Gordon who played with Clspton, Derek and the Dominoes, George Harrison, Bonnie and Delaney  and many others. He was on everyones A list till he landed in jail. 
As Mr Baker said most drummers just can't swing.