Rocky Road

• When he hadn't heard the guy play. This is pathetic. - J 23:26:06 07/16/06 (4)
  In Reply to: George Martin apparently agreed posted by Duilawyer on July 16, 2006 at 17:01:23:

  Do you not even read yr posts? The Alan White comments are far more complimentary of Ringo than you seem to think they are. I didn't read some of yr posts above. Are you on pain medication? It would explain yr flaw in logic.

  If you think Buckethead is a better player than Jimi Hendrix, you are entitled to that opinion. If you think Ringo was 'nothing special' as a drummer, you're welcome to that, also. But if you'd like, I can find that thread from years ago when you informed us all with absolute certainty that 'Ringo was not a good drummer,' which was proof enough that, in MY opinion, you don't know what the hell you're talking about.

  If I didn't know any better, I'd think this was some sort of troll or something. But parroting that nonsense about Ringo's drumming ability makes it appear that you fell in with folks who embraced that sort of uninformed thinking. And I'd be happy to link, once again, to the page where the session guy related 10 or 15 major points about exactly what Ringo's strengths were...of course, after Keith Moon & what he spawned, guys that simply kept superb time like Ringo & Charlie Watts seemed boring to people who apparently don't care that drums is a rhythm instrument. Hell, I thought Moby Dick was cool once, too, but I was 15 at the time. However, even then, I knew Ringo had a swing in his playing that was rarely heard in most other popular rock acts.

  With the exception of Moon, I could care less for every showoff busybody who thinks he has to make some sort of statement behind the kit, whether it fits the music or not. I don't have a problem with creativity, but I simply have no interest in drummers who do much more than keep time. The flourishes that most add are unbelievably annoying, as they serve the purpose, most of the time, to get in the way of the song, instead of enhancing it...or, in cases of drummers like Ringo, they let the melodies & parts & licks & vocals & lyrical ideas express what the song is. In other words, they did their job & otherwise stayed out of the way.

  There are exceptions to Keith Moon, for me, when it comes to drummers that moved beyond this in ways I happen to like, but they are few & far between. I admire when busy drumming is done well, since I so rarely hear it done in a way I like in any way, shape, or form. Ringo just wasn't cool or hip enough for people to seize on his strengths in a period where everyone had to outdo each other's musicianship.

  Feh.

  Buckethead is an extremely talented, but hack-like robot of a technician. I have no beef with him or his audience, so long as I don't have to listen to it. Comparing him to Hendrix is a humorous exercise. Maybe it wouldn't be if music were all about playing, to the exclusion of all else. Lots of people could probably 'outplay' Hendrix at this point, technically. And perhaps Hendrix stood out because there weren't as many great technicians in his day. But while it's a subjective point, I'd argue that his creativity, his ideas, his superb execution, and his charisma as a performer, places him well above someone like Buckethead in any reasonable pantheon, or personal list. You want to see someone who might comnpare favorably to Hendrix, go to a Dick Dale show, and you'll see some of the tricks of the trade on display that he taught Jimi. Buckethead? For Pete's sakes. 20 years ago I heard similar things about Yngwie Malmsteen. I have no interest in him, either, but bringing Hendrix into such discussions is at least as ridiculous as slamming Ringo because you don't seem to understand what it was about his ability that made him great. Oh, and when you think dragging out clips about Andy White make yr point for you, you might ask yrself exactly why a bunch of kids who were practically still teenagers & hoped for mass appeal would get rid of a guy who looked like Pete Best for a guy who looked like Ringo Starr. The difference was, Ringo had the capability to be a pro drummer, and he grew into that role with style & finesse, achieving every ounce of his potential along the way. The fact is, he was a pro drummer, and would have been in demand for his skin-pounding as a profession, in one manner or another, had the situation with the Beatles not developed. A guy who would've made a fine living, I believe, either touring in this or that band in that region, or perhaps being a studio hack, given the experience he lacked when first brought into the Beatles.

  This guy you're trying to paint as ordinary, when once you painted him as 'not a great drummer,' played on John Lennon & George Harrison solo albums, with B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Harry Nilsson, Jimmy Webb, Carly Simon, Stephen Stills, Peter Frampton, Bob Dylan, Nils Lofgren, Tom Petty, the Band, Carl Perkins, & T-Bone Burnett. Now, even if Alan White was making the point you read into his comments, and I say he wasn't, does that resume strike you as an 'ordinary' drummer?

  If you think that his name on someone's project as some sort of brownie point marketing status chip is really why any of those people chose to work with him, then I'd say you're more deluded than yr posts indicate.

  I'll post those links from years ago if you insist. But I'd respectfully suggest that you give this up already. It's beyond ridiculous.
  
  

  ---

  • George Martin had heard him play; stop making up facts - Duilawyer 06:18:42 07/17/06 (3)
    In Reply to: When he hadn't heard the guy play. This is pathetic. posted by J on July 16, 2006 at 23:26:06:

    and give up hero worship of your favorite band. You are too old to lose sleep over "My daddy can beat up your daddy".
    
    

    ---

    • Sir... - J 08:26:58 07/17/06 (2)
      In Reply to: George Martin had heard him play; stop making up facts posted by Duilawyer on July 17, 2006 at 06:18:42:

      I do not make up facts. Screw yr head on straight. That is a baseless and disgusting suggestion. Clearly you have no idea what you're talking about, which is probably why you didn't address any of my other points.

      Pete Best was fired in mid/late August 1962; the Beatles went to London in early September. When exactly was George Martin supposed to have heard Ringo play? He wasn't even available for the dates that remained after they fired Pete Best. I guess all the books have it wrong, so you think I'm making up my own facts. Genius. Well, consider this: Philip Norman wrote that George Martin wasn't even aware that the change had been made when the Beatles got to London, and in the Anthology it's said that George Martin actually asked them to replace Pete Best, and that Andy White had only been hired for the session because he didn't know they had a new drummer. None of which conflicts with anything written in the Hunter Davies book, either. But I guess you know better, don't you? You must, if you resort to accusing people of making up facts. Is this how you practice law?

      This has now morphed into a thread where one party has pissed in his pants & is unaware of it. This is distasteful. Give it up already, will ya?
      
      

      ---

      • Andy White was hired because Ringo could not play the cut up to George MArtin - Duilawyer 18:34:44 07/17/06 (1)
        In Reply to: Sir... posted by J on July 17, 2006 at 08:26:58:

        expectations.

        Now; get a life.
        
        

        ---

        • Joe DiMaggio was booed at Yankee Stadium - J 13:22:13 07/18/06 (0)
          In Reply to: Andy White was hired because Ringo could not play the cut up to George MArtin posted by Duilawyer on July 17, 2006 at 18:34:44:

          Did that make him a bad baseball player? Nothing special?

          According to the Anthology, what you say is not true, but this is absolutely pointless. If you need to feel superior because you have a crumb of a detail that you think is rock-solid, I leave you to it.

          How in the hell does that make Ringo a bad drummer?

          Do you even read the quotes you posted? They refute yr argument instead of bolstering it.

          It's amazing just how much you miss the mark here. Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, and a host of prog-rock showoffs could drum circles around Ringo.

          Uhhh... not in the Beatles .

          Are you trying to tell us that Ringo isn't a good drummer because he wouldn't have been a good drummer in Benny Goodman's orchestra, or Rush? This is laughably absurd, this whole thing. Oh, Cozy Powell was better...HE should've been the drummer in the Beatles. Neil Peart. Carl Palmer.

          These guys have talent in spades, anyone who disputes that doesn't know what they're talking about. So what? Talent isn't music. Music is what you do musically with yr talent. This isn't something that should be beyond the grasp of someone who managed to earn a license to practice law.

          But then you're the guy saying Buckethead is a better player than Jimi Hendrix was.

          Maybe one day you'll understand that music isn't an administrative function where the skills involved are one-size-fits-all. Do you know the first thing about timekeeping? One iota of understanding about the stage conditions the Beatles experienced on their tours?

          Fortunately, the recordings are available. Amazingly, in spite of not being able to hear jack shit on stage, the band holds it together remarkably well. I'd hazard a guess that nobody--NOBODY--would ever be able to perform as tightly as that band did under those conditions. And I'm not just talking about teenaged girls screaming.

          I posted this once before for yr benefit. Why don't you try actually reading it this time.
          

          • 13 Reasons To Give Ringo Some Respect   (Open in New Window)

          
          

          ---

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

VH Audio

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---