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Who is the best drummer?

PapPap Posts: 28,823
edited June 2010 in Musicians and Gearheads
The best time for PJ was when Abbruzzese attached funky rhytms to their music. I cannot imagine songs "Rats", "W.M.A" or "Daughter" played originally by Cameron on VS. I simply love the energy he conveyed to every song.
Jack Irons was pretty good also, just listen to "In My Tree". Can they record something like this these days?
Athens 2006 / Milton Keynes 2014 / London 1&2 2022 / Seattle 1&2 2024 / Dublin 2024 / Manchester 2024
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • shellerizmshellerizm Posts: 127
    smoke another joint, cameron is one of the best drummers out there. he is capable of ANYTHING, any timing, any genre. you have to take into consideration that the songs you are mentioning, studio versions that is, have several overdubs. they played WMA once with Dave A. in Atlanta and yeah he nailed it but why do you think they never played it live? i saw them play In My Tree and Rats in Indy and Cameron absolutely nailed it. they could put out something like this these days if they wanted, without a doubt. just go listen to the drums in Given to Fly, Sleight of Hand, Unemployable and countless others that Cameron has done. after that go check out the Wellwater Conspiracy. then take a bong hit and try to find what Abbruzzese is doing these days.
  • cajunkiwicajunkiwi Posts: 984
    They played W.M.A. 32 times between 93-95 - that's not exactly "never played it live" territory.
    And I listen for the voice inside my head... nothing. I'll do this one myself.
  • shellerizmshellerizm Posts: 127
    cajunkiwi wrote:
    They played W.M.A. 32 times between 93-95 - that's not exactly "never played it live" territory.


    that's tags jack-ass. i am talking complete versions - atlanta 1993 once with Dave A. i'll bet the farm on it.
  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,425
    Chill out man....Cameron is a beast and can do just about anything on drums, but loose groovy playing isn't his strong point. There's just a slight clash of styles. He sounds so much better on the stuff that's been written since he joined than Ten-Yield.

    GTF has never been great and In My Tree has sounded better recently but was not so good for awhile.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    This is one of those 100% subjective questions that just invites name-calling and bad blood. Of the 4 people who have played drums for Pearl Jam releases (Krusen, Abbruzzese, Irons, and Cameron, with an honorable nod to Matt Chamberlain), they were all fairly good drummers. Each had a very definitive style, and each fit the band in different ways. But no one drummer can be objectively stated to be "the best" out of the four. I'm sure most PJ fans would pick the drummer that played on the album or era that they liked best. For me, that's No Code and Yield, which makes me a big Jack Irons fan. His sense of polyrhythm and loose grooves really captures me, and I really appreciate his work with the band. That said, I think Matt's drumming on every Soundgarden release is phenomenal, I just don't like his feel with Pearl Jam nearly as much. I thought Abbruzzese was a decent drummer, too much gratuitous cymbal playing, but overall a good drummer. The only thing I have against Dave A was his reputation as a drink-'em rockstar jackass.

    Besides, Bonham is the "Best Drummer" which renders the whole conversation pointless.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • dirtymancfrankdirtymancfrank Posts: 1
    You guys are all cra-zeeee.

    Animal, from The Muppets is clearly the best drummer.

    He rocks! :twisted:
  • BinFrogBinFrog Posts: 7,309
    edited May 2010
    shellerizm wrote:
    cajunkiwi wrote:
    They played W.M.A. 32 times between 93-95 - that's not exactly "never played it live" territory.


    that's tags jack-ass. i am talking complete versions - atlanta 1993 once with Dave A. i'll bet the farm on it.


    I would take that bet on SO many levels.

    1) 4/3/94 was the Atlanta date.
    2) They played the real version more than once with Dave. 5/13/93 comes to mind. (7/17/93? 10/25/93?)
    Post edited by BinFrog on
    Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
    Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
  • BinFrogBinFrog Posts: 7,309
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    Besides, Bonham is the "Best Drummer" which renders the whole conversation pointless.


    Neil Peart disagrees.

    ..and that's not even taking jazz into account.
    Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
    Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
  • keeponrockinkeeponrockin Posts: 7,446
    BinFrog wrote:
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    Besides, Bonham is the "Best Drummer" which renders the whole conversation pointless.


    Neil Peart disagrees.

    ..and that's not even taking jazz into account.
    The problem with Neil Peart is he couldn't swing if you hung him from a tree... It works for the band, and is incredible, but I prefer Bonham's feel.
    Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
  • BinFrogBinFrog Posts: 7,309
    keeponrockin wrote:
    BinFrog wrote:
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    Besides, Bonham is the "Best Drummer" which renders the whole conversation pointless.


    Neil Peart disagrees.

    ..and that's not even taking jazz into account.
    The problem with Neil Peart is he couldn't swing if you hung him from a tree... It works for the band, and is incredible, but I prefer Bonham's feel.


    Umm, you mean aside from his playing on and producing the tribute album (and benefit shows) for Buddy Rich?
    Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
    Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    keeponrockin wrote:
    BinFrog wrote:
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    Besides, Bonham is the "Best Drummer" which renders the whole conversation pointless.


    Neil Peart disagrees.

    ..and that's not even taking jazz into account.
    The problem with Neil Peart is he couldn't swing if you hung him from a tree... It works for the band, and is incredible, but I prefer Bonham's feel.

    For me, Peart gets instantly disqualified because of his terrible lyrics.

    I would have nominated Buddy Rich, but as dirtymancfrank points out, Animal from the Muppets totally destroyed Buddy Rich in a drum-off. Don't believe me? Watch it on YouTube.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    Gene Kruppa was prety good.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • keeponrockinkeeponrockin Posts: 7,446
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    Gene Kruppa was prety good.
    Where the hell you been?
    Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
  • jonesjc14jonesjc14 Posts: 32
    With all due respect.... Jack Irons brought the grooves. I love the work of Pearl Jam that featured Irons above all music in the WORLD. Not saying that Matt Cameron doesn't complete PJ, I respect him as much as any other member... without him, I would be nothing, but sometimes he can get a bit too predictable. I also agree that Dave K and A had sweet grunge styles that are awesome to listen to, as they have influenced my drumming style a great deal.

    Hail Jack Irons...Great work, Matt Cameron
    "Locking up a drug dealer isn't a deterrent, it's a job opening."
  • ccpaccpa Posts: 32
    IMO -irons- hands down. No doubt they are all great but I think jack is on another level. Perhaps I just like his style better.
  • UpSideDownUpSideDown Posts: 1,966
    I still hold to my opinion......Jack's hi-hat work is too simplistic...Matt owns him there...Jack has a tendency to make every song sound like it has the same timing.......

    dont' get me wrong, I still like Jack. I just still think that Matt is a more fluent drummer.....
  • matabelematabele Posts: 277
    BackSpacer shows that Matt is the one.
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