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What albums most influenced you as a drummer?


akaiser77

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Here are mine:

 

1) "Heaven and Hell" by Black Sabbath (Drummer: Bill Ward)

 

Bill claims to have been so drunk during the making of this album that he doesn't even remember recording it (his drum tech says this is a serious exaggeration). Still, I think this is some of the best playing of his career. The classic heavy, inimitable Ward swing is evident t/o this record, especially on tracks like "Children of the Sea" and "Heaven and Hell." Simply a metal drumming classic.

 

2) "Defenders of the Faith" by Judas Priest (Drummer: Dave Holland)

 

My favorite Priest album and, IMO, arguably the greatest metal album of all time. Holland's playing here is his classic solid, heavy style, but he adds some interesting hi-hat flourishes on "Jawbreaker" and "The Sentinel," and his playing is nuanced and deep in the groove t/o. Those who claim Holland is a boring, uninspired player should listen to the monumental drumming on this album.

 

3) "OU812" by Van Halen (Drumer: AVH)

 

My favorite VH album and by far the best thing they ever did w/Sammy, IMHO. "AFU" is arguably AVH's finest moment as a drummer ever, and tracks like "Mine All Mine," "Cabo Wabo," and "Source of Infection" show the diversity and power of AVH's playing like no other VH album ever did.

 

4) "Diary of a Madman" by Ozzy Osbourne (Drummer: Lee Kerslake)

 

Holy {censored}, this is some incredibly heavy and powerful playing by one of the great unsung heroes of metal drumming. Super solid, heavy, deep down in the groove, but w/elegance and nuance to spare. Powerful and creative drumming by a truly great drummer/songwriter (he co-wrote 6 of the tracks here).

 

5) "Rio" by Duran Duran (Drummer: Roger Taylor)

 

Taylor was, again IMHO, the greatest drummer to come out of England in the '80s. The guy worshipped some diverse players, like Paul Thompson (Roxy Music), Bonzo, Tony Thompson (Chic), and Charlie Watts. Taylor has tremendous feel and power, but his playing has lots of subtlety, too. The master, IMO, of the 16th-note groove, along w/David Garibaldi.

 

6) "Flick of the Switch" by AC/DC (Drummer: Phil Rudd)

 

Rudd's last album w/Acca Dacca until '95. Arguably the best Brian Johnson album, and a classic of hard rock drumming. Such groove, power, and soul--the three elements of Rudd's legendary status among hard rock drummers. Despite the disbelievers, Rudd has inspired legions of drummers to take up the sticks w/his incredible groove, power, and feel. This album represents his playing at its peak.

 

7) "Blow Up Your Video" by AC/DC (Drummer: Simon Wright)

 

Wright's last album w/AC/DC and the best album he ever made as a drummer. I like a lot of his stuff w/Dio, but he was never more inventive or inspired than he was here. The tightness and power of his playing made a big impression on me as a young drummer, and tracks like "Heatseeker," "That's the Way I Wanna Rock 'n Roll," and "Nick of Time" all featured solid, technically "simple" playing w/power, energy, and creativity. This is the most atypical drumming album AC/DC ever made, and one of the most interesting. A forgotten gem in their catalog, IMO. (Check out the hi-hat on "TTWIWRNR"!)

 

8) "Greatest Hits" by Fleetwood Mac (Drummer: Mick Fleetwood)

 

Mick is truly an underrated player. A classic groove-n-feel player, w/a very distinctive sound, the man oozed soul and passion on every track he ever played. This is a remarkable cross-section of his work, w/several representative examples of his deceptively simple and memorable drumming on tracks like "Gypsy" and "As Long as You Follow," among many others. One of the biggest influences on my drumming by far!

 

PS: I wrote this quickly while slightly inebriated, so spare me any comments about typos, guys!

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"Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley" -- Robert Palmer

 

"Diary of a Madman" -- Ozzy

 

"Aja" -- Steely Dan

 

"Music from Big Pink" -- The Band

 

"Tower of Power" -- T.O.P.

 

"Greatest Hits" -- Barry White

 

"Live at the Regal" -- BB King

 

"Texas Flood" -- SRV

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Almost impossible to answer as there are so many.

 

Inner Mounting Flame- Mahavishnu Orchestra

 

Birds of Fire- Mahavishnu Orchestra

 

Actually, make that all Mahavishnu Albums.

 

All Tony Williams Lifetime

 

Romantic Warrior - Return to Forever

 

School Days- Stanley Clarke

 

All Deep Purple albums.

 

All Rush up until Signals, after that they changed.

 

Heavy Weather- Weather Report

 

All Billy Cobham

 

Seven Steps to Heaven- Miles

 

Larry Coryell's 11th House- with Alphonse Mouzon

 

 

There are so many more, but I'm tired of typing.

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Almost impossible to answer as there are
so
many.


Inner Mounting Flame- Mahavishnu Orchestra


Birds of Fire- Mahavishnu Orchestra


Actually, make that all Mahavishnu Albums.


All Tony Williams Lifetime


Romantic Warrior - Return to Forever


School Days- Stanley Clarke


All Deep Purple albums.


All Rush up until Signals, after that they changed.


Heavy Weather- Weather Report


All Billy Cobham


Seven Steps to Heaven- Miles


Larry Coryell's 11th House- with Alphonse Mouzon



There are
so
many more, but I'm tired of typing.

 

 

I agree with rush changing and it wasn't for the better,some great stuff on your list.

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We're going back here to my start:

 

Black Sabbath- 1

Alice Cooper- Killer

Black Oak Arkansas- If an Angle came to see you..................

B.O.C.- 1. Tyranny and Mutation

ZZ Top- Tres Hombres

Robin Trower- Bridge of Sighs

Ted Nugent- 1st album

Black Sabbath- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath/ Technical Ecstasy

Rush- 1, Fly By Night, Caress of Steel, 2112

 

The list goes on and on.........................

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It's kind of hard to say because I think I'm still at an impressionable stage in my drumming, the list will probably change a lot in the next few years but so far,

Led Zeppelin I

Hendrix Live at Monterey

The Doors

The Killers: All

Cream: Disreali Gears

The Mars Volta: Deloused

 

I'm probably missing a bunch but those stick out in my mind.

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kind of chronological ...

 

The In Crowd - Ramsey Lewis Trio

Drum Suite - Art Blakey Percussion Ensemble

Out of the Cool - Gil Evans Orchestra

Are You Experienced?, Axis Bold As Love - Jimi Hendrix Experience

Tommy - the Who

Jesus Christ Superstar - soundtrack

America the Beautiful - Gary McFarland

Trilogy - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer

Waiting For Columbus - Little Feat

Now's The Time - The Quartet of Charlie Parker

early Weather Report

Spectrum - Billy Cobham

Thrust - Herbie Hancock

In The Slot - Tower of Power

Borboleta - Santana

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We're going back here to my start:


Black Sabbath- 1

Alice Cooper- Killer

Black Oak Arkansas- If an Angle came to see you..................

B.O.C.- 1. Tyranny and Mutation

ZZ Top- Tres Hombres

Robin Trower- Bridge of Sighs

Ted Nugent- 1st album

Black Sabbath- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath/ Technical Ecstasy

Rush- 1, Fly By Night, Caress of Steel, 2112


The list goes on and on.........................

 

 

Bill Ward, Frank Beard . . . nice.

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when I was starting out, led zeppelin and black sabbath stuff

 

NOW:

 

andrew forsman - the fall of troy he's a very tasteful drummer. everything he plays fits.

 

Jon Theodore - The Mars Volta especially deloused and amputechture

just all around great dummer

 

maps and atlases drummer whose name I always forget

woah, some of his fills and how he moves around the kit

 

Dave turncrantz - russian circles

same reason as andrew forsman

 

both tera melos drummer are cool

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Well aside from the really early stuff my mom played when I was little...like Bob Marley, Eagles, Eric Clapton, Zep, ACDC etc...where I noticed drums but didn't really analyze them.

 

I suppose the first albums I really pulled apart and began air drumming too..were the first few albums I ever bought myself..

 

Powerslave- Nicko

 

Killers- Clive Burr

 

(basically all of maidens catalog..LOL)

 

Out of the cellar-Bobby Blotzer

 

Master of Puppets - Lars

 

Pyromania - Rick Allen

 

Yep child of the 70's teen of the 80's.

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I have quite a few that have been "old stand-by's," and a few that I've heard over the years that have just hooked me. Some include, in slight chronological order:

 

Rush - The Spirit of Radio

Cheap Trick - The Authorized Greatest Hits

The Who - Who's Next

Red Hot Chili Peppers - All + Live At Slane Castle

The Velvet Teen - Cum Laude!

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Gorillaz - Demon Days

Radiohead - In Rainbows + Hail To The Thief + Kid A

 

A lot of other stuff too, but those have been the ones to really grab ahold of my musical tastes and change my drumming style.

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Master of Puppets, And Justice For All - Metallica (Lars Ulrich)

Among The Living - Anthrax (Charlie Benante)

Streets A Rock Opera, The Wake of Megellan - Savatage (Steve "Dr. Killdrumz" Wacholz, Jeff Plate)

Sailing The Seas of Cheese - Primus (Tim "Herb" Alexander)

Cowboys From Hell - Pantera (Vinnie Paul)

Rust in Peace - Megadeth (Nick Menza)

Dirt - Alice in Chains (Sean Kinney)

 

And probably more that don't come to mind right now

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Master of Puppets, And Justice For All (Lars Ulrich)

Among The Living (Charlie Benante)

Streets A Rock Opera (Steve "Dr. Killdrumz" Wacholz)

Sailing The Seas of Cheese (Tim Alexander)


And probably more that don't come to mind right now

 

 

Lars' work on MOP and AJFA were massive influences on my drumming, too. He wasn't virtuosic, but he had a lot of feel and a distinctive drumming style that I liked a lot. He's part of why I don't like ride cymbals, in fact, though I do like a lot of drummers who are more ride- than hat-oriented (Vinny Appice and Nicko McBrain, most notably).

 

AK

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Were An American Band/Grand Funk

Aqualung/Jethro Tull

This Was/Jethro Tull

Meet the Beatles/Beatles

Temptations Live/The Temptations

Abraxas/Santana

Raunch and Roll/Black Oak Arkansas

Kiss/Kiss

Brain Salad Surgery/Emerson, Lake and Palmer

Bridge of Sighs/Robin Trower

They Only Come Out At Night/Edgar Winter

Live Bullet/Bob Seger

Second Helping/Lynyrd Skynyrd

Street Survivors/Lynyrd Skynyrd

Physical Graffitti/Led Zeppelin

Outlaws/The Outlaws

Tour de Force/38 Special

All American Boy/Rick Derringer

Montrose/Montrose

Get Your Wings/Aerosmith

Ted Nugent/Ted Nugent

A Rock and Roll Alternative/Atlanta Rhythm Section

Will The Circle Be Unbroken/The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Live From Deep in the Heart of Texas/Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen

Dark Side of the Moon/Pink Floyd

Not Fragile/Bachman Turner Overdrive

Agents of Fortune/Blue Oyster Cult

Frampton Comes Alive/Peter Frampton

Sticky Fingers/The Rolling Stones

Exile on Main Street/The Rolling Stones

Golden Biscuits/Three Dog Night

Rockin' the Fillmore/Humble Pie

Beginnings/the Allman Brothers

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Dark Side of the Moon/The Wall - Pink Floyd (as a drummer and a songwriter, it was some of the first music I ever listened to, stuck with me all the way)

In Absentia/Deadwing/The Insident - Porcupine Tree

Moving Pictures/Counterparts - Rush

Every Led Zeppelin Song I've ever heard; Bonham is awesome!

and I'll be honest, I don't remember the name of the albums by Kansas, but the most influential one to me was the one with the Indian Cheif on the cover or it

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As not to have too long a list, here are my top five or six:

 

You Make The Heat-The Producers-Brian Holmes

Get The Knack-The Knack-Bruce Gary

Ghost In The Machine-The Police-Stewart Copeland

Scarecrow-Joh Mellencamp-Kenny Aronoff

Parallel Lines-Blondie-Clem Burke

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zep- houses, 4, song remains the same

iron maiden- powerslave, piece of mind

doors- any

the band, any

j geils band, any before "freeze-frame."

police- any

dokken- back for the attack, tooth and nail

metallica- kill 'em all, through ...and justice

anthrax- among the living, sound of white noise, state of euphoria

slayer- south, reign, god hates

the mars volta- deloused, frances, about 50% of the new stuff (with thomas)

blind melon- soup, not that stupid "bee" song/album.

squirrel nut zippers- perennial favs

zappa- pick 20, or so.

 

i'm sure there are more.

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