I have recently started trying to play the drums so I have been more aware of the drums in various music I have been listening to. There are also various songs I know with distinctive drums that I would like to be able to play eventually. So I am taking that as my theme for #MusicMonday. I am giving a part of the rewards to @the-bitcoin-dood as he got me onto this tag.
One that a lot of people will think of is In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. On the first half of the song it sounds like it could be a drum machine or maybe it's just some electronic drums which were a fairly new thing in 1981. Okay, I had to look it up and it is a Roland drum machine. A friend bought one of those a while back as it was used on lots of famous recordings. It's not until 3:15 that the famous drum break comes in. I think Phil was going through tough times when he recorded the Face Value album as he had just got divorced and the songs reflect that. I saw Phil on his No Jacket Required tour and of course he played this.
Another distinctive drum pattern kicks off the first track of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie. It is in 6/8 time with some beats in unusual places. It may take me a while to learn it. I have seen the band Holy Holy who include original drummer 'Woody' Woodmansey a couple of times so I got to hear him do it live. I also saw young Nandi Bushell play it at a Bowie Celebration gig a couple of years ago.
Dave Grohl mostly plays guitar in the Foo Fighters, but he came to fame as the drummer with Nirvana. He is a player who gives it everything.
A very technical player is Gavin Harrison who played in Porcupine Tree. A lot of their songs have varying time signatures, but he seems able to cope with anything. There does seem to be a trend for massive drum kits in prog bands.
I am a big Led Zeppelin fan, but I have been mostly focused on Jimmy Page's guitar up to now. Drummer John Bonham is also very influential. He could really hit those drums hard.
Another song that came to mind is this title track instrumental from Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop album. The drummer is Terry Bozzio who also played with Frank Zappa.
I am not saying these are the best drumming songs, but they are some I have enjoyed. I welcome your suggestions. I bet someone mentions Rush.
Rock on!