ray dsr Posted September 16, 2002 Share Posted September 16, 2002 It has always seemed to me that Bonham was the creator of hard rock drumming. He was the first to have that monsterous bass drum sound that was pumping all the time. The other great drummers from that era were all jazz-style players, tickling the top of the skins, like the guy from Deep Purple or Hendrix or the Doors. NO ONE played like him and only a few have really gotten close to his throne: the guy from Smashing Pumpkins and Alex VanHalen are the two that come to mind. Or how about the guy in the Flaming Lips? That guy can play. -ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwartz McVickel Posted September 16, 2002 Share Posted September 16, 2002 Yeah, I always thought Alex VH got close to Bonham's snare... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundWrangler Posted September 16, 2002 Share Posted September 16, 2002 It has always seemed to me that Bonham was the creator of hard rock drumming. He was the first to have that monsterous bass drum sound that was pumping all the time. The other great drummers from that era were all jazz-style players, tickling the top of the skins, like the guy from Deep Purple or Hendrix or the Doors. Well, let's say he was an important part of a group effort! Besides the obvious, Ginger Bakers, Mitch Mitchells & so on, another guy who was influential at the time & now largely overlooked was Corky Laing - especially with that agressive foot-forward concept & big ambient snare. (MHO) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunny Knutson Posted September 20, 2002 Share Posted September 20, 2002 Originally posted by ray dsr: It has always seemed to me that Bonham was the creator of hard rock drumming. He was the first to have that monsterous bass drum sound that was pumping all the time. The other great drummers from that era were all jazz-style players, tickling the top of the skins, like the guy from Deep Purple or Hendrix or the Doors.What about Keith Moon? He predated Bonham by a few few years, and he hit the skins pretty fuckin' HARD. I wonder if Bonham was influenced by Moon? Anyhoo, Bonzo is my absolute favorite rock drummer of all time, with Stewart Copeland coming in second. Just take a hard listen to "Achilles' Last Stand" on Presence. A-fucking-MAZING!!! Chills down my spine! Wow. https://bunny.bandcamp.com/ https://theystolemycrayon.bandcamp.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoundWrangler Posted September 20, 2002 Share Posted September 20, 2002 Of COURSE Bonham was influenced by Moon (who jammed with Page & Jones) - from what I've read, not only did he recommend Bonham to them, but also made the prediction about how this group was going to go over with the public, that gave Zep its name! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunny Knutson Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Right you are, SoundWrangler! You just gotta love that big ol' kick drum lined with aluminum foil. THUMP! https://bunny.bandcamp.com/ https://theystolemycrayon.bandcamp.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D_dup3 Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Moon may have recommended JB but his real "in" came from knowing & having played with Plant, where Page probably saw him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MethodAir Posted September 25, 2002 Share Posted September 25, 2002 His 'in' came because he was the best. MethodAir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D_dup3 Posted September 26, 2002 Share Posted September 26, 2002 We all fall in worship of the best dead drummer of all time! Seriously, Method Air, can no one even suggest that having the right friends helped him ? Is there nothing but the miraculous, Godlike talent he had that got him there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MethodAir Posted September 27, 2002 Share Posted September 27, 2002 I'm sure the benefit was mutual. And btw, d...the drum groove to Four Sticks is not 4/4, it alternates between 5/4 and 3/4. Bonham had a knack for throwing in complex phrasing that always sounded natural to the average ear. MethodAir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted September 27, 2002 Share Posted September 27, 2002 You need to go back and listen to Mitch Mitchell and Ian Paice more carefully. Both of them were indeed capable of playing w/ finesse, and both could swing in a jazz context. AND both could generate serious thunder as well! Versatility is good. In fact, I miss the swing guys like that used to bring to heavy music. Originally posted by ray dsr: It has always seemed to me that Bonham was the creator of hard rock drumming. He was the first to have that monsterous bass drum sound that was pumping all the time. The other great drummers from that era were all jazz-style players, tickling the top of the skins, like the guy from Deep Purple or Hendrix or the Doors. NO ONE played like him and only a few have really gotten close to his throne: the guy from Smashing Pumpkins and Alex VanHalen are the two that come to mind. Or how about the guy in the Flaming Lips? That guy can play. -ray I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D_dup3 Posted October 3, 2002 Share Posted October 3, 2002 Originally posted by MethodAir: I'm sure the benefit was mutual. And btw, d...the drum groove to Four Sticks is not 4/4, it alternates between 5/4 and 3/4. Bonham had a knack for throwing in complex phrasing that always sounded natural to the average ear. MethodAirI still find that the "complexity" of JB's drumming is due to context...somewhat like Ringo Starr trying to follow Lennon through songs like "All You Need Is Luck" or "Happiness Is Some Warm Gum". But just for you, MA, I will track down a copy off ZOSO(Led Z 4) & write "4 Sticks" up. Trust me, I play & write 5s & 7s all the time so it'll be a snack...I mean a snap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MethodAir Posted October 4, 2002 Share Posted October 4, 2002 d wrote: "My personal favorites are the things like "4 Sticks" (I think it is) from LZ4, where JB's relentless 4/4 is reset by the the skidding syncopations that are played around him."[/b] Yea, transcribing is probably a good idea... MethodAir p.s "All You Need Is Luck"?? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Nightshade Posted October 4, 2002 Share Posted October 4, 2002 Part of the stone genius of Bonham is making any meter at all seem as straightforward and compelling as a truly fine 4/4! A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM! "There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintagevibe Posted October 5, 2002 Share Posted October 5, 2002 Originally posted by k1neta: I don't feel Bonham's playing grooves much, compared to, let's say, a good jazz drummer. ... I've very rarely heard rock music that really grooves. QUOTE] Lee Flier said "your not really in a position to judge Bonham". I'll take that a step further. If you can make the two statements above you're not really in a position to judge groove in general. If you can only relate to one type of groove how can you judge somthing that you can't understand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sign Posted October 5, 2002 Share Posted October 5, 2002 Many drummers try to sound like John Bonham, no one really does. Listen to a chorus of Stairway to Heaven, those breaks, this is what I call inventive drumming. Bonzo was one of that very rare drummers, Steve Gadd is another one. Groove? c'mon, J.B. grooved like hell! It's something like the Rolling Stones, thousands of bands play their songs, thinking it's easy to do that, but none of them sound the same. The alchemy of the masters moving molecules of air, we capture by moving particles of iron, so that the poetry of the ancients will echo into the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MethodAir Posted October 5, 2002 Share Posted October 5, 2002 Part of the stone genius of Bonham is making any meter at all seem as straightforward and compelling as a truly fine 4/4! Absolutely. The intro groove from The Crunge is in 9. And the example of Dy'er Maker, how he takes a pattern, makes subtle changes over a number of bars, that sets up the first verse...he had a great sense of where he was in a tune, and where the tune was going. MethodAir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenElevenShadows Posted October 5, 2002 Share Posted October 5, 2002 I heard a wonderful bootleg of Bonham and company rehearsing tracks for "Physical Graffiti". It sounds like it was a decent-quality tape machine that was on in the rehearsal or recording studio or whatever it was. Anyway, a good clean recording, but it didn't sound like it was going through the board or anything like that. Despite this, that Bonham drum sound was unmistakable. It sounded really great!! That's really a testament to how good of a drummer he was, and how well he tuned his drums. Even something like "When The Levee Breaks", which was recorded with a stereo mic up the stairs in Headley Grange. Well, that sounds awesome, but it sounds awesome largely because he's so damn good, he plays so well and so balanced, and he has such a great tone. He's also much more of a finesse player than he gets credit for. Everyone talks about "Bonham's Thunder", but he really played with a lot of feel, using his wrists, and getting a lot of nuance out of his drum set. The guy was amazing, and is definitely my favorite drummer. Ken Lee Photography - photos and books Eleven Shadows ambient music The Mercury Seven-cool spacey music Linktree to various sites Instagram Nightaxians Video Podcast Eleven Shadows website Ken Lee Photography Pinterest Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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