Charlie Watts, Ringo Starr: Better than Bruford

**StevegSr** · 03-31-2016

Originally Posted by JJ88

Topper Headon was very good, and of course Stewart Copeland who's highly placed, although of course there's always been debate over The Police being punk.

The Police were punk? So, it was they that tried to kill prog! I thought as much. LOL

**The Dark Elf** · 03-31-2016

A list obviously put together by a non-drummer who never listened to the albums. No Carl Palmer (of that little bar band Emerson, Lake and Palmer)? No Lenny White (of Return to Forever)? No Mike Shrieve (Santana - watch Soul Sacrifice at Woodstock for Christ's sake!)? No Cozy Powell (Rainbow and Jeff Beck)?

Fucking stupid list!

**Baribrotzer** · 03-31-2016

Originally Posted by StevegSr

Sorry old chap, but I don't buy that at all. How can anyone that knows "music as well as do most of us" consider Ringo to be a better drummer than Neil Peart or Charlie Watts to be better than John Bonham?

I think it helps to look at RS's readership. (If they can indeed read.)

First of all, they don't. Look at the article in question, where Nos. 1-to-4 are Bonham, Moon, Baker, and Peart, in order. All monster players with very different styles. Meanwhile, Charlie is No. 12 and Ringo is No. 14.

But to consider your question on a larger scale, it comes down to this: Because they have different standards. After those first few standouts, they're much more likely to praise minimal, play-for-the-song pocket drummers, masters of the expected and appropriate, and greatly prefer them to musical extroverts like almost any major prog drummer you can name. These are guys who just love classic Sixties hit records above all else, or more recent punk that pays stylistic tribute to classic hits. So they save their greatest praise for old-time sessionmen like Hal Blaine or Bernard Purdie or Roger Hawkins, who could come up with some perfect little lick that made a hit record into a hit.

Indeed, I'm surprised that Peart, Bruford, and Vander made it in at all.

**N_Singh** · 03-31-2016

Haha, what a joke. I will always remember a review of a "bad plus" record. Where the reviewer said the drummer was so bad, so ham-fisted, so clumsy that he made Ginger Baker sound like Philly Joe Jones .

Personally, I think the bad plus drummer is probably better than that.

**The Dark Elf** · 03-31-2016

And no Barrie Barlow of Tull? Are they trying to say that Charlie Watts slumping through an album tapping his snare and high-hat is better than Barlow on Thick as a Brick or A Passion Play?

**firth5th** · 03-31-2016

Hasn't Rolling Stone disgraced itself enough with their UVa rape hoax story?

**Obscured** · 03-31-2016

Pip Pyle? Pierre Moerlen? Simon Phillips?

(Meg White??????)

**Joe F.** · 03-31-2016

Originally Posted by The Dark Elf

A list obviously put together by a non-drummer who never listened to the albums. No Mike Shrieve (Santana - watch Soul Sacrifice at Woodstock for Christ's sake!)? No Cozy Powell (Rainbow and Jeff Beck)?

Look again.

**tormato** · 03-31-2016

Originally Posted by Mikhael

It's Rolling Stone. They generally have a collective IQ slightly less than Granite. They display that IQ properly here.

Let's not insult granite, it's far more interesting than Rolling Stone...

**schlongasaurus** · 03-31-2016

Originally Posted by firth5th

Hasn't Rolling Stone disgraced itself enough with their UVa rape hoax story?

Let's not forget the Boston marathon bomber who made the cover. Disgusting.

**Nijinsky Hind** · 03-31-2016

I'm surprised Gavin Harrison is not on this list. Really.

**The Dark Elf** · 03-31-2016

Originally Posted by Joe F.

Look again.

I'm referring to the top 25, I didn't bother looking at the RS list. Why would I want to upset myself further?

**Joe F.** · 03-31-2016

Originally Posted by The Dark Elf

I'm referring to the top 25, I didn't bother looking at the RS list. Why would I want to upset myself further?

Why get upset at all? It's a fucking list.

**GuitarGeek** · 03-31-2016

Originally Posted by schlongasaurus

Let's not forget the Boston marathon bomber who made the cover. Disgusting.

No more disgusting than when they put Charles Manson on the cover.

For my tastes, I still think the intro to Get Off Of My Cloud is one of the most exciting things in rock n roll. As much as I like Bruford, I can't think of anything I've heard him do that contains that kind of excitement.

**Dave** · 03-31-2016

Originally Posted by Joe F.

Why get upset at all? It's a fucking list.

Yeah, they had to make sure they spread their choices across most of the genres and include the ones that made the cover of the ragazine.

**regenerativemusic** · 03-31-2016

Originally Posted by Obscured

No Nick Mason, Mike Portnoy, Marco Minneman, Chad Wackerman etc. etc. etc.

But Meg White made the list.

The CEO of eBay made the list? They must sure be looking for favors.

**Drakma** · 04-01-2016

Probably should see Aynsley Dunbar in there somewhere

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

**Frumious B** · 04-01-2016

Bruford placed higher in this drummer list than either Robert Fripp (42) or Steve Howe (69) did when they put out their 100 greatest guitarists list a few years ago so this represents "sort of" progress on the Yes/Crimson appreciation front.

**ronmac** · 04-01-2016

Rolling Stone publishes another list.

Everyone gets angry about it.

They get tons of clicks.

Mission accomplished.

**Scrotum Scissor** · 04-01-2016

This list is about half as preposterous as many an internal voting I've come across amongst the "prog" commune. So RS allegedly don't know better? Big deal for sure.

"Where's Mike Portnoy?!" Sorry, but the dude would likely be almost as bewildered in Yugen as ol' Charlie Watts would in Dream Theater. So what.

**iguana** · 04-01-2016

april 1st. revised edition tomorrow!

**Nijinsky Hind** · 04-01-2016

Originally Posted by Frumious B

Bruford placed higher in this drummer list than either Robert Fripp (42) or Steve Howe (69) did when they put out their 100 greatest guitarists list a few years ago so this represents "sort of" progress on the Yes/Crimson appreciation front.

Yep... You spotted the method of all Rolling Stone lists. Not just with the KC bunch. Making RS lists the most laughable and uninformed.

**Mister Triscuits** · 04-01-2016

Originally Posted by Frumious B

Bruford placed higher in this drummer list than either Robert Fripp (42) or Steve Howe (69) did when they put out their 100 greatest guitarists list a few years ago so this represents "sort of" progress on the Yes/Crimson appreciation front.

I notice everyone seems to have already forgotten this:

http://www.progressiveears.org/forum...Stone-magazine