Yes, King Crimson, and Earthworks Drummer Bill Bruford on 12 Career Highlights

[starless and bible black]

The genre-spanning percussion master chooses some of his favorite moments from his four-decade discography.

Read More Here:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...i-1972-903462/

[Progatron]

Some fine choices there, and of course so many more I would have listed! But it's not my career.

These days, my choices would be heavy on the later Earthworks material, but there's no denying some of those insanely classic moments with the rock bands he was such a vital part of.

[Dave (in MA)]

Wouldn't have been my 12, but then again, my 12 today would probably differ tomorrow.

[Scrotum Scissor]

"Genre-spanning" means something else. There have been many genre-spanning drummers, but Bruford was hardly a prominent member of that club.

[jowallan lid]

"Genre-spanning" means something else. There have been many genre-spanning drummers, but Bruford was hardly a prominent member of that club.

This isn't the first time you've complained about Bruford. Why do you dislike him so much?

[Scrotum Scissor]

^ I didn't complain about Bruford, and I have never expressed dislike for him. I pointed to a specific description of his merit which simply isn't the case; Bruford didn't play punk, klezmer, jazz, disco, funk, soul, blues and progressive rock during his career and consequently isn't "genre-spanning". Other drummers did all of that, but they aren't written about constantly in PE since they never played in Yes and/or King Crimson.

As for Bruford's particular style, what I have expressed was that it somehow didn't always fit the chosen context and that others indeed were better picks as such. Pyle in National Health, for one. I suppose in some people's mind that's absolute sacrilege to begin with.

[alanterrill]

^ I didn't complain about Bruford, and I have never expressed dislike for him. I pointed to a specific description of his merit which simply isn't the case; Bruford didn't play punk, klezmer, jazz, disco, funk, soul, blues and progressive rock during his career and consequently isn't "genre-spanning". Other drummers did all of that, but they aren't written about constantly in PE since they never played in Yes and/or King Crimson.

As for Bruford's particular style, what I have expressed was that it somehow didn't always fit the chosen context and that others indeed were better picks as such. Pyle in National Health, for one. I suppose in some people's mind that's absolute sacrilege to begin with.

I like Bruford (but not his Earthworks stuff), but I find the above perfectly reasonable.

[The Crimson King]

My two favorite drumming performances of all time are by Bill Bruford on the King Crimson albums Red and Absent Lovers. He may not be “genre spanning”, but to me he’s the greatest drumming musician ever.

[Gizmotron]

Perhaps no word or concept does more to harm the art form that is music than "genre."

My goodness...why do we insist on putting names on the nameless. Genre's exist only to sell music and allow critics a new way to criticize.

[Dave (in MA)]

I don't really agree, though I never set the genre field when tagging tracks in my ripped music.

[interbellum]

Bruford didn't play punk, klezmer, jazz, disco, funk, soul, blues and progressive rock during his career...

I think I don't understand this line: he didn't play prog?? Or do you mean his style isn't prog, jazz, etc.? Or he didn't do it all at the same time?
Anyway, he played some blues with Savoy Brown, jazz with Michiel Borstlap, Annette Peacock (and many more), pop with Pavlov's Dog, world-music (World drummer Ensemble), synthesizer music (Absolute Elsewhere), hard rock (Alice Cooper - didn't know that).

[Scrotum Scissor]

^ Bruford is usually considered as having played two basic genres of music - progressive rock and jazz, fusion half-way in between. And one of them prominently.

Many other drummers are rightfully acknowledged as profoundly versatile and genre-spanning, although they're rarely mentioned here at PE.

Genres exist as a means of taxonomy, in other words to describe features, differences and discrepancies as concern identity. That's also why there are contrasting names for, say, books and films. An auteur may dabble in both, but when he writes a book he's a writer and when he directs or acts he's a filmmaker. They are kinda different expressions in art, just like death-metal and chillout exotica are sorta different expressions in music.