Quote:
|
Originally Posted by kenning
Steve's drumming is incredibly inventive, given the idiom he's working with. And this idiom changes. The freer stuff (any of the SYR releases, the soundtrack stuff from Murray Street period, etc etc) gives him the opportunity to expand and I'd say he's at least on par with any percussionist in that realm (Gerry Hemingway, anyone Braxton's worked with, etc.). As a pop / rock drummer, he's a longtime favorite. I don't think his signature work is very straight-ahead. Put him up against Murph of Dinosaur Jr., or Dave Grohl's predictible triplets, or whatever. He really plays for the song and has an ear for tone that it is nearly as evident as the guitar work in the band. Few drummers know how to exploit this as Steve does, and even fewer listeners know how to hear it.
|
it was a lazy comment, i've come to recognize that his drumming is more than sufficient (appropriate) for sy's more straight-ahead, metronomic material. i like some of the dryer (minimal cymbals) beats he's got on RR. i guess it's that he's got this gallop at times that seems auto-pilotish, with a cymbal splash every couple bars or so (they seem unneccessary, but obligatory?) the drumming on incinerate does remind me of old dino jr., and feels just as agile. pretty cool record, RR