Dave Letterman's Drum Solo Week

sticks4drums said:
Actually it was when he got very fast and busy, and the cymbals were involved.
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I don't really agree. For starters Roy's was most definitely a solo. Either that or most guitar, sax, synth and bass solos aren't. For mine it was the most enjoyable. It made musical sense to me and I loved his sound and touch. Horses for courses, eh?

NP was going hell-for-leather on the toms early (which I liked) but the first big cheer came when he did the old drum to cymbal routine. Actually one of his biggest cheers was when he played a standard jazz beat on the hats. Now that I think about it, it seems to me they were cheering at the familiar, which is maybe not such a surprise. I suspect that if he started playing the Wipeout beat on the floor tom he would have gotten a cheer too.

Funny old things, humans ...
 
Pollyanna said:
I don't really agree. He was going hell-for-leather on the toms early (which I liked) but the cheer came when he did the old drum to cymbal routine. Actually one of his biggest cheers was when he played a standard jazz beat on the hats.

Now that I think about it, it seems to me they were cheering at the familiar, which is maybe not such a surprise. I suspect that if he started playing the Wipeout beat on the floor tom he would have gotten a cheer too.

Funny old thing, humans ...
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Well if you had of agreed, I would of fallen off of my chair. :) Don't change things on me now.
 
I must be a tough crowd.

My fav was Roy, then Sheila, then Anton. Neils solo left me so flat, I felt better, before I watched it. Sorry, just being honest.

Save for Roy, none of these solos had what I hold dear, which is a common continuous rhythmic thread that allows the listener to follow the solo all the way from front to back like a lyric. Hitting things without a rhythmic idea behind it....any kid can do that. 15 back to back rhythmic ideas that last 1 second each and that don't have anything to do with the one before it don't qualify in my book. They need to last much longer than that. (JMO) Yes I'm very disappointed, especially in Neils solo. The switching of the drumkit seemed so pompous to me. My God man make some compelling rhythms that makes me feel something besides flat.

Dog running fly sand octopus inversion trouble estate.

I would rather hear.

The dog running in the sand wanted to fly, but the jolly octopus, with his ability for inversion, knew she could get into trouble trying something like that, as her paws were not designed to liberate herself from the real estate.

Link your phrases together so I can follow your ideas! All the connecting phrases are missing. I guess that doesn't matter to most. It should.
 
Pollyanna said:
Actually one of his biggest cheers was when he played a standard jazz beat on the hats. Now that I think about it, it seems to me they were cheering at the familiar, which is maybe not such a surprise.
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That's honestly what did it for me in his playing. The rest didn't hit the spot for me, but when he started jazzin' it up, i enjoyed it more. I'm not really a huge fan of solos anyways.
 
nothing new from Neil

same old rigid dry flurry of notes with absolutely no feel what so ever.....but thats what he has always done......no disrespect to Neil.....thats just his thing.....

and that may have been THE worst sounding ride cymbal I have ever heard in my life.......what was up with that awful thing.....absolutely terrible sounding cymbal

I dont want to upset the Rush fanboys around here......but there was nothing creative in that solo....no context.....no flavor.....no ideas flowing together.....no tention no release ......zero dynamics.....no melody......all the things that make a solo great there was none of....

it sounded like exactly what it was......a version of the overblown ...way to long solo that he has done live for years since he abandoned YYZ just cut up to fit into the networks time constraints

he should also stay away from the swing segment..........we all know he studied with Freddie Gruber......but Neil has zero feel for swing....he should stick to what he does

and by reading through this thread it sounds like most of you are getting too wrapped up in when the audience applauded ......if you have ever been to a taping of one of these shows you would know that there are applause signs and people who are paid to encourage you to laugh and clap.......Im not saying they would not applaud ......but they are absolutely being told when to cheer and when not to......

....and someone else mentioned Gene Krupa and how he would just go nuts on th kit and people loved it......Mr. Krupa was one of the most melodic drummers in history and always had purpose behind what he was doing......he would build on ideas and use tension and release like a master.......

back to Neil......I love what he does in songs.....he is brilliant.....but soloing has never been a strong suit of his .....that is obviously just my opinion....
 
moontheloon said:
nothing new from Neil

same old rigid dry flurry of notes with absolutely no feel what so ever.....but thats what he has always done......no disrespect to Neil.....thats just his thing.....

and that may have been THE worst sounding ride cymbal I have ever heard in my life.......what was up with that awful thing.....absolutely terrible sounding cymbal

I dont want to upset the Rush fanboys around here......but there was nothing creative in that solo....no context.....no flavor.....no ideas flowing together.....no tention no release ......zero dynamics.....no melody......all the things that make a solo great there was none of....

it sounded like exactly what it was......a version of the overblown ...way to long solo that he has done live for years since he abandoned YYZ just cut up to fit into the networks time constraints

he should also stay away from the swing segment..........we all know he studied with Freddie Gruber......but Neil has zero feel for swing....he should stick to what he does

and by reading through this thread it sounds like most of you are getting too wrapped up in when the audience applauded ......if you have ever been to a taping of one of these shows you would know that there are applause signs and people who are paid to encourage you to laugh and clap.......Im not saying they would not applaud ......but they are absolutely being told when to cheer and when not to......

....and someone else mentioned Gene Krupa and how he would just go nuts on th kit and people loved it......Mr. Krupa was one of the most melodic drummers in history and always had purpose behind what he was doing......he would build on ideas and use tension and release like a master.......

back to Neil......I love what he does in songs.....he is brilliant.....but soloing has never been a strong suit of his .....that is obviously just my opinion....
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I agree he's more of a studio drummer and not a live one. All of the work he's done on record has been exellent and creative in the context of Rush's music in the studio but I've never been impressed with the live work (i.e concerts, clinics, T.V. apperances, ect) or any of the "solos" he's done. He really only sounds good when Geddy and Alex are there with him in context of playing Rush songs, by him self he's just meh...
 
moontheloon said:
and that may have been THE worst sounding ride cymbal I have ever heard in my life.......what was up with that awful thing.....absolutely terrible sounding cymbal
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For real... That ride was killing me. Maybe it's one of those cymbals that sounds great when you are sitting behind it, or playing it. I've had a couple of those. Maybe he was contractually obligated to use that cymbal and play it for 1:13 or something. I'm at a loss.
 
Moonie pretty much said what I feel listening to Neil. But I recognize the huge influence he is in the drumming community, and am respectful of that. But folks, seriously, its ok not to like stuff.. even to detest some of it.
All that means is that we are passionate about our stuff. To be rude about a drummer's playing isnt cool ( and not allowed here, I think ) but to be politically correct all the time is for the birds too.

...
 
The sound was really lousy for all the drummers featured this week..that's the breaks of a TV show. Anton's sound was decent since it's his house.
 
aydee said:
But I recognize the huge influence he is in the drumming community, and am respectful of that. But folks, seriously, its ok not to like stuff.. ...
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In the 80's his ideas were fresh and creative and full of energy.

Contrary to what some have posted, Rush was not a mainstream band. They got very little radio play & did very few interviews...kinda had a mysterious vibe to them. But they had a really big cult following which is why there are still some very passionate NP fans.

When the Rhythm Method with the big band triggers and such was first played on the Show of Hands tour, it was quit original. Remember there was no internet so you only saw him play every couple of years when they toured.

Now with the internet, dvds, & the bar being raised with technical virtuosos such as Lang/Virgil, oversaturation of videos on youtube, his playing is not looked upon with the same level of respect it once was.

You don't have to like him but please eveyone respect the man's influence on generations of drummers!
 
Lets not forget that he is almost 60 now. These sites are just too damn critical.
 
sticks4drums said:
Lets not forget that he is almost 60 now. These sites are just too damn critical.
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Neils age isn't holding him back. I think being critical is a good thing. Keeping those standards high is important. The thing is, if I liked anything he did, I would be gushing about it. It does go both ways. I think much more of Jimmy K's and Matt's solos than Neils last night.
 
aydee said:
to be politically correct all the time is for the birds too.

...
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Could't agree more Abe, but I've concentrated on the achievement of getting drumming on primetime, & the entertainment perspective of a non musical audience.

My personal feelings are, I didn't really like any of them that much, but they all had a high point of sorts. Strangely, for a guy who likes Neil's early work, that solo left me cold. It was lumpy, disconnected, arkward & rushed (sorry about that). Even more strangely for a rock numpty like me, the only performance I connected with at any level, was Roy's.

I'm not a lover of solos. Even from the likes of SP (whom I could watch all day), I can only take so much. The only exceptions are short pieces that show me something I've never seen heard before, or performance pieces with real composition merit that explore both dynamic & instrument timbre depth. I especially like someone who lovingly teases nuance & texture from each kit element. I suppose I'm a sounds expression sort of guy. I admire the work of almost all players, but a connection that moves me outside of a musical playing context is rare.
 
sticks4drums said:
Lets not forget that he is almost 60 now. These sites are just too damn critical.
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Billy Cobham is well past "Almost 60", 67 to be exact and he would still kick Neil's lily rear-end all the way back to Hamilton, Ontario.

Don't give him a crutch. If someone isn't playing well (do to age or laziness or whatever) I don't want to see him, neither should anyone else. Just because he has a "Name" doesn't make him more interesting. He cashed in on the same basic solo formula, and is riding the tide on that one. Who knows when that will end. To be honest it's getting OLD. Simply put, his solo's are stunted musically.

This week was mediocre at best and extremely disappointing.

Should've been...

1. Billy Cobham
2. Thomas Pridgen
3. Jojo Mayer
4. Stewart Copland

Now THAT would have been a week!

(I am sorry for the rant and didn't mean to direct it at anybody. Please do not take it personal. Just MY opinion / observation. It is not the final word...)
 
I agree with MikeM, Neil felt the pressure to shorten his solo, and he seemed to move through the passages too quickly.

From reading the interview, he had to take his normal 8+ solo and condense it to 4 minutes.
It seems he would have better leaving certain sections out rather than shortening each section. But hey, it probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

Still, overall, it was awesome to see the Professor at work in a strange environment. I still loved every second of it. If nothing else, it showed he's human.

I put on the DVR this morning, and both of my kids were glued to Peart's performance. My oldest son kept muttering about "the greatest drummer" so I felt pretty proud one of my kids actually has an interest in "dads music" !!

Too bad that was the last one. I'm not sure what Dave has against Fridays. LOL.
 
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