consolation prize

Manu Katche

Iván

A couple of my favorites are missing from that list like Mike Portnoy, Jonh Bonham, Keith Moon and Alex Van Halen.

But Neil Peart is my fav.

As some of you know I'm a drummer, and have learned to appreciate derums before everything.

There are a few complete drummers, some are strong with the bass drums, other with the metals some are strong with hands but weak with the feet, so the complete drummer is a very rare specie, for example:

Phil Collins; Strong with snare and metals (Motown and jazz influence) but weak with the feet.

Carl Palmer is strong, fast and loud, very complete except with the metals and snare.

Few are really complte drummers and I will list some, but IMO the best one in this moment is Phil Ehart from Kansas, he's absolutely complete with feet and hands, fast and complex, but if you seen the video Device Voice Drums, you can notice he does something very rare, he almost never looks at the drum kit, he knows exactly where ech piece is and plays every drum in the exact moment, he seems as if he never sweat. I believe he's the actual number one.

Also complete drummers are

• Neil Peart: Complete drummer but a bit poser, nobody needs a 360° degrees drum kit, because he never uses most of it.
• Manu Katche (The guy does no effort, he plays with the whole body and he's totally loose)
• Tony Fernandez (From Rick Wakeman's crew) if you seen this guy you know what I'm talking about, Rick Wakeman always improvises, but Toony is always in the right place with the right beat, probably the most accurate drummer I ever seen. 
• Of course Bill Bruford, a percussionist more than just a drummer.
• Also a great drummer even far from Prog' is Fergal Lawler, he plays with Cramberries, the guy is a complete show, absolutely perfect, he deserved top be in a better band (even when I like some Cranberries).

Special mention to Zack Starky, Ringo's kid is amazing with The Who, seems he doesn't feel the weight of sitting in Keith Moon's place.

Iván

Rob The Plant wrote: Poor Nick Mason.

Do you really think he is a poor drummer - adequate surely?

ivan_2068 wrote: Carl Palmer is strong, fast and loud, very complete except with the metals and snare.

Don't agree about the snare Ivan... (and I am a drummer also.. actually went to school for it, have a music minor.. altho I switched to purely tympani in college)

One of the things Buddy Rich even mentioned about Carl was his snare ability.  He always sets up his snare in a more jazz position, because he loves playing the rims, I always found that a bit uncomfortable.  But one of the most incredible things I've ever seen is the snare section of his drum clinics...  Actually all of those drum clinics is just incredible....

Personally, I don't think any of the others are in Cobham's league, perhaps not even Bruford.  Cobham is primarily a jazz and jazz fusion drummer, not a rock drummer.  And although many of the others (including Bruford and Collins) have some jazz chops, none of them touch Cobham.

Although it is arguably silly to debate who is "better" (technically, musically, etc.) as opposed to who one likes better, if one must debate it, consider one very simple question: who could play who else's parts?  That is, I would argue that Cobham could - technically, musically - play any of the parts played by any of the other listed drummers (including Bruford).  However, I doubt anyone on that list - possibly including Bruford - could play some of Cobham's parts.  That is really the only "legitimate" question one should consider when one is debating who is "better."  And by the way, two other drummers who are leagues ahead of the others on the list (because they are more in Cobham's league and genre) are Narada Michael Walden and Alfonse Mouzon.

As for me, I will take Marco Matteuzzi and Claudio Trotta - both from Deus ex Machina - over any of the names on the above list.  Based on my "simple question" above, I believe there is nothing the drummers on the list have played that Matteuzzi or Trotta could not play.  On the other hand, there are many things I've heard Matteuzzi and Trotta play that perhaps only Bruford, Collins and maybe Peart or Palmer could do.  If you want to check them out, the two albums I would recommend are De Republica (Matteuzzi) and Diacronia Metronomiche (Trotta).

Peace.

slipperman wrote: ALL of Pink Floyd are at their peak on Pompeii.

Dave Gilmour improved a lot as a guitarist since Pompei.