2. McCulloch

3. Giles

4. Wallace

5. Mastelotto

BB brought them through a very different and experimental period that went out really well and many of those pieces are still played today in the KC shows ... a lot more than many other pieces.

The only sad thing about them is that in some cases in the redo's a lot of the little touches that BB has on the music, is toned down. If you hear a couple of these pieces done by Rachel Flowers, she makes sure that the touches that BB added to the music are heard. Still subtle, but all of a sudden, they add character to the music.

Pat M. is an interesting drummer, but I am not sure that he was the perfect drummer for KC, but he has a nice touch, and he added a lot to the trio of drummers that showed his musical abilities. 

Gavin H. is my least favored of these. He's way too mechanical for my tastes, but in the case of KC, Mr. Fripp demanding a tight and secure show, someone like Gavin would be very important because he will be "there" and "ready". The main thing for me, would be to tell Gavin to get rid of his snare drum, and then play ... I bet he can and do it well ... but being tied to the "time" is a bitch and not the freedom that many folks want. And with a drummer, I'm not sure that Mr. Fripp wants "freedom" which might throw off the other players that can in a much easier way add some small things to the music that is not just 16 touches, in stead of 8 at any given moment!

Right. Tell me you don't know sh*t about drumming without actually saying it. 

The ones that stand out to me:

1. Bruford. Obligatory. Well deserved.

2. Giles, whose really distinctive tone and technique I've always been fond of.

3. Harrison, who stole the show most of all out of the three drummers when I saw them live in 2015; man, does this guy know how to pound his instrument.
4. Muir, if he counts, mostly for expanding the band's sound pallette so much and encouraging his bandmates to explore new avenues and get the best out of themselves.

Robert Fripp, King Crimson, September 2014 : "We no longer take mellotrons on the road. Instead we take this iPad app"

https://synthyfrog.com/app/50th-anniversary-edition-mellotronics-m3000/" rel="nofollow - https://synthyfrog.com/app/50th-anniversary-edition-mellotronics-m3000/    (I have this app, it is jolly good fun!)

telefunk wrote: The early drummer(s) were pretty ploding (old fashioned). Till BB came along

What I could certainly ascertain from your poorly typed posts is that no one will ever mistake you for a grammatician. You must suck as a drummer as well. 

But please, explain in detail how the drumming of Michael Giles on King Crimson's first album is "plodding" (I am aiding you in spelling in this instance). And attempt to go beyond single-sentence gibberish. I would suggest that Giles drumming on an album released in 1969 is neither "plodding" nor "old-fashioned"; on the contrary, it is quite unique for a rock album of that time period. Giles' drumming is complex and polyrhythmic in composition -- in scale it is far more jazz-influenced than simplistic rock.

:::...tips cap to The Dark Elf in complete agreement...:::

Overall best and most legendary: Bill Bruford

The jazziest: Michael Giles

The one with the most hollow cardboard-like drum sound: Andy McCullough

2. McCulloch*

3. Giles

4. Mastelotto

after that I struggle to care and not a fan of Islands.

*this is the correct spelling!!

According to wiki McCulloch left the business to teach sailing! Something of a loss because Lizard and the Greenslade albums pust him right up there. Has a very fluid style which I love.

*this is the correct spelling!!

Whoops!

Don't get me wrong. He was a fantastic drummer. I was being a tiny bit tongue-in-cheek. Aside from the monumental performances on Lizard, I also really love his drumming on the Duncan Mackay album Score.

Should Muir even be on the list? Wasn't he more of a percussionist? I don't think he actually played drums on LTIA. What did he actually play drums on?

Jamie is playing a conventional drum kit in this video, see 1:38 onwards.  Basically, controlled chaos. 

http://youtu.be/WhudDa3JAyc" rel="nofollow - http://youtu.be/WhudDa3JAyc

Hi,

And stuff like this is difficult since so much of it is improvised and dependent on each person at every moment, and this is the part of rock music that is missing today ... there is no "freedom" or a chance for a Cross, or Muir, or a Bruford, or even a Fripp, to create music that is ... "a moment in time", instead of something else, like a rock song.

But, in many ways, it defines much later, how Fripp wants some kind of "control" within the music so that it can be played in concert, which they showed beautifully in the series with 3 drummers. You can bring the madness of experimentation to the stage, again, but it is difficult to duplicate, and the attention to detail is off the charts. Guess what most musicians are afraid of? Losing the beat, or not knowing when/how to improvise ... and in one clip ... is a lesson ... that even us "progressive" folks, are afraid to wake up to, and instead go for formatted songs and music! 

Thanks, M, good commentary!  Remember, Broof left Yes because he wanted to play some "wrong notes!" 

I was blessed to see LTIA King Crimson in Chicago, no Jamie alas....it was remarkable.  Even the audience was chaotic.   Oddly, Peter Frampton opened the show!!  April 20, 1973.  

Hi,

What is scary to me, is that what helped "progressive music" the most, was the experimentation and the willingness to go out on a limb musically, which is something that is grossly missing in today's new examples of "progressive music" and some folks, I don't think, really have any idea of what an improvisation, and a complete experimental moment is all about, and how to work with it ... and in that clip alone, you are seeing folks that not only did it, but were not afraid to do it, which is important. And even more valuable is the ending with Jamie adding touches with Bill simply adding a few more touches ... so it allows the "birds" to be free and fly ... it is a wonderful moment, and we don't even realize it.

The toughest part to get past, in an improvisation, is the fear that you are not sure of what to do and when ... all that tells you is that you are over thinking it all and not paying attention to the music around you ... nothing more or less!!! And that is the SECRET in an improvisation, and its success. You have to stay tuned, and no one that sees that clip can not say those guys are not tuned and ready for it. 

Sadly, it also likely explains why Jamie Muir did not stick around rock music a lot ... too many musicians that are just note bandits and not listeners. And to many of them the "beat" or the "guitar" is the boss and everything else is secondary ... which takes away from the completeness of the music, assuming that its completeness is limited to one or two things only! You don't see "limitations" on that clip other than the returning to the main theme with the guitar, and you can even watch David Cross smile, when things are working so well! 

Those are, not only, special moments, but they are moments that explain to you, what music can do that so many are not capable of doing, or willing to learn how to work with it ... it's about LISTENING ... the greatest secret in theater and film, as well ... something that most actors are not even good at, since many of them are the stars, and are not required to listen! And this is the part that bothers me about so many drummers out there ... they are so tight on the timing that all their "listening" is simply about keeping the time just right for everyone else. Gavin, is a perfect example. Very mechanical, good, but not a free form drummer that can add to the music a lot more than just tight beats! Many of us did not seem to find BB miss a lot of beats ... you can miss one and pick it up in 4 or 8 bars!!!! You don't have to be there every 4 of them, which tells you that the snare drum needs to die!