Ranking King Crimson Drummers

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!

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/   (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.

Overall best and most legendary: Bill Bruford

The jazziest: Michael Giles

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

*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.