Don’t Blame The Drummer

I was in a musical funk and in search of some new material to listen to. An album that would reveal a little more upon every listen. In the past, records by Wilco, The Jayhawks, Boston, Weezer and Pete Yorn had done the trick. Now, I was coming up empty. I blindly reached into the CD case and pulled out the first disc I touched; The Police’s Zenyatta Mondatta. Jeez, this vinyl record had lived on my turntable for months when I was in college. I spent a semester listening to the entire album at least once a day, digesting every lyric and drum fill. Now as I was driving, I stuck it in the player waiting to hear how it would sound after all this time.

It was just what the doctor ordered. A real band playing music before the pro tools era of “fixes.” Simple arrangements allowing the instruments to breathe and the spaces to take effect. And of course, the unparalleled creative energy of Stewart Copeland’s drumming. This guy wrote the book on a style of drumming that we haven’t heard before or for that matter, since. Songs like “Bombs Away” and “Driven to Tears” now sounded as fresh as ever. His bell and ride cymbal patterns transcend rhythm and at times sound like counter melodies. Granted, Sting has proven to be a star all on his own, but I think that some recording artists are not better going solo.

This got me thinking about artists who also parted with their drummers. Tom Petty and drummer Stan Lynch. The Pretenders and Martin Chambers. AC/DC and Phil Rudd. Aerosmith and Joe Perry (They recorded an entire album with another drummer and shelved it after it was decided “it didn’t sound like Aerosmith”). What about R.E.M. and Bill Berry, or The Replacements and Chris Mars? Some of these bands have wisely reconnected with their drummers. However, it looks to me that these break-ups were an effort by the artist to move on, move up, be better and reach a higher station in the business, as if it was the drummer holding them back.

So, how did it work out? Has Tom Petty exceeded the standards of “American Girl” or “Breakdown” since the firing of Stan Lynch? How did it go for R.E.M.? If today were the beginning of their career, where would they stand? Stewart Copeland’s drumming was integral to the success of The Police. Perhaps a little too much so. Is it possible that Sting ditched The Police partly because the drummer’s style branded the music? Has Sting truly done better and more innovative work since dumping Steward Copeland? It appears that some recording artists ruin a good thing just so they can say, “This is all mine and I did it all by myself.”

Conversely, I imagined The Rolling Stones without Charlie Watts and Rush without Neil Peart. Dave Matthews without Carter Beauford, but I couldn’t do it. Thank God that Page and Plant did not pursue Led Zeppelin without John Bonham. It seems that these artists embraced their drummer’s musical personality, making it part of their brand, front and center.