Graeme Edge

[Jeremy Bender]

Just had to post him. One of my favorite drummers from one of my all-time favorite bands. The Moody Blues have been together since He and others founded the original band back in 1964. After 44 years in the same band, He's on a world tour this year. There's something to be said about that dedication and commitment to a band and the staying power of their music. Absolutely amazing in today's world.

[Ruok]

The Moodies are one of my favorite bands. I miss keyboardist Mike Pinder and producer Tony Clarke a lot though. They were the ones, I believe, who brought the awesome cosmic sound to those late 60s and early 70s albums. Edge is often overlooked for his playing. I think of him in a similar way as Ringo Starr. He plays for the song and plays only what's needed for each particular song. He's written some very good tunes too.

[furrowgroove]

Graeme is a great musician. He plays for the song beautifully. The "knocking" on the snare in Questions and the way he launches into the groove after that is almost genious! I saw the Moodies last summer. They still play the tunes perfectly and are a very professional bunch of guys (and girls actually xD). It was interesting they had 2 drummers on that tour. The other was this younger guy who played a kit that matched Graeme's, but it was more effects-based. (Such as gong drum, lots of chinas, etc. He was louder in the mix and seemed to power the group mainly. Graeme seemed more laid back and relaxed with his playing. (He even got up to sing and dance to a song while the other guy played drums by himself.)

[Jeremy Bender]

Yes his name is Gordon Marshall, a multi instrumental guy who contributes a lot to the band's live shows. What a great gig that must be for him!

[drummer wannabe]

Bringing this topic back....

Been soaking myself in some of the Moodies stuff on Youtube, one video I keep watching over and over is their performance of "Nights In White Satin" at the 1970 Isle Of Wight festival, which happened to be one of the last major gigs Hendrix played before he died. I gotta say, Graeme is pretty explosive here, especially towards the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQBU0uoR-W0

[Ruok]

One of my favorite performances by Edge is the studio version of "New Horizons" which is on the Moodies "7th Sojourn" album from 1972. Everything about that track is perfect IMO.