Overrated Drummers -who's on your list? Steve Gadd?

beatdat said:
You know what...you're right.

I may not like every drummer, but there's no reason why I have to add any negative energy to this thread, or any other for that matter. It was, as you say, childish.
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You're certainly not expected to like everyone mate. And I'm more than happy to listen to anyone who is able to articulate why some drummers just don't do it for them. There are plenty of players who simply leave me cold too.

I think the danger of threads like this is the "hit and run" nature of them. People plow in with barbs like "such and such player is overrated"......without so much as an attempt to explain why they feel that way. More often than not, it's not even whether a drummer is over/under/or not rated at all. It's that the player's musical or stylistic choices just don't move them. And that's fine. To each their own. But I reckon trying to align a matter of personal taste against a players standing, is what causes most of the issues in threads of this nature. And why more of these types of threads go off the rails than any other. (Except maybe jazz, chops v groove and big kits v small kits.)

Don't see it as attempt to try silence anyone though. I reckon it'd be nice if we saw it as an opportunity to delve a little deeper and provide some context to our thoughts. After all, this is a discussion forum. It'd be a shame if you were to walk away thinking you weren't able to discuss. :)
 
Pocket-full-of-gold said:
You're certainly not expected to like everyone mate. And I'm more than happy to listen to anyone who is able to articulate why some drummers just don't do it for them. There are plenty of players who simply leave me cold too.

I think the danger of threads like this is the "hit and run" nature of them. People plow in with barbs like "such and such player is overrated"......without so much as an attempt to explain why they feel that way. More often than not, it's not even whether a drummer is over/under/or not rated at all. It's that the player's musical or stylistic choices just don't move them. And that's fine. To each their own. But I reckon trying to align a matter of personal taste against a players standing, is what causes most of the issues in threads of this nature. And why more of these types of threads go off the rails than any other. (Except maybe jazz, chops v groove and big kits v small kits.)

Don't see it as attempt to try silence anyone though. I reckon it'd be nice if we saw it as an opportunity to delve a little deeper and provide some context to our thoughts. After all, this is a discussion forum. It'd be a shame if you were to walk away thinking you weren't able to discuss. :)
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Well said. Problem for me is that sometimes even discussions get out of hand - particularly in this medium. And couple that with the fact that my day job is adversarial by nature, trading barbs with others is not what I'm here for. If anything, I'd rather have these types of discussions over a drink.

I read this week that the internet turned 30, and apparently its creator isn't happy with how it grew up.

Sometimes I think the 20 character rule on here could be relaxed at times for someone to reply peace out.
 
Every generation has a guy who’s a great, really flashy hammy drummer that gets tons of attention and lots of non-drummers agree he is suddenly the greatest ever. Buddy Rich, Neal Peart, and now it seems like Carter Beauford. All fine drummers known for playing a bazillion notes. None of them is “the greatest ever”, they all stood on the shoulders of other players, they function well in a given style but would be wrong in millions of other musical settings.
 
Pocket-full-of-gold said:
We could. If he were ever actually rated at all, that is.

I've never read anything other than him being shit canned here. In nearly 10 years on the forum, I think DrumEatDrum is the only one that's ever had anything positive to say.

The guy has created some pretty bloody iconic drum parts in his time. His use of rhythmic patterns was a pretty unique approach for its time. There really weren't a hell of a lot of guys doing it the same way he was. Yet somehow he's never given much credit on this forum.

I don't get it. He's not a master technician. Nor is he a chops monster. But he was creative, inventive and musically supportive. He played parts that fit U2's emotive themes perfectly. His playing created tension, release and mood. What more should be required of anyone?

Overrated? Not a chance. You have to be rated to begin with to fit into that category. And the poor sod just never is.
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I agree. He brings that unique, unorthodox approach to beats.
Sunday, Bloody Sunday intro is legendary, his use of deadened toms on Streets Have no Name, the little military fill at the end of each bar on Bullet the Blue Sky.
I could go on and on.
He played in a legendary band and played legendary beats. What more could you ask for?
Many don't even get to do one of those.
 
Beneath the mask said:
I agree. He brings that unique, unorthodox approach to beats.
Sunday, Bloody Sunday intro is legendary, his use of deadened toms on Streets Have no Name, the little military fill at the end of each bar on Bullet the Blue Sky.
I could go on and on.
He played in a legendary band and played legendary beats. What more could you ask for?
Many don't even get to do one of those.
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In the 80’s Larry’s profile was much higher so I remember he was lauded quite a lot amongst rock drummers of the day...U2 changed direction in the 90’s and time marched on; his profile definitely seems to have dipped over the years. As you say, a fine drummer who found his own voice on the instrument, and who has seen and done it all... (y) :)
 
Al Strange said:
In the 80’s Larry’s profile was much higher so I remember he was lauded quite a lot amongst rock drummers of the day...U2 changed direction in the 90’s and time marched on; his profile definitely seems to have dipped over the years. As you say, a fine drummer who found his own voice on the instrument, and who has seen and done it all... (y) :)
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Yeah, their music became more precise and poppy post 90s, and he didn't really have the freedom to express himself like before.
 
I think i'm overrated; people hold me i high regard, but i know what is lacking and what needs attention.
What... i can't nominate myself? :p
 
Larry has how many top selling albums and is in a band that has sold out how many stadium tours? I don't think he really cares what a dude behind a keyboard thinks of his "rating" or drumming ability as he sits on a lifetime of accomplishments very few have achieved as well as sitting on his pile of cash.

Just my $0.02
 
So this thread just got bumped so I'm seeing it for the first time and the very idea of Steve Gadd being overrated is kinda frying my brain. ("How can you fry something that small?" I know, I know.)

The original link is dead, but by reading comments about it here and elsewhere it feels like the guy was going for incendiary, which is a fine internet tradition, albeit one I outgrew many years ago. On the other hand, it sounds like he's also not 100% wrong about a few of them, so...
 
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