Pick Withers

Ashton Drum's

Pioneer Member
For those who don't no who I'm talking about he was the original drummer for the rock band Dire Straits and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as "Sultans of Swing," & "Romeo and Juliet"

What do you guys think of him I really like Withers's style it was really blues-based and I love his Drumming on Sultans of Swing there first album would have to be one of my greatest albums ever.

What do you guys think of him?
 
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He's definitely one of my favorite drummers. He is so smooth. He has a fantastic touch on the cymbals and his drum sound is also what I'd like mine to sound like. The first 2 albums are my favorite Straits albums, but the next 2 are great as well. Straits just wasn't the same without him, in my humble opinion. Withers also played on Bob Dylan's "Slow Train Coming" record along with Mark Knopfler and they sound awesome.
 
Hes an amazing drummer, and whenever i listen to him, everything seems to flow like cream, his style is solid and smooth. Shame we havn't got a page for him here, hes inspired so many people.
 
Oh yeah on the Dire Straits On the Night DVD its not Pick Withers on the drums its Chris Whitten I always thought it was him until I brought the dvd and then I found out it wasen't him
 
He also played with early-'70s band Spring.They only released one album, but it's worth it for fans of Withers' playing.
 
awesome drummer..
i just found this clip with him from youtube.com
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hDpMqKSrr7Y

if link doesnt work searc for "dire straits money" look for the version from wembley arena

dire straits plays, what i think, is the best version of money for nothing.

does anyone know what sixe, brand and cymbals he used? his kit looks awesome..

like those big drums :)
 
infernal drummer said:
awesome drummer..
i just found this clip with him from youtube.com
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hDpMqKSrr7Y

if link doesnt work searc for "dire straits money" look for the version from wembley arena

dire straits plays, what i think, is the best version of money for nothing.

does anyone know what sixe, brand and cymbals he used? his kit looks awesome..

like those big drums :)

Pick left just before the love over gold, Im pretty sure thats terry williams in the vidio, but its defo not pick. I love dire straits got all there albums, and have to say that after pick left they changed dramatically. I loved picks style and the way his drum parts flowed. He never sounded out of control. He knew how, when and where to place notes to get the perfect sound.

Also Ruok I was thinking of gettin that dylan album is it any good?
 
bonzo49 said:
Also Ruok I was thinking of gettin that dylan album is it any good?

Musically, I think it is excellent. It's probably one of the most pleasing music I've ever heard come from a Dylan record. All the instruments sound beautiful to me. One of the producers of the album was Barry Becket and he also played the keyboards for the recording. And I can honestly say that the keyboard sound is probably my favorite keyboard recording of all time. Not to mention how great Withers drum and cymbal sound is. And Mark Knopfler's lead guitar sounds just like you would expect....great. Personally, I love and enjoy every song on the disc. But, that's just me.

Many people didn't care for "Slow Train's" lyrics because it was when Dylan was going through his "born again Christian" phase. So, if Christian lyrics bother you, then you may not enjoy the CD.

Slow Train Coming has an overall mellow and smooth feel musically that I really get into. Some of the tunes from Slow Train were eventually re-recorded with Dylan and the guys from the Grateful Dead on the CD called "Dylan and the Dead." Which I really like as well, only not as much as the original versions.
 
bonzo49 said:
Pick left just before the love over gold, Im pretty sure thats terry williams in the vidio, but its defo not pick. I love dire straits got all there albums, and have to say that after pick left they changed dramatically. I loved picks style and the way his drum parts flowed. He never sounded out of control. He knew how, when and where to place notes to get the perfect sound.

Also Ruok I was thinking of gettin that dylan album is it any good?

ahh.. well .. thats just adds another drummer on my fav list :)

okay.. anywho.. my questions still stands :)
 
bonzo49 said:
Pick left just before the love over gold, Im pretty sure thats terry williams in the vidio, but its defo not pick. I love dire straits got all there albums, and have to say that after pick left they changed dramatically. I loved picks style and the way his drum parts flowed. He never sounded out of control. He knew how, when and where to place notes to get the perfect sound.

Also Ruok I was thinking of gettin that dylan album is it any good?

ahh.. well .. thats just adds another drummer on my fav list :)

okay.. anywho.. my questions still stands :)
 
bonzo49 said:
Pick left just before the love over gold, Im pretty sure thats terry williams in the vidio, but its defo not pick. I love dire straits got all there albums, and have to say that after pick left they changed dramatically. I loved picks style and the way his drum parts flowed. He never sounded out of control. He knew how, when and where to place notes to get the perfect sound.

Also Ruok I was thinking of gettin that dylan album is it any good?

ahh.. well .. thats just adds another drummer on my fav list :)

okay.. anywho.. my questions still stands :)
 
bonzo49 said:
Pick left just before the love over gold, Im pretty sure thats terry williams in the vidio, but its defo not pick. I love dire straits got all there albums, and have to say that after pick left they changed dramatically. I loved picks style and the way his drum parts flowed. He never sounded out of control. He knew how, when and where to place notes to get the perfect sound.

Also Ruok I was thinking of gettin that dylan album is it any good?

ahh.. well .. thats just adds another drummer on my fav list :)

okay.. anywho.. my questions still stands :)
 
I don't have any info on Terry Williams drums and cymbals except I've heard he was a Paiste player.

For those interested....Pick Withers used Eddie Ryan Drums if I remember right and he played and endorsed Paiste cymbals during his Dire Straits years. I've heard by rumour that he used mostly, if not all, 2002 cymbals on the early Straits albums and by 1982s
"Love over Gold" he had more of a combination of 2oo2s and Paiste Sound Creations as described in the Paiste Profile book.
 
Why isnt he on the Paiste site? I cant find him on the aritist listings page ... is there another page? Or something? Oh and sorry for bringing up an old topic too, if it bothers anyone... :)
 
Why isnt he on the Paiste site? I cant find him on the aritist listings page ... is there another page? Or something? Oh and sorry for bringing up an old topic too, if it bothers anyone... :)

I know. I have a hard time finding any meaningful info on him at all, anywhere. I'm thinking that maybe he doesn't endorse Paiste cymbals anymore. But I could be wrong. I've seen his name a few years ago in some 2oo2 Paiste ads though. He really seemed to have dropped out of the limelight after leaving Straits, which was 25 years ago. Wow! Time flies!
 
For those interested in seeing/hearing what Pick was doing as late as a year ago, go to Youtube and search for "Pauline Black" and/or "Blue Jazz Trio". There are some video clips of Pauline Black and the Blue Jazz Trio that were recorded a little over a year ago with Pick as the Trio's drummer. Youtube also has many clips of early Dire Straits featuring Pick. One discovery was "Eastbound Train" - I had never even heard it before.

Pick is at the top of my list of favorite drummers and as someone else has said, Dire Straits was just not the same after he left. I especially liked his playing on "Water of Love". It is good to see that he is still playing.

Jim
 
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