There's something visceral about seeing and hearing two drummers playing. Dale and Coady were sometimes locked in sync; at other times, they alternated as "lead" drummer or played off each other with separate but complementary drum parts.
Two drummers playing together is a feat of athleticism as well as musicianship. It's been done in jazz and prog rock, but also by the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, the Glitter Band, Wizzard, Adam & The Ants, and The Fall. There are live videos from 1983 of The Fall playing Smile, Garden, and Tempo House with Karl Burns and Paul Hanley that -- even to this day -- can cause the Dutch to weep, in four languages at least.
Here are 20 songs from groups which included two or more drummers. Some were temporary lineups, as when Fugazi added a second drummer to several songs on their final album, or when Pere Ubu had both Scott Krauss and Chris Cutler on drums. Sadly, nothing today from the Four Goddamn Girl Drummers, but we've got everything from God to Gnod. It's fitting that the compilation ends with House Of All, which now includes three goddamn Fall drummers (Karl Burns, Paul Hanley, and Simon Wolstencroft).
ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOG: more MX-80, Ubu, and The Mighty Fall.
DOUBLE DRUMMERS: https://pixeldrain.com/u/Vv5cUr5w
ReplyDeleteThe King of The Wild Frontier had two drummers, occasionally Zappa had. This, however, is a superb collection that broadend my mind again.
ReplyDeleteNo King Crimson?
ReplyDeleteNot today, but I did feature other Adventures Of The Small Intelligent Mobile Unit in this post:
Deletehttps://jonderblog.blogspot.com/2024/02/drive-to-1981-he-said.html
Sonny Sharrock made some nice sounds with 2 drummers in 80s, and Ministry had Burning Inside.
ReplyDeleteGood calls on both! Bill Rieflin is one of the great drummers of modern rock. He played with a lot of the industrial bands (Ministry, NIN, KMFDM, Swans, Pigface, Lard) as well as more radio-friendly alt rockers (REM, Robyn Hitchcock) AND King Crimson.
DeleteI mentioned Adam Ant, as you did. I did not read properly. Slipknot, King Crimson,
ReplyDeleteWikipedia even has a list of them....
Thanks, y'all! I did consult the wikipedia article on "double drumming" as well as this article from Modern Drummer magazine (which mentions King Crimson, Zappa, Genesis, Doobie Brothers, Tortoise, Coltrane, Ornette, "Bitches Brew" and Steve Gadd's band Stuff). I'm no expert, but apparently there is a difference between two musicians playing drumkits versus a band with a drummer and a percussionist (e.g., Slipknot, Little Feat, or the later Talking Heads).
ReplyDeletehttps://www.moderndrummer.com/2012/01/25-great-double-drumming-tracks/
If you are a drum "head", don't miss Koen's feature on Sandy Nelson!
https://jonderblog.blogspot.com/2024/12/beat-that-drum.html
Modern Drummer's article also mentions Jim Gordon and Jeff Porcaro on "Parker's Band" (from Pretzel Logic); Ringo Starr and Jim Keltner on "Wah Wah" (The Concert for Bangladesh); Jim Keltner and Jim Gordon on "The Letter" (Mad Dogs and Englishmen); Narada Michael Walden and Ed Greene on "Come Dancing" (Jeff Beck's Wired); and the Southern Rock bands who followed in the Allmans' wake (Outlaws, 38 Special, and Charlie Daniels Band).
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ReplyDeleteIncredible concept, & execution, Jon! I'm spinning both my drumsticks in salute!
Ringo & Keltner together are almost inconceivably good on Wah Wah!
Brilliant idea Jonder, thanks!
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