Nick is a great drummer

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enigma00
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Post by enigma00 »

quicksilver wrote:If people think Ringo and Nick are not good drummers than who is? I mean they were part of two of the most influential bands ever. Put Carmen Appice, Neal Peart or any other drummer that is held in high regard in those bands and see what happens. Gilmour never had the fastest fingers for a guitarist but he had other intangibles that made him great; same with Ringo and Nick.
I agree. A drummer like Neil Peart would not have suited the Floyd, or the Beatles. I think that there is no "best drummer ever" I believe that different drummers can have different skill levels, but they each suit their bands perfectly.
Raquel Copsey
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Post by Raquel Copsey »

Nick's drumming style has a sort of "theme of absence" to it. Like the best Floyd music, it suggests more than what you actually hear. I guess I have "Echoes" in mind as I write this, but his tasteful rolls and fills actually leave room for your mind to "fill in the blanks". This is art.

As Gilmour is no Malmsteen, Mason is no Bruford, but they both get maximum mileage of their sense of timing and sense of "space" or 3-D sound. Mason's architecture background no doubt has a unique influence on his style of playing... a solid framework to support the entire structure, economical, creative, and elegant in its simplicity.
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Post by Keith Jordan »

Raquel Copsey wrote:Nick's drumming style has a sort of "theme of absence" to it. Like the best Floyd music, it suggests more than what you actually hear. I guess I have "Echoes" in mind as I write this, but his tasteful rolls and fills actually leave room for your mind to "fill in the blanks". This is art.

As Gilmour is no Malmsteen, Mason is no Bruford, but they both get maximum mileage of their sense of timing and sense of "space" or 3-D sound. Mason's architecture background no doubt has a unique influence on his style of playing... a solid framework to support the entire structure, economical, creative, and elegant in its simplicity.
What a beautiful post. I myself like the "space" the floyd in general but mason in particular create in which the listener can exist within the art. If the listener can "hear" something without it being played then what is the point of playing it on the kit? That would just take from the experience of the whole piece of music.

I love the intro to soycd part 1. I love the feeling of going along a conveyor belt and being "processed" :lol: Or is it like walking into a building through the foyer and it being a little empty from there? Pink Floyd are great but the the human mind is better. Filling in the "gaps" in Nick's drumming is rewarding. :-)
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Post by MikeWaters »

Have any of you noticed Nicks amazing drumming on the wall? I really never thought of it much until i read this post, but he has some great fills like in happiest days of our lives, hey you, Empty spaces/What shall we do now? ect...



Isn't he great?
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Post by GopherPop »

quicksilver wrote:Put Carmen Appice, Neal Peart or any other drummer that is held in high regard in those bands and see what happens.
I agree with you that Nick and Ringo are great drummers. I am a drummer myself and hold both of them as great influences. Both of them have great feel.

Just wanted to point out that Carmine Appice is, in fact, credited as playing on Momentary Lapse of Reason - it's hard to tell what he plays on, but he's there somewhere (I'm sure it's Keltner on 'On the Turning Away'.)

I'd love to know who drums on what on 'The Wall'. I know Jeff Porcaro is on 'Mother'...Willie Wilson is there somewhere, as well, I believe.
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Post by SomeGhostsStepOut »

Just wanted to point out that Carmine Appice is, in fact, credited as playing on Momentary Lapse of Reason - it's hard to tell what he plays on, but he's there somewhere (I'm sure it's Keltner on 'On the Turning Away'.)
I think he played on Yet Another Movie. Nick Mason also played on that song.
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Post by Diin Jaffa »

MikeWaters wrote:Have any of you noticed Nicks amazing drumming on the wall? I really never thought of it much until i read this post, but he has some great fills like in happiest days of our lives, hey you, Empty spaces/What shall we do now? ect...
What Shall we do now isnt played by nick. Im not sure about empty spaces.
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Post by rosm »

Sorry I haven't read the complete thread but I (not being a drummer) think that Nick was to Pink Floyd as Ringo Starr was to The Beatles: a very lovely, nice person. But deafinately not as good as the rest of the band. But sometimes great songs don't need great drumparts, and why can't simple things be great? Take for example The Cure not great musicians but in my opinion great music.
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Post by makram »

I think if u watch live at pompeii and see the stunts he did with the sticks while playing and with filling all his role.
HE's a GREAT man
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Post by simpledumbpilot »

rosm wrote:Sorry I haven't read the complete thread but I (not being a drummer) think that Nick was to Pink Floyd as Ringo Starr was to The Beatles: a very lovely, nice person. But deafinately not as good as the rest of the band. But sometimes great songs don't need great drumparts, and why can't simple things be great? Take for example The Cure not great musicians but in my opinion great music.
I never realised just how good The Cure are as musicians until the first time I saw them live, Robert Smith just blew me away. Ive always loved their music but I seemed to love it even more after that moment. Anyway, back to Nick, yeah he is a good drummer, nice and simple a lot of the time which seemed to be perfect for the songs. I hate pretentious musicians who have use every bit of the kit at once or do million note guitar solos as if to say ''hey look at me'', everyone in Floyd seemed to play what was perfect for the song in most cases, after all a lot of the songs really are very simple when played acousticly, its the sounds Floyd use that really make them something else.
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Post by Tinkerbell »

Well, I know next to nothing about playing an instrument, but i know what's good, and Nick, IMO, is really good. I think he really plays from the heart (sound cheesy, i know), but I just can't stop looking at him play, specially on Echoes part I on Pompeii :shock: It's like watching Baryshnikov dance: you just have to look. Much much energy there...
I have listened to LOTS of Beatles during my whole life, and I always thought Ringo was a very good drummer, I've neever even doubted it, I dunno where all this 'not good' came from (what's wrong with you people? :lol: )

...at least he's not the Rolling Stones' drummer, -whatshisname-; he's BORING!
Could he be more repetitive??
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Post by rosm »

simpledumbpilot wrote:...I hate pretentious musicians who have use every bit of the kit at once or do million note guitar solos as if to say ''hey look at me'', everyone in Floyd seemed to play what was perfect for the song in most cases...
Agree with that.
Tinkerbell wrote:I have listened to LOTS of Beatles during my whole life, and I always thought Ringo was a very good drummer, I've neever even doubted it, I dunno where all this 'not good' came from
I've heard a couple of times that Paul McCartney went back to the studios after closing time to overdub Ringo's drums...
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fs
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he's good!

Post by fs »

he's not only a good drummer, he's also a good business man.
In addition he's very creative: I like very much what he did on MLOR!

ANd....he's much more modest than Roger
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Re: Nick is a great drummer

Post by Wolfpack »

summer68 wrote:and he's the one who says "one of these days i'm going to cut you into little pieces"!
I think so. At least, Mason can be heard in 'Scream Thy Last Scream' (lead vocals, except for one line); 'Corporal Clegg' (one of the talking voices); and some Christmas song. Only 'Corporal Clegg' is officially released.
Someone in this topic said he is also doing the "silence in the studio" in Atom Heart Mother.

About his drumming. I only really like him in the Barrett period. There he sounds creative to me. But at least since Ummugumma, I think he becomes repetitive and dull. I just heard 'Careful With That Axe, Eugene' and I just can't stand the lazy drum fills that slow down the music. As if he can't follow the tempo. (It happens during and after the screaming.)
When Pink Floyd was first released on CD, in the late 1980s, a reviewer said that now clearly can be heard that Mason always plays the same beat. I think the beat in the verses of 'Comfortably Numb' is meant. That kind of beat has already been used in 'Echoes'.

I know I would have liked Pink Floyd more if Mason didn't ruin some records for me. I think that Ringo Starr is a top drummer compared to Mason. Just imagine Mason doing the drums for 'A Day in the Life'. :lol: That would be a great parody, I think.

Isn't 'Remember a Day', like 'Two Suns', one of the songs that were too difficult for him to drum? Just hear how great Norman Smith is drumming there, on 'RaD', in comparison to what Mason has done.
Mason almost makes me wonder why only Barrett had to leave. They both could do nothing on stage, while no one would notice. During live performances, Mason is helped by a ghost drummer. As Mason drums very creative on 'The Piper', maybe Barrett wasn't the only one to have a breakdown at the time. What happened to Mason? :shock:

(rant rant) ;)
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Flying pig437
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Re: Nick is a great drummer

Post by Flying pig437 »

I think this is like the is Roger a great Bassist argument. Ulitmaltely it's not like either of them are incompetent. they've both delivered the goods!