There’s nothing like a well recorded drum kit captured on a well mastered, well pressed vinyl record, reproduced at a scale and with the impact that approaches the real thing. Nothing, of course, outside of actually hearing the real thing. When introduced in a song at just the right moment, the drums often let us know, in no uncertain terms, that something pretty darn special is about to happen, or is happening already.
When I got back into audio 7 or 8 years ago after a prolonged hiatus, the first thing I did was buy a pair of bigger speakers. I had been listening to my Celestion SL6S bookshelf speakers on stands for well over a decade and my wife and I were used to them living in our living room. Until then, it just hadn’t seemed a priority to make a change.
But when I finally did, and I started listening to my system with what was still a fairly modest sized pair of Paradigm floor standers, it was glaringly obvious everything I’d been missing all those years. And the one thing that stood out perhaps more than anything else was that I was finally hearing a drum kit sound a lot more like a drum kit than I ever had before.
Since then I’ve moved on from the Paradigms to my current speakers, the Verity Audio Parsifals. The Parsifals are not that big of a speaker. Each of their ported bass cabinets contains a single 8 inch woofer. But for their size, the Parsifals have an uncanny ability to present drums and bass with convincing size and weight.
For a while now I’ve been wanting to do some sort of “Top Ten” piece, and it seemed only fitting to focus on the drums. After all, it was finally hearing the drums on a record that drew me back into this nutty hobby. Therefore, I suppose it was hearing drums really sound like drums that brought me right to where I am now, writing about records and analog audio and loving it.
Many of the songs listed below feature the kind of moment I describe above where the drums play a key role. In this sense, this list is less about the quality of the drumming, or the length of the drum sequences, and more about what that sequence does for the song as a whole. There are three drum solos included here, but these are on the list because I find them special for the same reason – they draw us into the larger performance.
This is by no means meant to be THE list, and certainly it’s not an exhaustive one. It’s simply a list that includes some of my personal favorites, along with one or two that I might call obvious choices.
If you have any favorites that I’ve missed, and I’ve no doubt there are MANY, feel free to mention them in the comments. And if you would, please let me know WHY YOU FEEL THEY SHOULD BE ON THIS LIST. If you do that I’ll post your entry into what I expect and hope will be a LONG list of honorable mentions.
So HERE GOES! My first TOP TEN list.
The Top Ten BEST Drum MOMENTS on Vinyl
#10 – Elvis Costello’s “Green Shirt”
I’ll admit that I’m not a big Elvis Costello fan. My roommate in college was, and our relationship, which I cherish to this day, dictates that I remain only casually appreciative of Costello’s work.
Nevertheless, when the snare makes its entrance in “Green Shirt” on what is arguably Elvis’s best recorded album, to say it leaves a lasting impression is an understatement, especially if you hear it on a Near White Hot Stamper as I have.
#9 – David Bowie’s “The Width of a Circle,” the live version from David Live
Quite a while back I wrote a piece about mastering genius Robert Ludwig and his unmistakable talent for cutting live albums. In that piece I mention David Live as one of Ludwig’s best. The post itself is not one of my best, I’m sorry to say, but I stand by the fact that it highlights some of Mr. Ludwig’s best work, an enviable resume of mastering successes that will forever remain unmatched.
I’m not sure there’s any live recording that captures a drum kit the way it can be on the best studio recordings, but if any comes close it’s got to be “The Width of a Circle” on David Live. When the drums come in a little ways through the intro, we understand the scale of the moment – a night in Philadelphia when perhaps the greatest rock musician ever to grace the stage is performing at the dizzying height of his talents.
#8 – Rod Stewart’s “(I Know) I’m Losing You”
This song builds tension and excitement they way only a truly great rock song can, and a big part of that is the drums and their SIZE on the better sounding copies. Mick Waller’s drumming propels this song into being the great one that it is, and one that is my absolute favorite song on an album full of many great songs.
#7 – Roxy Music’s “Amazona”
When I went to the home of the private seller who had the Verity Parsifals for sale to demo them, I made a point of taking my copy of Roxy Music’s Stranded. I knew that any speaker that could do justice to the drums and bass on that album was worthy of my consideration.
The song “Amazona” opens with a GARGANTUAN bass line that, when played at the right volume, will make you glad you don’t have a pace maker (assuming you don’t / those who do should avoid this track as it could be life threatening). Then the drums come in and, at least on my early UK pressing, they will give you such a wallop you might be tempted, just as I’ve been, to lift the tonearm and play the intro all over again.
The drums on “Do The Strand,” which opens Roxy’s debut, are no slouch either, especially when heard on my cherished White Hot Stamper. But I still have to give the nod here to “Amazona,” my pick for #7.
#6 – T-Rex “The Slider”
T-Rex falls into a category of bands that I call “guilty pleasures.” The band had a shameless, take no prisoners swagger to them that I’ve always found intoxicating. When I listen to T-Rex, I get a feeling in my gut and in my groin that I don’t quite get any other way.
On a summer trip to Mt. Shasta several years ago, my wife and I rented a funky house with a basement. It was a wickedly hot week in Northern California, and the house had no air conditioning, so the basement was where we ended up spending most of our time.
There was a TV down there, with a VCR no less, and the owners had a series of old Midnight Special episodes on a stack of video tapes. The show, which had its heyday back in the 1970’s, was hosted by Wolfman Jack and featured a who’s who of the absolute best rock bands of the era. I had never seen the show before that summer, nor seen footage of most of the featured bands, but I have to say, every performance was beyond memorable.
One episode featured T-Rex performing “Get It On (Bang a Gong), and let me tell you, this was not your parent’s Ed Sullivan show. This was burn the friggin’ house down and damn the torpedoes rock music at its deliciously raunchiest. Mark Bolan gets so far out of control, I started to fear he might harm members of the audience.
When I’m needing a T-Rex fix, which I find I do from time to time, I play my UK pressing of The Slider and skip right to the title track. “The Slider” opens with a drum kit the size of your living room, and it lets you know right out of the gate you’re in for big time auditory ass kicking. It’s a more than fitting entry at #6, and might even merit a higher placement.
#5 – Lou Reed’s “Andy’s Chest”
Transformer is an album I “discovered” relatively late in my music life. In college, where you’d think I’d have the sense to recognize Lou’s genius and explore past his work with The Velvet Underground, I never really bothered.
The first time I heard “Andy’s Chest” I was literally SHOCKED at how big an impression it made on me. It’s lyrical stream of consciousness and insane dynamics came together in a way that instantly made Transformer one of my favorite records of all time.
And when just after the line “the mountains bolder after you” the drums come in, the size of that kit is a thing to BEHOLD! If that moment in music doesn’t leave a lasting impression on you, you either need bigger speakers or a visit to the cardiologist.
#4 – Madden and Harris’s “Will You Be There”
I realize this one will be unfamiliar to most people. The Australian duo’s one and only album, Fools Paradise, is not a record you’ll find in many collections. Fairly rare and expensive, you may have to track down that oddball school mate of yours from junior high with the obscure prog rock collection if you want to hear a copy.
But I have to tell you, I’m actually moving this track down in the rankings because of it’s rarity. When the drum kit comes in at the transition from “Children of Ice” to “Will You Be There,” it literally sounds like you’re sitting inside of the darn thing.
Too bad the mastering on the 2014 Guerssen reissue of this title is a failure, because the original pressing I have sounds wonderful and manages to capture the MASSIVE dynamic swings on what is a little known gem of an album.
#3 – The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s “Time Out”
I expected to stick with Rock titles for this list (no pun intended), but ultimately I concluded that leaving out what might be the most compelling jazz drum solo recording you’re ever likely to hear was a mistake.
Dave Brubeck’s best known album was recorded at Columbia’s 30th Street Studio, a 97 foot long, 55 ft. wide behemoth with a Fifty foot-high ceiling! If you have a system and a room that can even come close to capturing this studio space, you’re never going to hear a drum kit that sounds as HUMONGOUS as this one does, nor one where the drums sticks hit the skins the same ferocity.
#2 – Blood, Sweat & Tears’s “Blues – Part 2”
Several years ago I pulled out a copy of B,S & T’s sophomore album and, after playing it through, declared it the best sounding record in my collection. Since then I’ve had the privilege of hearing even better copies than that one, and each time I do, the drum solo during “Blues – Part 2” always manages to pin me right into my listening chair.
There are a LOT of reasons to love this album, and the drum solo (about 3 1/2 minutes in) is just one of them. The other is when the horns come in right at the end of that drum solo. That moment, if you have the right copy, is one of the most exhilarating ever captured on a record.
#1 – Led Zeppelin’s “Moby Dick”
I like to think of this choice as the inevitable, rather than the obvious one. And let’s face it, with Zeppelin and John Bonham, how do you narrow down the choices? I can think of at least half a dozen of their songs that would have been a worthy contender for this list.
But having had the privilege of hearing “Moby Dick” on a White Hot Stamper, I have to tell you, you’d be hard pressed to find drum kit captured on a record that will rival what the WHS does with this track. Stunning barely does it any justice.