Classic Era Prog Drummers

I've been reading tons of previous (sometimes ancient) threads about prog drummers. To my uneducated ears, the most impressive drummers I've ever heard from the "Classic Era" of prog include:

Grumpyprogfan wrote: Pip Pyle

Grumpyprogfan wrote: BrufordFreak wrote: Okay. I am duly impressed. I don't know why I've never listened to Of Queues and Cures from a drumming/percussion/rhythm perspective before. (I've always been searching for the melodies.) THANKS! Your welcome. I am humbled getting thanks from a seasoned PA collaborator and reviewer

Chester Thompson, here with Weather Report long before his Genesis stint.

It really hurts to see Keith Moon, John Bonham or Ian Paice missing of a list like this.  Wondering what criteria could exclude them in the period mentioned.  Progressive Rock?  You only have to back and read up the old music papers and their lists to know who was considered top.

Nogbad_The_Bad wrote: Spaciousmind wrote: It really hurts to see Keith Moon, John Bonham or Ian Paice missing of a list like this.  Wondering what criteria could exclude them in the period mentioned.  Progressive Rock?  You only have to back and read up the old music papers and their lists to know who was considered top.   Bill Ward also, wonderful chops.

I'm not a Bruford or Collins freak, but Bill Bruford and Phil Collins are both top of my prog drummers list, even though I'm not a big fan of their respective solo works. 

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - May 19 2021 at 08:25

I think Barriemore Barlow is seriously underrated because of the way Ian Anderson composed songs which required Barlow to adapt a more symphonic method of drum style and not the usual rock method. This is evident in a song like "Hunting Girl":

Guldbamsen wrote: Spaciousmind wrote: It really hurts to see Keith Moon, John Bonham or Ian Paice missing of a list like this.  Wondering what criteria could exclude them in the period mentioned.  Progressive Rock?  You only have to back and read up the old music papers and their lists to know who was considered top. It’s a little funny, I feel the exact opposite. When I see people making these type of lists and only ever include the usual suspects...and I think to myself ‘how can it be that folks into prog who’ve been digging the genre for decades..never manage to go past the biggies?’ Then again..this is a personal list from the OP. It’s the drummers he finds the best/choppiest (and none of the drummers you mention played in prog bands) If it was me it’d look something like this: Jaki Liebezeit Mani Neumeier Jerzy Piotrowski Jon Hiseman Giulio Cappiozzo Christian Burchard Aynsley Dunbar Michael Walden Pierre Moerlen Phil Collins

Edited by Spaciousmind - May 19 2021 at 09:13

Spaciousmind wrote: Guldbamsen wrote: Spaciousmind wrote: It really hurts to see Keith Moon, John Bonham or Ian Paice missing of a list like this.  Wondering what criteria could exclude them in the period mentioned.  Progressive Rock?  You only have to back and read up the old music papers and their lists to know who was considered top. It’s a little funny, I feel the exact opposite. When I see people making these type of lists and only ever include the usual suspects...and I think to myself ‘how can it be that folks into prog who’ve been digging the genre for decades..never manage to go past the biggies?’ Then again..this is a personal list from the OP. It’s the drummers he finds the best/choppiest (and none of the drummers you mention played in prog bands) If it was me it’d look something like this: Jaki Liebezeit Mani Neumeier Jerzy Piotrowski Jon Hiseman Giulio Cappiozzo Christian Burchard Aynsley Dunbar Michael Walden Pierre Moerlen Phil Collins If you are talking about that time period there was no question that everyone who was into Progressive music would not consider Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin as progressive rock.  Your analogy does not make sense.  That would mean Aynsley Dunbar is blues or Piere Moerlen who only just started at the back end of the poster's timeframe of 1967-1976 is a great based on what?  On his body of work up to 1976?  Answer would be no right?  It's his later body of work that puts him on your list.  So is Pierre Moerlen even applicable to the poster's timeframe?

I guess you could break it down like that...but Aynsley was basically a studio musician that happened to play on a lot of prog albums. I personally think of him as the finest drummer with Zappa. I also adore his playing on Lou Reed’s sole prog album Berlin. Pierre Moerlen’s work in Gong is some of the finest drumming ever featured on any pork album imho.
Deep Purple, The Who and Led Zeppelin are (brilliant) bands that at times flirted around with progressive elements and were certainly at the forefront of rock music in the late 60s, but I honestly don’t think of either three as prog rock.
A weird analogy: I think The Doors was one of the most progressive bands of the late 60s..and they certainly played rock from time to time, but I don’t think of them as a prog band either. I guess it’s just a matter of stickers in the end
Btw Moon the loon, Bonzo and Paice are some of my absolute favourite drummers. I miss that kind of ‘feel’ in most of modern music.