Best Genesis drummer that isn't Phil Collins

Surely Bruford?

Originally posted by Moogtron III Chester, no doubt. He's a great drummer, and better suited for Genesis than Bill Bruford was.

Edited by dennismoore - March 28 2012 at 11:54

Chester is absolutely fine on DOAV

Originally posted by dennismoore Originally posted by Moogtron III Chester, no doubt. He's a great drummer, and better suited for Genesis than Bill Bruford was.   OK, this is a poll, and its all fun and we all have our opinions but I dare to raise 2 simple points to all the Chester voters   1.  Please refer to Dance On A Volcano(Seconds Out) and notice how Chester utterly stumbles through the fills in the song's beginning (that drumming really helps define that song).  He is not even on the same planet with the rest of the band.  Next, play the album version to get back the proper feel for that song.   2. The Big One:   Based on your comments how Chester is better than Bill in Genesis.  It is clear that nobody has ever heard the 1976 King Biscuit Genesis show(Bruford on drums) that is easily available in bootleg circles.  It is BBC recording perfection(for that era) and has better sound quality than Seconds Out.  Please get that and listen to it. It will most certainly change your mind. On that recording you will hear:   Bruford's usual yet extraordinary precise and time perfect drumming.  It brings a clarity and precision to Genesis music that makes Chester sound like Keith Moon on Chester's Seconds Out drumming.   Please do find that recording and listen to it. Not only is it a treasured high-quality pro recording of Genesis, it is a testament to what Bill Bruford brought to the band.   Too bad he left the band(touring) so quickly, I say.

However could I get that album?, I'd really love to hear it. I already have Seconds Out, but would really like to hear more of Bruford with Genesis. Oh, and what is the set-list?
The only thing with this Live CD's of Genesis with other drummers, is that sometimes it's not so easy to know which parts were actually played by Bruford (or Chester), and wich ones by Phil Collins himself, for he would sometimes go into a second drumset during long instrumental parts... and that is when usually the most interesting drum parts would show up (and I must say, from hearing the Gabriel Era Genesis official live albums, that Collins would be on fire playing live - just listen to "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" from "Live at the Rainbow").

Edited by Dellinger - March 28 2012 at 19:50

Originally posted by Dellinger However could I get that album?, I'd really love to hear it. I already have Seconds Out, but would really like to hear more of Bruford with Genesis. Oh, and what is the set-list? .

Hello my friend,

I just went to find it to get you a track list but I think I deleted it by mistake.  I think I have a back-up somewhere,
I will get it and let you know the details....   -EDIT-  I found it!  I am listening to Cinema Show now.

Edited by dennismoore - March 29 2012 at 08:15

I don't think this is about which drummer is the better drummer, but which drummer suited Genesis better.  Bill is one of my all time favorite drummers, but I thought his talents were utterly wasted in Genesis.  Bill is a stylist and needs to be in a band where he can be himself and not have to ape someone else's parts. 

Originally posted by spknoevl I don't think this is about which drummer is the better drummer, but which drummer suited Genesis better.  Bill is one of my all time favorite drummers, but I thought his talents were utterly wasted in Genesis.  Bill is a stylist and needs to be in a band where he can be himself and not have to ape someone else's parts.    Chester is a great drummer; make no mistake about it.  He wouldn't have been able to play with people like Weather Report and Zappa if he wasn't; those are bands that set the musical bar pretty high.  Having played in a number of bands where I was required to reproduce the parts that someone else had recorded, I can attest to the fact that sometimes something that falls easily for one musician can be damned difficult to reproduce for another.  Phil hired Chester because he said he wanted a drummer he could learn from.  Even a live recording bears only so much evidence as very musician in every band can struggle with certain parts from night to night.  The time I saw Genesis with Chester, he sounded perfectly comfortable in the drum chair.    Really, like all the polls in this forum, it comes down to personal taste.  All the drummers on the list are fine players in their own right and most bands would be more than happy to have any one of them sitting in the drum chair.

Originally posted by spknoevl I could have also used the word parrot instead of ape.  It's just a euphenism for having to reproduce someone else's parts - in this case, the parts that Phil had recorded in the studio.   I voted for Chester, so I suppose that means I have taken a side.

Originally posted by dennismoore ...he would have like this Jan Brady(Brady Bunch) constipated yet incredibly proud look on his face ...

I'm trying to make that face right now.  It's harder than it sounds.