Neil Peart vs. Gavin Harrison

I do agree, as many have said, that Gavin Harrison brings a lot of subtlety and nuance to what he does, and can swing, which as a jazz fan I really appreciate. But when it comes to delivering a downright bombastic, arse-kicking rock drum solo he is no slouch either.  I saw the current KC lineup play the Hackney Empire last year and on 21CSM he let fly with a vengeance, it was quite a showstopper.

^^^ I've heard FRipp is very fussy about drummers. He didn't like Brufords drumming on the track Red apparently.

  Although I can mention some other great drummers like John Bonham, Phill Colins ( in Genesis "golden era" ) , Andy  Ward , Phil Ehart , Ginger Baker, Barriemore Barlow , Narada Michael Walden , Mike Portnoy , Lenny White , Ian Paice etc... 
My vote is Neil Peart !!!

richardh wrote: gerdtheater wrote: Is this some kind of joke? Master Peart vs Gavin Harrison? I mean, I like how Gavin plays, but compared with Mr. Peart, he has nothing to do! Harrison is more about adding layers ,textures and atmosphere (and rhythm) but for me Peart is an absolute giant of prog music. Could Harrison play Tom Sawyer? (perhaps) ..or 2112?? (umm that might challenge him a bit)

Yes, I reckon Harrison could play those tunes in his sleep.

Peart is fantastic, but speaking as a drummer I've not heard him do anything that Gavin Harrison couldn't do. 2112 is relatively simple compared to many Rush tracks and a fair number of PT tracks too. It's fairly straight forward rock rhythms. Now, the middle section of Freewill or sections of La Villa are another matter but still not out of Harrisons grasp IMO.

Peart is my preferred drummer because by and large I prefer the music he makes to the stuff that Harrison has been involved with, but there is no doubting Harrison's playing ability. I put him above numerous classic prog drummers.

I like them just about the same.  And I do like both a lot.  Neither is one of my top 10 drummers, although if I were restricting it to just a list of progressive rock drummers (and not including fusion) they'd definitely be in a top 20.

A few of the drummers mentioned just above my post are in my top 10: Bruford--my #1 overall, Carl Palmer and John Bonham.  A bunch of my favorite drummers are jazz and jazz fusion players though--Jack DeJohnette, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Peter Erskine, Ed Thigpen, etc.


Edited by Terrapin Station - August 02 2016 at 14:04

^ Carl Palmer smokes either of them...and Harrison as well

I'm gonna have to go with Gavin Harrison. (Close matchup although) I could really consider Gavin as the master of the ghost notes.

Catcher10 wrote: Souljacker wrote: Peart is a great drummer and  I do love his playing, his drumming feels a bit cold at times though, too mechanical and emotionless, just the vibe I get sometimes. Try coming up with something on your own....This has been stated by all the non-fans on this site for too long, the excuse is long in the tooth. I love PT and think Gavin Harrison is a premiere percussionist......Some of his work is beyond amazing. The only reason I listen to the last two OSI albums is due to Gavin's drumming. The 05Ric stuff is pretty boring to me......What is much better and where Gavin is starting to shine better is on his jazz/fusion drumming. Something Neil made popular with his Buddy Rich tribute concerts, and others are trying to do, like Gavin....not saying he is a copycat, but he realizes it improves his drumming skills.   And actually from a jazz perspective, I think Marco Minneman is much better, his drumming with The Aristocrats is flawless and his live work on Steven Wilson's GFD Tour was simply brilliant.   All that being said its been proven time and time again by musician polls/magazines that Neil Peart has been tops for well over 20yrs....and rightly so.

I'm not letting anyone put words in my mouth, thanks. I stated it cos theres an element of truth in it.

The 05Ric stuff will never trouble the top 40 for sure, I just listen to it purely for Gavins playing.

Well, Gavin has won more Modern Drummer polls in recent years since he came into the prog spotlight with PT so I don't know where that last statement is coming from.

We can agree on Marco, I'm a huge fan. There's a video of him playing Dance of Eternity in a garage (must have been rehearsing for the Dream Theater auditions). He plays it with such ease it's jaw dropping, smiling all the time, playing up to the camera, his talent is frightening.

Gavin would destroy Marco in a poll. 

Souljacker wrote: Peart is a great drummer and  I do love his playing, his drumming feels a bit cold at times though, too mechanical and emotionless, just the vibe I get sometimes.