I finally understand Ringo!

[Ktate]

Most atomic clocks use atoms of the isotope caesium-133. The ticking of time is measured through microwaves emitted by the electrons around those atoms jumping from a lower to higher orbit as they absorb and then lose energy from a laser. And then there’s Ringo!

 

[gullfo]

I was being facetious. I was trying to say that Ringo's lack of skill, as some would say, doesn't matter in the long run. For him, he was creative and had a great ear and feel, and it worked out rather well. It really didn't matter if he sounded like someone's 16 year old son or if his strokes were inconsistent.

Everyone hones their skills for their own reasons. By all means, DON'T SUCK if you can help it. After all, it isn't a waste of time when you're jamming on your 13 piece drum set in your basement if you enjoy it.

as John Lennon replied when the press asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world, "He's not even the best drummer in the Beatles". of course his association and playing on some of the greatest songs ever, do make him a great drummer, great singer, great song writer... the beauty of it - he was a lefty but played on a right-handed kit... so (at least in his own opinion) set him apart from typical drummers...

 

[David Hunter]

as John Lennon replied when the press asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world, "He's not even the best drummer in the Beatles".

Amazing how this myth continues to perpetuate.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1039429309797158912

 

[DanC]

I was 14 in 1964 when they hit big in the US. Bought the albums as soon as they came out, and sat there listening, transfixed. I had been playing (starting in Boy Scouts marching band) since age 10, but their music raised my passion to another level. It was the same for thousands of guys like me.

I don't care if Ringo was at the limit of his talent level at the beginning or the end of his time with the Beatles. Music is supposed to make us feel something, and theirs does, and he was a major part of it. He had natural ability and a great ear, and his inventiveness was due in no small part to his lack of chops.

Picasso probably couldn't paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, but his work is also timeless.

 

[Kcmcc]

Amazing how this myth continues to perpetuate.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1039429309797158912

And even if it was true that John had said it (I agree that it is clear he didn't), John was notoriously a facetious A$^%ole.

Ringo was an absolute master. The sound he had in his head was the sound that came through his hands and out the instrument - infallibly - and the sound in his head was almost always the perfect thing to make an amazing piece of music. What else could possibly be the point?

 

[David Hunter]

And even if it was true that John had said it (I agree that it is clear he didn't), John was notoriously a facetious A$^%ole.

Man, ain't that the truth?! Lennon's death has given him Martyr status, but he was a human being like everyone else, and he definitely had his flaws. He could be downright cruel, even to people he loved. A talented and complex man, for sure. But he definitely loved Ringo's drumming.

In the 1980 Playboy interview, Lennon responded as follows when asked for his opinion of Ringo’s musicianship:

PLAYBOY: “Let’s move on to Ringo. What’s your opinion of him musically?”

LENNON: “Ringo was a star in his own right in Liverpool before we even met. He was a professional drummer who sang and performed and had Ringo Starr-time, and he was in one of the top groups in Britain but especially in Liverpool before we even had a drummer. So Ringo’s talent would have come out one way or the other as something or other. I don’t know what he would have ended up as, but whatever that spark is in Ringo that we all know but can’t put our finger on … whether it is acting, drumming or singing, I don’t know … there is something in him that is projectable and he would have surfaced with or without the Beatles. Ringo is a damn good drummer. He is not technically good, but I think Ringo’s drumming is underrated the same way Paul’s bass playing is underrated … I think Paul and Ringo stand up with any of the rock musicians.

 

[langmick]

Looked up Gregg Bissonette to see what he had to say.

 

[moodman]

Those of us gigging when the Beatles happened know that rock drumming got a ton more interesting working out Ringo's drum parts. With his drumming, their song writing and their melding of influences (R&B, Folk, Rockabilly, Motown even Country) a door was opened for creativity from many that followed. Bands writing and performing their own material, recording techniques etc, they brought about change. Check out the difference in pop music charts before and after '63-'64.

 

[richardh253]

Not sure if someone posted this, but if you want some opinions on Ringo...watch this video.

and man, I was just turning 11 that Feb 1964 night, and it's not like "you had to be there" but...you kind of had to be there. He made it look like anyone could do it, so millions of us did. And then we eventually got it - we were not even close to doing what he did. But we still had a ball sitting behind our kits. That's Ringo, too.

Ringo, like Charlie Watts, you just cannot imagine that music with anyone else playing anything but what they played. And as everyone knows, Ringo's leading-with-the-left-hand-on-a right-hand-kit, it's next to impossible to copy. You can try and play the intro to "Come Together" - lead with the right, not quite it; lead with the left, it still won't sound the same. And don't forget to start on the floor tom and come up to the rack. You know, it don't come easy!

 

[equipmentdork]

Amazing how this myth continues to perpetuate.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1039429309797158912

I think what is really funny about this thing, as we all beat it down like Whack-A-Mole, is that people don't even think twice about it.

John could have had ANYONE on Plastic Ono Band, his first true solo studio album, and there was Ringo in the drum chair. That quote is not even partially supportable.


Dan

 

[michaelocalypse]

I hear unintended inconsistent dynamics (sloppy), inconsistent patterns, a missed note or two, and falling off time a little. The timing thing could be part of the song, but it comes off awkward.

I'm not saying I'm any better, and recording is tough. I just don't hear anything good.

 

[Houndog]

That’s something that John Lennon said, in an interview somewhere, Paul showed Ringo what to play on that tune.
If you’re going to be a great drummer you need to know how to play what your band mate/songwriters want to hear!

I get and like suggestions from the band .
I’m lucky to play with some of the best musicians in town .
I’ll gladly take heed .

 

[Pounder]

I think what is really funny about this thing, as we all beat it down like Whack-A-Mole, is that people don't even think twice about it.

John could have had ANYONE on Plastic Ono Band, his first true solo studio album, and there was Ringo in the drum chair. That quote is not even partially supportable.


Dan

Well they were still a tight-knit group, and the Plastic Ono Band technically was there while the Beatles were still a band. So, it makes sense he'd get Ringo, who was his drummer in the best band he had ever been in. That being said I think the Toronto concert had Alan White on drums. As an aside--and with all due respect to Alan and his great drumming with Yes, my favorite Alan White drumming is his drumming with John Lennon.

 

[Pounder]

I get and like suggestions from the band .
I’m lucky to play with some of the best musicians in town .
I’ll gladly take heed .

That's the kind of drummer the other players want.

 

[RhythmGJ]

I hear unintended inconsistent dynamics (sloppy), inconsistent patterns, a missed note or two, and falling off time a little. The timing thing could be part of the song, but it comes off awkward.

I'm not saying I'm any better, and recording is tough. I just don't hear anything good.

But seriously. You can’t compare modern recorded drum tracks to Ringo’s early era. Ringo helped *invent* modern rock drumming, with no click, no grid, no editing, and no Pro Tools sound replacement. Your analysis is moot.


GJ

 

[dirtysicks]

But seriously. You can’t compare modern recorded drum tracks to Ringo’s early era. Ringo helped *invent* modern rock drumming, with no click, no grid, no editing, and no Pro Tools sound replacement. Your analysis is moot.


GJ

Or... his analysis is his analysis from his viewpoint. Not necessarily moot because you don’t agree. Part of what makes Ringo or any other musician is the human factor of not being perfect. All of the perfection and imperfection is what makes the sum of it all and creates great music that a lot of people connect with. Ringo was a great fit with the Beatles but perfect he was not. Putting out a body of work subjects it to appreciation and criticisms by those of us who love music. His views and opinions are just as valid as anyone else’s because opinions, perceptions and views are as varied as anything else.

 

[RhythmGJ]

Or... his analysis is his analysis from his viewpoint. Not necessarily moot because you don’t agree. Part of what makes Ringo or any other musician is the human factor of not being perfect. All of the perfection and imperfection is what makes the sum of it all and creates great music that a lot of people connect with. Ringo was a great fit with the Beatles but perfect he was not. Putting out a body of work subjects it to appreciation and criticisms by those of us who love music. His views and opinions are just as valid as anyone else’s because opinions, perceptions and views are as varied as anything else.

I don’t think I said anything different than you did, dirtysticks. Of course it’s all subjective. But if blanket statements are going to be made, they should compare apples to apples. And if we are going to come to understandings regarding our varying subjective but valid-as-anyone’s views, we need to be able to handle some non-confrontational push-back.

We all have opinions. I really don’t care who loves or hates Ringo. He doesn’t either, I’m pretty sure. He’s still cashing his “sloppy dynamics” checks on a regular basis.


GJ

 

[michaelocalypse]

But seriously. You can’t compare modern recorded drum tracks to Ringo’s early era. Ringo helped *invent* modern rock drumming, with no click, no grid, no editing, and no Pro Tools sound replacement. Your analysis is moot.


GJ

I wasn't making that comparison. That's not even remotely close to what I was talking about. If anything, I gave him a pass on some mistakes because of the relatively more difficult recording process of the time.

 

[Nacci]

Or... his analysis is his analysis from his viewpoint. Not necessarily moot because you don’t agree. Part of what makes Ringo or any other musician is the human factor of not being perfect. All of the perfection and imperfection is what makes the sum of it all and creates great music that a lot of people connect with. Ringo was a great fit with the Beatles but perfect he was not. Putting out a body of work subjects it to appreciation and criticisms by those of us who love music. His views and opinions are just as valid as anyone else’s because opinions, perceptions and views are as varied as anything else.

I think some of you should think twice before quoting and going up against dirtysticks because in my analysis he has a few of you up against the ropes.

Dirtysticks, your statement that “ Part of what makes Ringo or any other musician is the human factor of not being perfect”. I have often thought this about beautiful women, for me the most beautiful women have some marked imperfection in the mix; a Slavic nose, a gap in the front teeth, one thing to break up and juxtapose the perfection. I look at some of the worlds great models, who’s every feature is perfect and the whole thing feels flat. The imperfection or slight bit of goofiness is what brings the whole thing together and makes it pop.

I think Starr deserves is place in the pantheon of history’s great drummers just on what he did pre “66”. The stuff we could actually watch him play. My issue with him is everything that came after, the style of drumming completely changed and there is almost zero video evidence of him playing any of it. To me, that is suspicious.

 

[Bandit]

I think some of you should think twice before quoting and going up against dirtysticks because in my analysis he has a few of you up against the ropes.

Dirtysticks, your statement that “ Part of what makes Ringo or any other musician is the human factor of not being perfect”. I have often thought this about beautiful women, for me the most beautiful women have some marked imperfection in the mix; a Slavic nose, a gap in the front teeth, one thing to break up and juxtapose the perfection. I look at some of the worlds great models, who’s every feature is perfect and the whole thing feels flat. The imperfection or slight bit of goofiness is what brings the whole thing together and makes it pop.

I think Starr deserves is place in the pantheon of history’s great drummers just on what he did pre “66”. The stuff we could actually watch him play. My issue with him is everything that came after, the style of drumming completely changed and there is almost zero video evidence of him playing any of it. To me, that is suspicious.

Sorry, but large noses, and gaps in the teeth are a deal breaker for me.