the drum solo in rejoice

[skott100]

yes of course he won't..and I hope he doesn't! Heavy metal drummers are just plain boring..I'd much rather listen to electric co. or acrobat than some stupid death metal band that devotes 10 minutes to their "look at me" drummer while we watch him do double bass drums for 10 minutes and hope we won't permanently be hearing boom boom boom boom in our heads for the rest of our lives, that stuff gives me a headache..I'd much rather listen to the eloquence of Larry, the cleanness, the unity, the timing, the sharpness, and the solidity!

The instrumental element to U2 excluding Bono is beautifully simplistic, yet, in other ways so complicated, which is why I appreciate it so much...lets not start comparing drummers here, Larry in my mind is in a league of his own (not higher or lower, just separate), because no drummer could take his place in U2

Here! Here! Discouraging to see the chorus of "Larry Sucks Now" starting up once again. I can tell you from experience that a song like "City of Blinding Lights" for example is every bit as demanding and technically challenging as "Rejoice". Larry's playing changed as he and the rest of the band matured, plain and simple. If someone prefers the earlier style - including playing songs too fast and not being able to stick to a solid tempo live - that's all well and good. But to say that he's unimaginative and sucks now because he's not playing prog rock drum parts (for U2 songs!) is just ignorance. His playing supports and compliments the songs without stepping all over the arrangement and that type of thing takes years of experience to perfect.

Don't get me wrong... I love the energy and innovation of the early stuff. Like A Song... Sort of Homecoming... those parts make my hair stand straight up to this day. I'm not hating on the early albums at all. But if someone's gonna say he sucks now, I'm gonna call bullshit. Everytime.

 

[the tourist]

Well, from my end of the conversation, MuteMath isn't a metal band in the least. Or progressive. They're just a pop/rock band with a drummer who plays more creatively. Larry's been doing the "solid drummer" for awhile. And it's not that he's not being precise technically -- it's just that it'd be nice to hear an extended pallet. Like the early days.

 

[europop2005]

question about Larrys little solo at the end of 40 on the Chicago dvd...did he do that everytime they played 40 or was that a one time thing?

 

[skott100]

Fair enough. I hear ya, I just thought some perspective was in order. MuteMath are quite good, it just seemed like apples and oranges to me. You know what album has some incredibly creative drumming on straight ahead pop songs on it is We Are Scientists. That guy is amazing. I hear he just left the band, which is a shame. Anyway, if you haven't checked it out you might dig it.

 

[skott100]

question about Larrys little solo at the end of 40 on the Chicago dvd...did he do that everytime they played 40 or was that a one time thing?

Off and on since 1983. I can't remember him NOT doing that at the end of 40, but I'm sure there's some exception somewhere that someone will point out. But if you watch UABRS, he does it there and in U2xU2 they talk about how that evolved on the War tour as the crowd was singing the chorus after the band had stopped.

 

[Rob33]

Here! Here! Discouraging to see the chorus of "Larry Sucks Now" starting up once again. I can tell you from experience that a song like "City of Blinding Lights" for example is every bit as demanding and technically challenging as "Rejoice". Larry's playing changed as he and the rest of the band matured, plain and simple. If someone prefers the earlier style - including playing songs too fast and not being able to stick to a solid tempo live - that's all well and good. But to say that he's unimaginative and sucks now because he's not playing prog rock drum parts (for U2 songs!) is just ignorance. His playing supports and compliments the songs without stepping all over the arrangement and that type of thing takes years of experience to perfect.

Don't get me wrong... I love the energy and innovation of the early stuff. Like A Song... Sort of Homecoming... those parts make my hair stand straight up to this day. I'm not hating on the early albums at all. But if someone's gonna say he sucks now, I'm gonna call bullshit. Everytime.

wow, thank you I don't believe what I'm reading!!! this post is 100% accurate and pretty much what I've been saying in any Larry drumming thread...thank you skott


some day they will get it skott, no worries

 

[Axver]

He said to Larry "what less can you do?" right around the time of AB, as per (I think) U2 by U2.

I don't see how encouraging minimalism translates to "play the most boring, mundane rhythms you possibly can in every single song". But that's exactly what Larry's been doing since Achtung, and it had already started to become apparent in the latter half of the eighties, e.g. Spanish Eyes.

It will be interesting to see what the native African playes will bring to his sound on the Morocco sessions, I know he was talking about the non-4/4 timing they use.

I'm looking forward to that.

He'll never drum like the heavy metal bands you adore.

Oh for goodness' sake, I hate this corner I've been bizarrely stereotyped into on this forum.

1. I don't like heavy metal. In general, I find heavy metal to be pretty boring. I enjoy prog rock (and its metal side), death metal, doom metal, some black metal, and the avantgarde branches of those various metal genres.
2. I have never said Larry should have some metal influences. I hate to think how horribly out of place something like blastbeats would sound in U2's music.
3. All I have said is that Larry needs to actually use the talent he clearly demonstrates on the War and October albums. Do you think that is metal drumming? No, of course not. I want him to drum like that.

And for the record, regarding the discussion between the tourist and I about MuteMath and Porcupine Tree: I second tourist's description of MuteMath, and Porcupine Tree are a sometimes progressive, sometimes psychedelic, usually arty rock band, and the only metal influences on the sound come via some of Steven Wilson's riffing, not via Gavin Harrison, who is an extremely tasteful drummer and Larry could learn a thing or two from him. Hell, songs like Lazarus, Drown With Me, Trains, Piano Lessons, and The Rest Will Flow aren't that far removed from U2's style (though Chris Maitland drummed on the latter two - Larry could learn from him as well).

Rant over. Like I said, I just really dislike some of these assumptions made about me in these threads and it was about time I made some of that frustration clear.

 

[the tourist]

I agree with Axver. But it doesn't matter. Larry will do what Larry will do. The minimalists will be very happy, and try to crucify anyone who makes the criticism that there needs to be a bit of creativity while simultaneously saying that the creative drumming Larry did in the early years was great.

 

[U2girl]

I don't see how encouraging minimalism translates to "play the most boring, mundane rhythms you possibly can in every single song". But that's exactly what Larry's been doing since Achtung, and it had already started to become apparent in the latter half of the eighties, e.g. Spanish Eyes.


Oh for goodness' sake, I hate this corner I've been bizarrely stereotyped into on this forum.

1. I don't like heavy metal. In general, I find heavy metal to be pretty boring. I enjoy prog rock (and its metal side), death metal, doom metal, some black metal, and the avantgarde branches of those various metal genres.
2. I have never said Larry should have some metal influences. I hate to think how horribly out of place something like blastbeats would sound in U2's music.
3. All I have said is that Larry needs to actually use the talent he clearly demonstrates on the War and October albums. Do you think that is metal drumming? No, of course not. I want him to drum like that.

I guess encouraging minimalism means exactly what he's been playing since AB. (not that he's bad on AB)

Well I'm sorry but that was the impression I got from your posts, and that you want Larry "Lars Ulrich" Mullen now.

Of course October and War isn't metal drumming. No one said that. I doubt U2 would ever play music with such drive again. Plus it's been done before. Lastly, I don't know that he could play such beats again. Think Gloria on the last tour - nice to hear again, but it's noticeably slower than the original and the 80's version.

Last but not least, even if he gets the prevailing use of 4/4 timing shoved under his nose in random intervals, that includes the mighty drumming of October and War.

 

[Rob33]

ok u2girl, we've already been through this, please don't mention the fact that gloria was slower when they played it on vertigo tour, THAT MEANS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING..go back and read the other Larry drumming threads if you don't know what I'm talking about...

oh oh oh!! I love it when people talk about how boring the with or without you drumming is on the vertigo tour, HAHAHAHA, it cracks me up...these same people then go on and compare it to the way he played it in the 80's, for instance christmas eve, dublin, point depot, that version, COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN THE STUDIO VERSION!!!...what they don't realize is, after about 20 years, the vertigo version was the closest one to the original studio version!!!!

k don't get me started...I'm pretty sure this thread reads "the drum solo in rejoice," so lets try to stay more on the topic, and refrain from pummeling a dead horse 30 feet under the ground

 

[skott100]

I think a major reason why some of their songs are played more slowly has to do with the size of the venue and the amount of delay edge and bono use could lead to a very muddy mix. If they back off the tempo a bit in a song like Gloria, the parts don't step on each other as the sound bounces around the gigantic venue.