Larry, Adam, Edge. Who is the best?

[Mirror Ball Man]

So, Larry Mullen Jr., Adam Clayton and The Edge. Which one is the best at what they do?
I mean this like this:
Is Edge better in playing guitar then Larry is playing drums etc.

So who do you think is the best at what they do? (bono not included)

 

[LemonMelon]

More fair:

Edge's pornstache vs. Adam's fro vs. Larry's scowl

One has had more longevity than the others.

 

[rivergoat]

Why is Bono not included?

 

[Vlad n U 2]

They all pale in comparison to me playing the air triangle. Suckers.

 

[digitize]

Why is Bono not included?

Because he pays taxes to fund socialized marijuana in Holland instead of to the Irish government to fix Africa.

 

[Achtung11]

So, Larry Mullen Jr., Adam Clayton and The Edge. Which one is the best at what they do?
I mean this like this:
Is Edge better in playing guitar then Larry is playing drums etc.

So who do you think is the best at what they do? (bono not included)

If you're talking about who's most skilled at their instrument, then its the Edge, hands down. I took drum lessons for two months and I can play every single U2 song. Adam never even took a bass lesson until the mid-nineties.

The fact that Larry and Adam are not very skilled is a tremendous benefit to the band. If you look at some of U2's best songs, you'll notice that the drum/bass lines are extremely simple.

While they are not very skilled technically speaking, its not easy to do what they do. Its very HARD to be a subtle yet integral part of the music. Therefore, you shouldn't mistake the simplicity for easiness.

Personally I think Stewart Copeland is an incredible drummer. He's very good, and he shows it in his music, yet at the same time, he didn't suffocate the Police's music.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

It depends what you mean by it...

The Edge is musically a genius. He knows how to compose music. Takes a lot of thought to make some of the stuff he does.

At the same time, it's not all that incredibly hard stuff to play. All 3 play very basic but creative material. I'm definitely biased lol but 100% all 3 of them, but in terms of creativity Edge, Larry, Adam (and no disrespect to Adam, just not very far you can go with a Bass guitar and creativity).

 

[cobl04]

I took drum lessons for two months and I can play every single U2 song.

 

[MikeyJB]

The thing is, Larry may not be a great drummer but he's a great songwriter. In the sense that for example, no drummer other than Larry would create that particular drum rhythm to Streets or The Fly.

 

[Rob33]

I took drum lessons for two months and I can play every single U2 song.

I doubt that...and assuming that you're being serious- even if you could play them (and I doubt you know enough about the instrument to even make this judgment), I'm sure it would sound sloppy, out of time, and basically sound like crap... kind of an ignorant thing to say.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

The thing is, Larry may not be a great drummer but he's a great songwriter. In the sense that for example, no drummer other than Larry would create that particular drum rhythm to Streets or The Fly.

The drumming on The Fly is so damn underrated.

 

[cobl04]

sometimes i get a lot of joy reading some posts on this forum...

 

[Purplereign]

They all pale in comparison to me playing the air triangle. Suckers.

. . .vere is zeeee proof

 

[Vlaco]

If you're talking about who's most skilled at their instrument, then its the Edge, hands down. I took drum lessons for two months and I can play every single U2 song. Adam never even took a bass lesson until the mid-nineties.

The fact that Larry and Adam are not very skilled is a tremendous benefit to the band. If you look at some of U2's best songs, you'll notice that the drum/bass lines are extremely simple.

While they are not very skilled technically speaking, its not easy to do what they do. Its very HARD to be a subtle yet integral part of the music. Therefore, you shouldn't mistake the simplicity for easiness.

Personally I think Stewart Copeland is an incredible drummer. He's very good, and he shows it in his music, yet at the same time, he didn't suffocate the Police's music.

Larry is extremely good in timekeeping. he's like a human metronome.

 

[Canadiens1131]

The best? Probably Larry.


































hahahaha just kidding.

 

[65980]

The thing is, Larry may not be a great drummer but he's a great songwriter. In the sense that for example, no drummer other than Larry would create that particular drum rhythm to Streets or The Fly.

Yeah, his solo album is right up there with Thriller and Dark Side of the Moon...

I mean, we don't know the details, but songwriter? Sorry, but deciding on which way to play a 4/4 drum pattern does not make you a songwriter unless you think Ringo wrote Sgt. Pepper.

 

[Drowningman]

Just between the 3 of them, I guess the Edge is the most technically evolved musician.

Its not a good comparison to make to begin with, but in my opinion, none of them are great musicians with their respective instruments but they do make great music together.

The Edge is a very good guitar player, better than most but, he's not great. He doesn't even come close to someone like Clapton or Eddie Van Halen

Larry's a very good drummer but would you really put him at the same level as Neal Peart for example?

As someone mentioned earlier, Adam didn't even take Bass lessons till the 90s.

All these guys are self taught musicians and they have this chemistry that works when they play together. So even though they may not be the best at what they do, they do produce the best results.

 

[powerhour24]

Larry is getting underrated here, there's a reason he's often mentioned with the greatest drummers, the same reason Edge gets mentioned alongside shredders and solos masters, they both have created a distinctive style that supports and complements the style of music they write, it's why U2's parts always gel like no other band, Adam does a great job of supporting/complementing as well, but I would not say he has developed a unique style of playing.

 

[powerhour24]

All these guys are self taught musicians and they have this chemistry that works when they play together. So even though they may not be the best at what they do, they do produce the best results.

This, .

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

ringo.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Just between the 3 of them, I guess the Edge is the most technically evolved musician.

Its not a good comparison to make to begin with, but in my opinion, none of them are great musicians with their respective instruments but they do make great music together.

The Edge is a very good guitar player, better than most but, he's not great. He doesn't even come close to someone like Clapton or Eddie Van Halen

Larry's a very good drummer but would you really put him at the same level as Neal Peart for example?

As someone mentioned earlier, Adam didn't even take Bass lessons till the 90s.

All these guys are self taught musicians and they have this chemistry that works when they play together. So even though they may not be the best at what they do, they do produce the best results.

quality post...

u2's greatest quality is their synergy, as the sum of the whole is most certainly greater than the sum of the parts.

 

[nielsgov]

I think Edge is the best. Technically he's far from the best, compared to other guitar players, but as a composer of music he's just great. I don't think Adam and Larry have as much input as Edge in U2's music.

 

[ACHTUNGTREE91]

I took drum lessons for two months and I can play every single U2 song.

Definitely agree with you there, there's nothing particularly complicated about Larry's drum beats. I'm a guitarist, and been messing around with my friend's drumset for about a month and a half, and I can comfortably say I'm capable of playing a good number of their songs.

That being said though, I've never found that the drums in any U2 song are underwhelming, it's rather the opposite where they always seem to fit in perfectly with the other components. To answer the original question, I think Edge is definitely the most skilled/technically proficient at his instrument, from the three.

 

[An Cat Gav]

Yeah, his solo album is right up there with Thriller and Dark Side of the Moon...

I mean, we don't know the details, but songwriter? Sorry, but deciding on which way to play a 4/4 drum pattern does not make you a songwriter unless you think Ringo wrote Sgt. Pepper.

 

[MikeyJB]

I took drum lessons for two months and I can play every single U2 song.

I bet you can't play his patterns from the first 3 albums, some of that drum work is very fast urgent stuff.

To the comment about Larry not being a great songwriter. We all know that a lot of U2's music stems from the 4 of them being in a room together jamming. Noone knows exactly how much input each of the members has when they are in that room. Larry's contribution to the writing of the song is his drum patterns and in that respect a lot of the time I think he is unique and quite imaginative (see Streets drum beat for a great example, not many other drummers would marry that beat with that song). He is also very versatile (see drumming on Pop, most evidently on Mofo, which I bet most people would think is a drum machine).

 

[Vlaco]

Definitely agree with you there, there's nothing particularly complicated about Larry's drum beats. I'm a guitarist, and been messing around with my friend's drumset for about a month and a half, and I can comfortably say I'm capable of playing a good number of their songs.

That being said though, I've never found that the drums in any U2 song are underwhelming, it's rather the opposite where they always seem to fit in perfectly with the other components. To answer the original question, I think Edge is definitely the most skilled/technically proficient at his instrument, from the three.

I'm a drummer myself and I'm pretty sure you can not play them the way Larry or any other professional drummer does after only a month and a half of messing around.

 

[Vlaco]

I bet you can't play his patterns from the first 3 albums, some of that drum work is very fast urgent stuff.

To the comment about Larry not being a great songwriter. We all know that a lot of U2's music stems from the 4 of them being in a room together jamming. Noone knows exactly how much input each of the members has when they are in that room. Larry's contribution to the writing of the song is his drum patterns and in that respect a lot of the time I think he is unique and quite imaginative (see Streets drum beat for a great example, not many other drummers would marry that beat with that song). He is also very versatile (see drumming on Pop, most evidently on Mofo, which I bet most people would think is a drum machine).

Great post.

 

[Galeongirl]

More fair:

Edge's pornstache vs. Adam's fro vs. Larry's scowl

One has had more longevity than the others.

Pornstache.



Ontopic? Apples and oranges.

 

[ACHTUNGTREE91]

I'm a drummer myself and I'm pretty sure you can not play them the way Larry or any other professional drummer does after only a month and a half of messing around.

I'm pretty sure that you can't be pretty sure that I can't play them the way Larry does, cause I'm pretty sure you haven't heard me. I'm 100% sure that I never claimed to be as good as a professional drummer; and if I was, I'm pretty sure I'd be a drummer and not a guitarist. And it's true that I can play some of their songs on drums rather decently (Keyword: Decent). I'd also challenge you to drum off, but yea.. idk who u iz.

 

[ACHTUNGTREE91]

More fair:

Edge's pornstache vs. Adam's fro vs. Larry's scowl

One has had more longevity than the others.

Larry's scowl. no competition.