Even Bonzo didn't consider himself in the same catagory of Mitch or Ginger Baker for that matter,let alone Buddy or Morello.

This isn't a my dog is better than your dog thread,and is a tribute thread to a talanted,innovative and influential drummer who made his mark in the very consiousness of the art.

We're not compareing who's better than who here,nor are we asking for comparisons.That's not what this is about.

If you want to do that,then start your own Bonzo was the best thread.Me personally...anyone who says that their fav drummer is the best in the world kind of high school cafeteria thing......has much to learn about the art.

You're entitled to your opinion,but that's NOT what this thread is about.If you don't "get" Mitch,no problem.Lots of guys don't "get" the whole Bonzo thing either.They would rather listen to Travis Barker.

Steve B

Back to the Mitch Mitchell love! I think what he did was to create a unique style for himself. It's easy to tell his playing in a recording. That's the mark of a great musician IMO. From a strictly technical point of view Vinnie Colaiuta can easily play circles around both MM and Bonham. That's not really the point. Both MM and Bonham have totally recognizable and unique playing styles. We should all hope to achieve half of what those guys have musically.

Steve

Mitchell on "Manic depression" is one of my all time favorite drum tracks, that guy had a touch second to none! I loved the days when rock drummers tuned their drums like the jazz drummers. Cheers y'all!

Some more Mitch & Jimi...

Listen for the famous 'backwards solo!' Jimi and Ed Kramer started experimenting with using guitar sounds played backwards. Jimi played the solo backwards, and then Ed played it forward for the record. Amazing sounding stuff. The result of the experiments was this record. Listen to Mitch's clean, simple, funky groove driving the music from behind.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MNtzBlZWHc[/ame]

The simple, but powerful grooves Mitch invented for some Jimi's songs were just mind blowing. Listen to these guys kill it.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KFfVIFcvxA[/ame]

Mitch kicking ass again. Listen to the fills! Love the way he plays with the time. It's an almost pure 'syncopated' jazz approach in the way he plays 'around the beat', rather than, 'on it', in the fills.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEnjbYM3MFs[/ame]

And here they are doing a tune that 'suggests' country/cowboy music all through the chorus and when the solo comes up, it shows its true colors as a full-blown country/rock tune. Mind blowing solo. Jimi could play anything on that guitar.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvd54w0vGJg[/ame]

Man, somebody stop me! Lord help me, I could listen to this stuff all day!

John

Good stuff John!

why is every one here is disparaging mitch i think your looking at it the wrong way it was the mix of all three that made the experience a experience !

nothing like it was done before and nothing like it will ever be done again one of, and that's whats this thread is all about , a legendary era of music and so it happens to be a bunch of geezers here reminiscing at least we have that, no other time in the last century did that for music so lets not put a single person as the factor here other than jimmy he was magic and any one that played with him had the grove he set, you could not help it but fall under his spell !!!!!

All good points, although I'm not sure that the word disparage is accurate - I didn't get the impression that anyone was denying Mitch any honors due. I will confess that I've never quite jumped on the Hendrix bandwagon (horrors: I prefer Page and Clapton) and yet I do understand what Jimi did to the guitar world, as he is compared to Parker in the way in which he's influenced subsequent players (and I'm unsure why, musically, but that's a different story). I find the Experience hard to listen to, myself, so that may be part of my barrier. Maybe it's just me, since I prefer jazz and big band, that's not able to assimilate Mitch in comparison to say, Palmer, or Bonzo, both of whom clearly nodded to swing and straight-ahead jazz in their playing (and were both influenced by Krupa and Rich). I do try to take time and listen to everyone I can find - my mantra is I'll listen and learn from anyone. Given the depth of the admiration for Mitch shown in these posts, I'll go listen some more. Maybe I've missed something. Then again, maybe it was fate that created the "lightning in the bottle" for the Experience. Others have had it, and never reproduced it with anyone else. Sometimes it really is just magic. This has been a good thread - I appreciated it. Thanks.

It's not about the skills, it's musicality

I respect the drummers who are recognizable after few bars of play..

Mitchell, Bonham, Rich, Baker, Jones...they all had their own sound: power of drumstick hitting the head, tempo, ghosts, flams...

Mitchell's one of a kind style was caused by that he followed with a rythm more to hendrix than redding. Actually I think that Experience could play without bass.

Hendrix wall of sound and Mitchell fills were enough to get great music

If 6 was 9 and 3rd stone from the sun has some incredible drumming by Mitch. I love lots of it. Big Hendrix fan here.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoMITlO-USI[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wtn4lfqXM4I[/ame]

> Mitchell's one of a kind style was caused by (the fact) that he followed with a rhythm more (locked in) to hendrix than redding.

That observation hits the nail squarely on the head!

It is what is at the crux of the fundamental changes/difference that Mitch's playing (and approach to the music) made for ordinary Rock drummers. Up to that point, Rock drummers would automatically lock in with the bass-player, not the lead instrument. That one change in approach is what turned the role of the drums/drummer in a Rock band into an instrument contributing to/ integral to, -the melody- and not a mere time-keeping device.

If that one thing, following Jimi instead of Noel, was the only thing he accomplished, that in itself would be enough to insure him a place in drum/music history. But it's more than that, Mitch broke all the rules and in doing so, he opened up an opportunity for drummers to express themselves in ways that the old rules/structure would never allow. It was considered 'over-playing' and just plain rude if a drummer tried to 'steal the show' by showing too much flash. There is a difference between over-playing and coloring the music. Mitch did not over-play as much as he added colors to the music that only served, in the end, to make it better, more than it would have been, had he just sat back and did his job as it was defined at the time. He also added weight and emphasis to what Jimi was doing on the guitar.

I called Mitch an innovator for a reason. Snurf stripped away all the BS and went right to the nitty-gritty of what Mitch contributed that set him apart from other Rock drummers. Everybody takes that new freedom on the instrument for granted now-a-days. Back in 67' if you tried to play like Mitch did in an ordinary Rock band, it would have been a sure fire way to get yourself canned from the band. Mitch came along and blew that wall down like it wasn't there.

Thank you, Mitch! And thank you, Snurf for getting right down to the crux of the basic change/alteration that Mitch made to Rock drumming.

John