Sharks & Sailors (1997) – June of 44

(Part Four of the Mine Ears Have Heard The Glory of the Banging of the Drum tetralogy)

Guitars grate, scratch, plink, hum and buzz in the waters of “Sharks & Sailors,” while a bottom-dwelling bass trolls its depths. Ex-Rodan guitarist/vocalist Jeff Mueller snarls a chantey of bemusement, but his vocals serve as punctuation to the true featured player—drummer Doug Scharin. Spurred by stretches of unconventional time signatures, Scharin lobs tom-rolls that tumble a shade earlier and a trace longer than expected. During the quieter passages, he casts a net of highly-controlled double stroke, accent and roll combinations, culminating in tom and snare hits on unforeseen offbeats. To further catch the listener unawares, the toms are tuned and mic’d in such a way that renders them devoid of resonance, like taut sails being struck. The drum monsoon that arrives 9 minutes and 7 seconds into the song is stunning. Via his atypical tom and snare strikes meshed with one-handed rolls, Scharin adds his name to the pantheon of drumming with an innovative, yet musical, non-solo performance.

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Land’s End (1986) – Siouxsie & The Banshees

(Part Three of the Mine Ears Have Heard The Glory of the Banging of the Drum tetralogy)

“Land’s End” is all about Budgie dexterously spraying a ritualistic jungle-drum pattern of throbbing kick drum double-thumps, one-handed snare strokes, jittery hi-hat pedal stomps in accented sibilance, and open hat strikes on the “three-and,” while throwing floor-tom double-flams and a rack-tom hit on the “two-ee” off-beat in successive combination during the verse. Really, Siouxsie Sioux’s singing, and Steve Severin’s and John Valentine Curruthers’ playing, become secondary. Although Siouxsie seductively coaxes out a suicide pact, and Severin and Curruthers billow out an aqueous sea swell of bass and guitar, it’s impossible not to become mesmerized by the mind-boggling drum pattern that catapulted Budgie into the inner circle of drumming wizardry.

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See also "You're Lost Little Girl" (1987) – Siouxsie & The Banshees

U.S. Drag (1982) – Missing Persons

(Part Two of the Mine Ears Have Heard The Glory of the Banging of the Drum tetralogy)

Future Duran Duran guitarist Warren Cuccurullo picks out a fidgety pattern on guitar. Together with drummer Terry Bozzio’s perplexing rhythmic puzzles, they obfuscate the meter in which the band is playing. Singer Dale Bozzio’s strung-out meanderings about the tedium and angst of life on tour serve as reminder that “U.S. Drag” is, at heart, a rock song, albeit one decked out in a funk/new wave fusion that boasts an unconventional time-signature. (Perhaps Terry and Warren concocted such an unusual rhythm to keep themselves occupied on the tour bus.) Key in on the hi-hat accents that occur on very odd off-beats, coordinated with the interplay of snare and kick drum, and the beat only becomes more baffling. As such, one’s awe of Bozzio’s drumming adeptness grows exponentially. As the fade out approaches, Bozzio somehow (assuming not by overdubbing) adds ride cymbal pings to the equation to elucidate that the song’s herky-jerkiness is anchored in 6/4 time. Like Radiohead’s “Myxomatosis” (4/4 time), stripped of the sleight of hand, the meter proves to be relatively straightforward, but the effect is alchemic.

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Shilo (1968) – Neil Diamond

(Part One of the Mine Ears Have Heard The Glory of the Banging of the Drum tetralogy)

What makes this remembrance of an imaginary childhood friend so noteworthy? The exceptionally-recorded drums. In this regard, the re-recorded version which appears on Velvet Gloves And Spit/His 12 Greatest Hits is superior to the Just For You version (although Neil endearingly calling out “Shilo . . . Shilo. . . .” at the end of the earlier version is a nice touch not found in the later version. Yet another version of the song released as a single achieves a middle ground between the two). The left channel finds a crisp hi-hat foremost in the mix; sharing that confined space, the crack of a snare resonates while tom-toms cavort and scuttle. In the right channel, a tambourine briskly keeps time on the two-and-four. A piano, guitar and bass introduce the melodic hook, then part to carry out their customary functions.

Lyrically, “Shilo” finds a man reflecting upon his lot in life, consoling himself by revisiting his lonesome childhood. Ignored by his peers and neglected by his father, the child was left to dream up a playmate. This becomes the status quo in adulthood as a girlfriend eventually abandons him as well. He accepts the inevitable: a companionless existence . . . and a reunion with Shilo. Diamond’s vocals, tinged with a doleful whine, effectively elict empathy even from those who grew up with fulfilling personal relationships.

But back to those drums. They sit so prominently in the mix that they become the featured instrument. Spry fills discharged by session drummers are so rarely the main attraction in this day and age. God bless that session drummer.

Listen to "Shilo" and purchase from iTunes Music Store.

See also "Brooklyn Roads" (1968) – Neil Diamond