The Ten Greatest PROG DRUMMERS | Ranked 

Barriemore Barlow is an astonishing drummer. Underated...

Yes ! Barlow, and Martin Barre as well, are first rate rock players, not just backing for Ian A. Cold Wind is an awesome Tull track. And the electric part of the Minstrel title track, with that incredibly badass MB guitar riff and power chords, is up there with Locomotive Breath, IMO. Don’t know why SFTW and Minstrel aren’t more acclaimed by critics and Tull fans.

In Aqualong writes about:"drums and a million percussions"..'

Thanks for listening

Bruford has the drumming sound of a neo-soul jazz-rap beatmaker imo, but of course with the virtuoso chops thrown here and there ala fusion. That's why he was the perfect fit for Fripp: both are virtuoso performers/composers that love to create loops and drones and also imbued them with the jazz and world music sensibility.

It just grooves so hard. And in a way no else ever had before

Good choices!

Yes he was fantastic...very fusiony though

Still a great drummer.

Andy I wish Tull h retained his services after A.

@@klutz3213 exactly!

Great Band of musicians (Brand X) Percy Jones my favorite electric bassist.

Yes, fabulous with Camel though never struck me as a strong or defining player, despite me loving both the band and his playing. He had a light touch and flowing feel that, IMO, worked particutlarly well when Richard Sinclair was in the lineup. That said, Simon Phillips really kicked things up on 'Sasquatch'...and he is another player who would certainly have dominated this list were he to have done more proggy things.

I plan to do top ten prog bass, guitar and keys this month too.

That story is nearly true

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer - Yes sir....absolutely.

@@JamminClemmons I know the story, it's not quite accurate.

I think Guy Evans and Jaki Liebezeit deserved to be on this list over some of the others mentioned.,,

You don't have to take my opinion...here is another list...and look who is at number 13 (he said boastfully) www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/greatest-prog-drummers/

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer I respect you list because of your great drumming experience. I am lol bias as a prog music fan of VDGG. Please forgive me lol. You should imho (non-musician) also be on the top 10 prog drummers list. Best regards, Sal.

Yes...I'm pleased with this list....

Thanks for watching!

Renaissance is a fantastic band!

Guy is unique! I can remember one review that criticized his drumming-just made me more interested in him. He and Chris Cutler were like the equivalent of Milford Graves of rock drumming.

Thanks!

He was on the list until I decided to put Bozzio on. I love JW and his choice to go for simplicity inside GG's complexity is pure genius. And he can really groove. But Bozzio played The Black Page which is possibly the most proggiest drumming ever recorded and set a standard in the drum world

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Fair enough. Would have been fun if you put Weathers on instead of Palmer. You could have a tradition of skipping ELP.

I would have liked to have seen Brian Davison of the Nice and Refugee, Guy Evans.

I've been learning about him from the excellent GG at Golders Green show... groovy indeed, and locked in w Ray as it is the Right Way to do it...

Another great top kit player was Brian Davison, especially in the latter days of the Nice on things like Rondo 69, Country Pie, what little recorded work there is with Gong and Refugee-A tremendous player with incredible cymbal and top kit coordination.

And The Sheriff is the one in which he makes a mistake and says "shit" and they keep it in.

Sort of...Zappa heard a musician describe a chart as The Black Page and decided to write a tune to fit that title.

I have done a video on those albums

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer I'll check that out. Thanks

Pip was a phenomenal drummer who was constantly evolving.

@@garygomesvedicastrology Not Prog, imho. More jazz/rock/fusion

@@mauricegallagher9170 Difference? In your opinion? I tend to think the only distinction is that fusion drummers have more improvisational freedom. At a certain point (maybe 1971) prog became more composed. Lots of great prog drummers do improvisation (like Carl Palmer, for instance). Just my take. Yes and Genesis in particular moved from improvisation while ELP maintained it. And pretty much all music is fusion music. I am just curious about how idioms that at one point seemed very close to my ears got separated and specialized.

Nearly made the list as did Jaki L from Can

Vander will turn 75 in three days: always pushing his drumming further: a complete beast: composer, pianist, singer, top drummer: I never attended such brutal and fierce complex playing. Currently on tour.

And I never will.....

Awesome idea. I'm going to start doing that immediately. After all Emerson and Palmer especially are God on their instruments. Thank you

chad wackerman too!

I seen curved air 1971..

@@michaelmarino3013 you caught them very early, they started in 1970 🙂

@@hughjarrse they were an opening act at the FILLMORE EAST NYC. Maybe ELP was the headliner.memory very faded.

More of a british fusion drummer for me. Even Colloseum I is more fusion than prog...bit like putting Simon Phillips on the list...but Simon is in the background if you look hard

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer played a bit of blues based stuff, Jack Bruce’s, Rope Ladder to the Moon been one song. The stuff he did with Tempest was mainly rock music, a case of a drummer with a foot in both camps?

@@johnhenfrey5936 Yes, he was an unsung pioneer of fusing jazz with rock forms

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer I was thinking 'bout Simon.. Thanks for explaining.

@@lornestein7248 Thinking about it now...JH's drumming on Variations is also very proggy.

I completely agree with you about Michael Giles. His drummer was musical and magical but unfortunately very few people know of him. And Gavin is also my favorite current drummer.

I'm a fan of Sun Ra...and especially John Gilmore...

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B2lGDSt2OHs.html

Nick actually has a beautiful touch on the drums. He is not as technical as the other guys though which is why he doesn't get mentioned perhaps

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Now that I think about it neither Waters or Wright are usually mentioned much as favorites on their respective instruments. Gilmour comes up quite often in favorite guitarist lists but he isn't really a 'technique guy' either. It's odd that in a genre where musicians are feted for their technical command of their instruments that probably the biggest band in prog doesn't score highly on that count. No disrespect to the Floyd, they are all fine players and I've never found their music 'lacking' in that respect. I do wonder though if their popularity was enhanced by their more straightforward approach, relying on compositional strength ( and the strong hooks you talked about in your recent video ) rather than instrumental pyrotechnics? That's one of the things I like about your videos Andy, they always spark off diverse trains of thought!

Pierre Moerlon played on the Flying Teapot Trilogy, Barriemore of Songs For The Wood. None of those drummers have done anything near that level in terms of prog history

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer The prog history goes further than United Kingdom. Im just trying to follow your logic. If the prog history is the same as commersial sucsess on the 70s Nick Mason should be on top off the list.

They are both incredible drummers and I agree Phil could be number 1. For me Bill has an even more signature sound, incredible technique and has played in such a wide variety of settings including Genesis (which I think he sounded amazing in) But in the end we are splitting hairs and these lists mean nothing and are only there because they make people watch and give me an excuse to talk about musicians I love, If you don't beleive me watch my biscuit video thena ask yourself what my real opinion of these lists is.

I cut Phil some slack for achieving his accolades against a crop of individuals for who it was essentially all drumming, all the time. I think he deserves some kind of special waiver for being such an inventive and highly regarded drummer on top of all the other things he did. He'd be considered a pop legend on his own if one were to pretend he never picked up a stick. He's in elite air joining Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson as the only people to sell 100M albums in a band and also as solo artists. And he's an Oscar winner from doing the Tarzan soundtrack! I suppose that doesn't, and shouldn't, count for much when it comes to ranking in terms of drumming, but it's something worth keeping in perspective. Phil was on top of the world in the mid-80s with the Live Aid Concorde spectacle, the 4 sold out Genesis concerts at Wembley, Miami Vice, and the monster known as gated reverb which spread throughout music like a virus. If any other drummer was to be compared in that way, there'd be nothing to compare! Yet in spite of all that outside of drums, Phil still makes the discussion on who might be #1! You almost have to wonder where he'd reach if he had done nothing but drums all those years instead. As it stands, most of the drumming he's celebrated for was in the 70s. After around 1980 or so as he was gearing up for solo work, he didn't actively strive to stay at the top of his drumming game, not that he had anywhere near enough time and focus anymore. Indeed, I remember an interview where he said he got a kick out of not playing fills where people used to hear them, and playing more simplified. Still great even then though....But as for prog drummers, I can understand Bruford getting the nod (at least based on Andy's mood that week :P).

I looked up the term 'Body Drummers' think you made it up....

It/Watcher of the Skies off Three Sides Live

Seconds Out was so good that I never bothered with Three Sides Live....lol! Guess I missed out.....

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer I just recently found out that BB plays on Three Sides Live. However, there are apparently a couple versions, and so far the used CDs and LPs I've found *omit* the Bruford tracks! It has always been a source of frustration that two of my favorite live albums from two of my favorite progressive bands just have "teaser" appearances by my favorite drummer (Yessongs and Seconds Out).

@@scottmyers9360 - Ugh! I was not aware of this, but I went and checked discogs and you're right. The UK version of the album has a different set of songs than the US version, and of course I have the US version.