No, but I've got "Matterhorn Drum Explosion" which is an album with Louis Bellson and Billy Cobham in which they battle it out with a big band.
I have that one also on Album and CD as well. Buddy and Louie toured together in the 50's on the JATP circuit and used to end their shows with a drum battle. Unfortunately those shows were not recorded. That's the modern day equivalent of Vinnie and Weckl (or whomever you choose) on a nightly basis!
On Matterhorn I was impressed how Louis could go toe to toe with Billy. Chops wise they're equals. As for Musicality, I like Billy's phrasing a little better. JMHO.
Has anyone heard or own this recording (album) called "Are You Ready for This?". Apparantly Buddy and Louie decided to record an album that would feature the two of them together in the style of the drum battles that were popular in the late 50's to mid 60's. I beleive it was recorded in '65 on the Roost record label. They put up their own money to do the session and hired the best guys available at the time to play on it. I've read that Benny Carter did the arrangements. Louie has stated that their is an excellent exchange of 4's on one track called "Slides & Hydes". I've been searching for it but no luck yet. Some collectors have had it but sold it before I got to it. I would think this would be the ultimate collector album for any drummer who is into these guys. Their is a little mention of it on the Hudson website.
If I find it I want to frame it and put it on the "wall of fame" in my drum room!
Henry,
I dug that album and listened to it quite a bit when it came out. I heard that they couldn't put Billy's name on it because he had a contract with another record label at the time. It was obvious enough though.
Playing wise I thought Louie really was a cut above Billy in that situation. If your going to do a big band album then you should try to approach it in the proper style and that would show your versatility. Obviously Louie is more comfortable in that style but Billy really didn't sound convincing the way he was interpreting the charts. His time and fills were all over the place. The drum exchanges were uneven because Billy exploded wildly on his 4's landing some and not others. I did enjoy it though not to say it was bad. I just would have liked to see Billy come into it more prepared to really play those charts with ownership and more musical phrasing. Now on the other hand, if you put Louie in a fusion album setting with Billy and his band then it may not work as well as this album did.
Billy really is "the" guy that came before Simon and Dennis and created that heavy power approach to fusion (big nod to Tony as well). I'm not sure who influenced him to create that style but it has been copied and re-encarnated with so many great current players.
On the other hand, Louie really had a style that I got into and still appreciate. His chops, phrasing, and time in his prime were right up there with Buddy Rich, not to mention his reading and writing abilities.
That's why I want to find this album and give it a listen.
You know, Billy didn't play that album with typical big band setups and phrasing. But, after my internalization of "Inner Mounting Flame," I felt I knew exactly where he was coming from. Yeah, a little unconventional (like those bass drums converted to sky toms), but, Billy Cobham is the most versatile drummer I've ever heard, (and reputedly the best chart reader in the business second maybe to VC). So I have no doubt he could have played it more conventionally if he wanted to.
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 17, 2005 12:04 AM: Message edited by: Henry II ]</font>
Henry, I appreciate your opinion because you sound like an educated musician and I've agreed with many of your other posts. However I don't doubt Billy is a good reader but his time and fills were off on much of that album. Having a different approach shouldn't include sloppy fills and out of time 4's. Even the band sounded hesitate in some spots knowing where his time was. Billy is known to be a bit ruff at times with execution and hitting rims but his time should be locked in at that level of a recording session. His solo studio stuff is smoking but this live session recording really didn't sound as clean or prepared as Louie. But, some of the stuff he did pull off was very hip and was totally a challenge for Louie to answer.
By the way I picked this up on CD recently for a few bucks from Amazon.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hmmm! Well, you could be right. I haven't listened to it in many years and I don't recall Billy sounding unprepared or out of time. [img]eek.gif[/img] I'll have to get the stylus of my turn table fixed and give it another listen.Originally posted by drumaddict:
Henry, I appreciate your opinion because you sound like an educated musician and I've agreed with many of your other posts. However I don't doubt Billy is a good reader but his time and fills were off on much of that album. Having a different approach shouldn't include sloppy fills and out of time 4's. Even the band sounded hesitate in some spots knowing where his time was. Billy is known to be a bit ruff at times with execution and hitting rims but his time should be locked in at that level of a recording session. His solo studio stuff is smoking but this live session recording really didn't sound as clean or prepared as Louie. But, some of the stuff he did pull off was very hip and was totally a challenge for Louie to answer.
By the way I picked this up on CD recently for a few bucks from Amazon.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks