Black Throated Wind
June 23, 1974
Jai-Alai Fronton
Hey Darkstar67: I totally dig what you're saying here, and agree that focusing in on Mr. K's work is always rewarding. It's one of the harder things to admit, though, that as much as I love Mickey, the one drummer period is musically more interesting to me. The synchronicity and telepathy of Billy and Mickey was undeniably powerful, but the ability for Billy to contribute as a full improvisational member of the collective was much greater as a solo drummer (in my opinion, but also, I think in his too). I'm not trying to dis Mickey or the great drums/space era, and hey, I got on the bus in the 80s, so with the exception of a pile of old Maxell 90s from earlier eras, the two drummer setup is the Dead I knew and followed until the archive was bestowed upon us. I just hear Billy's work from '72-74 and think, damn: Here's someone who plays the drums melodically, and can converse as a musical equal with Jerry and Phil (and Keith and Bobby), and you can stand his work up next to anything by the greatest drummers of our age: Tony Williams, Jack Dejohnette, Elvin Jones, or John Bonham, or Billy Cobham, or even, (gasp!) Keith Moon.