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Bruford or White?

YES drummer: Bruford or White

  • Bill Bruford

    Votes: 56 75.7%

  • Alan White

    Votes: 18 24.3%
  • Total voters
    74
#2
Since I had the audacity of opening this thread, I thought I should begin with some thoughts about the subject. I'm not long winded, so I'll keep it short and to the point. Bruford was there from the beginning and gave the group its signature sound. It was a HUGE blow when he left. But boy, did Alan fill in quickly, performing "Tales" on tour immediately. No hiccups at all. Very different styles. Bruford: jazzy. White: Rock.

I'll always want to hear YES with Bill Bruford on drums. Alan White is my fav drummer now!

What say ye?
 
#4
Not a huge fan of Yes but I am a huge fan of Bruford. I adore his work with King Crimson.

A few years ago a friend of mine was at a music conference (she's studying for a PhD) and she was chatting to this older man that she had met there. They were talking about books they had published. She talked about her's and asked him about his.

'What's it called?'
'Bill Bruford: The Autobiography.'

She didn't know who he was. Then she went home, looked him up and remembered that I'd been raving about him for years!

Apparently he was really pleasant. Most likely just pleased to not be sitting next to a fan!
 
#5
GrumpiusMaximus said:
Not a huge fan of Yes but I am a huge fan of Bruford. I adore his work with King Crimson.

A few years ago a friend of mine was at a music conference (she's studying for a PhD) and she was chatting to this older man that she had met there. They were talking about books they had published. She talked about her's and asked him about his.

'What's it called?'
'Bill Bruford: The Autobiography.'

She didn't know who he was. Then she went home, looked him up and remembered that I'd been raving about him for years!

Apparently he was really pleasant. Most likely just pleased to not be sitting next to a fan!
Click to expand...

I was SO MAD when Bruford went to King Crimson. But, that's what artists do. Move on.
 
#7
Yes was a conglomeration of players that came from very different approaches, which is why their music was all over the map. Bruford's an iconoclastic player - his approach was always a little in left field and his playing was always instantly recognizable - like the other band members. For these reasons, I chose Bruford.

White's a great drummer, but I couldn't pick him out of a lineup as easily as I could Bruford.

Incidentally, Bruford's autobiography is a great read.
 
#8
I'm such a big fan of the work Bruford did after leaving the band I'm glad he left when he did. I also think that White has done a great job. I've seen Yes with both drummers, never did they disappoint.
 
#12
I agree with Lo-E, Freddy. I've always related to drummers with very distinct, idiosyncratic styles, who think & play way out of the box - such as Bill Bruford & Ginger Baker, to name just two (though their individual styles are quite different).

While I see where you're going with this, I do think it's a bit facile to categorize Bruford's playing as "jazzy" - even though he does love & play jazz, simply because "jazz" or "jazzy" has become such a catch-all for any genre or style of music that is highly technical, complex, math-based, nuanced, and/or which can't easily or obviously be put into any other category.

To my mind, when Bruford plays with rock musicians, he plays rock - just as when he plays with jazz musicians, he plays jazz. It's just a style of rock that's way more sophisticated and evolved than that of the vast majority of rock drummers.

MM
 
#15
I chose Alan White. Not because I think he's a better drummer. They both are great drummers, with completely different styles. I chose White because I think he's better with Yes. Two tracks convinced me. When I compare "I've Seen All Good People" on The Yes Album w/Bruford with the same track live on Yessongs with White, I think White nails it. Granted, it's a live/studio comparison, but valid in my mind none the less. And then there's Close to the Edge, from the album of the same name, and Yessongs again. I think White simply does a better job, with a fuller sound.
 
#18
Duke21 said:
Agree, Bruford before he started using too much electric drums.
Click to expand...

Precisely the reason why I chose White. Once Bill went electronic with that Simmons SDX kit. He lost me. Some of the sounds he was triggering back in the day hasn't withstood the test of time very well (IMO). Especially on the ABWH album.

Had the opportunity to sit very close to the stage during the Union tour. After an intermission Bruford and White did a drum duet. Where I was sitting, you had to walk partially around the rotating stage they had. So Alan was no more than 10 feet away from me while I was (slowly) walking around the stage and back to my seat. My goodness, did his kit sound phenomenal back then. It's easily within my top 3 of live drum sounds I've heard.
 

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