I've said this many times before on this forum....
If MK's career started backwards.... so his solo stuff before DS I wouldn't have been at all interested. I like aspects of country, folk and pop but the reality is I love music and especially Rock/Indie/Alternative music with quality drumming. Usually in the foreground. Hard-hitting, although it doesn't need to be if it's benefitting the song. The solo stuff from MK rarely excites me from a drumming perspective.
So DS debut and Comminique with Pick whilst not many thrills as such I loved the production, Pick's style was authentic and rather fitting to the songs. Little bits here and there from Pick really enhanced the songs. However you can hear his best sounds in 1980....
Making Movies stepped up the production values x10. Pick even mentions how much of a slog it was to get the drum sounds spot on in pre-production, but wow was it worth it, especially on TOL, Expresso Love and Skateaway. Outstanding. That snare sound is top notch.
LOG of course question marks behind some of the drumming tracks although plenty of posters (and Pick I think) claiming that proper drums were played over the top of some of the programmed parts. Nevertheless those songs were extremely interesting and outstanding, especially Telegraph Road and It Never Rains.
Weird to think that I'm a fan of BIA when a lot of the drumming to my ears is quite basic sounding, of course played by a superb player in Omar Hakim, but likes of So Far Away, One World or Walk Of Life are arguably lifeless, the argument being that they let the song and melody do the talking. Ride Across The River however and of course the opening to MFN by Williams which was outstanding were at least exciting and different. On Every Street featured two superb drummers in Jeff Porcaro and Manu Katche. Whilst I rated Pick and Terry as live drummers in different ways, Chris stepped up to the plate admirably. Superb tone, and style on those songs, in fact to me Chris was the major positive... the weak links on those live performances were the country elements... ironic though to think that even Chris wasn't a huge fan of hard hitting straight forward rock, and MK encouraged a bit of that, yet since DS disbanded MK has literally gone down a completely different path. The drums are the opposite of Rock/bombastic sounds. They don't drive the songs any more, no criticism to the players themselves who are of course world class, but to my ears they are the opposite of why I actually loved DS in the first place. Personally soft sounding / delicate drums only work on those quiet / melancholy style songs. I suppose MK solo career follows that style because his solo material is based more around delicate sounding tracks, folk and blues rhythms. Nothing even comes close to a track like It Never Rains or Skateaway. Hence why I lost interest in MK sadly post 00's... but It doesn't mean I don't respect his modern day music, his band mates or the fans.
I agree, Mark's solo career is decent with a couple of good albums but nothing to do with DS's discography.
I don't think it's because of the good musicians in the group but the rhythm is missing.
Drumming is definitely missing.
Mark's music puts drumming and rhythm in the background.
The drumming I like the most is that of the first two albums which I find unique in its genre, a mix of swing and jazz, precise, not bombastic.
In MM Pick accelerates and sounds great, the album is more rock, the drumming has more space at the expense of the bass.
In LOG the drumming becomes less important.
Pick in the first 4 albums in my opinion is perfect for DS (maybe only in It never rains it doesn't affect as it should).
BIA is a legendary album, very well played, blended and balanced but the drumming is in the background.
Hakim is amazing, one of the best drummers ever but in BIA has little impact.
Certainly not because of his fault, simply the drums were not supposed to have an impact, to be annoying.
It is in those years that the record companies declare war to drums, and the fans follow: they want a drumming from simple accompaniment. Becoming background over the years.
The same thing for OES, Porcaro and Katche don't make the difference.
The live performances remain where you can admire the drummers but even there they have less space than in the seventies.
