Audio: The Beatles - “She Said, She Said”
I’ve never gotten people who claim Ringo’s a boring or uninspired drummer. I feel like it’s a charge that’s most often leveled by fingerless-gloved man-children with BO in faded Zildjian shirts. But, that might just be how I remember it. (Hi, Thoroughbred Music on Hillsborough Ave. every Saturday afternoon in the mid-80s)
During the middle years, Ringo’s drumming bloomed into a legitimately defining part of the Beatles’ sound. Listen back to “You Won’t See Me,” “Rain,” or “I Am the Walrus” and you’ll hear an unbelievably tasteful craftsman with a sense of humor who knew how to lay back, smiling and swinging. The man’s fills have the lightness and joy of the first time you walk with a new girlfriend in the rain.
Was listening to “She Said, She Said” on headphones just now, and I never really heard the little story Ringo’s telling at just below the volume of conversation in the room. Like a lot of John’s best stuff from this period, it’s a ripper, but it would turn into a different (and much less successful) song if the tempo were any faster or the drumming were any more baroque or canned.
Ringo plays it like it’s the second time he’s ever heard the song, with a totally relaxed hand and meandering style changes that leave tons of room for the guitars to drone and holler — but still carving out gorgeous little rolls and curlicues without ever missing a beat. Lovely. Just lovely.
I think for the longest time it was just that he was overshadowed. The closest comparison I can make is John Entwistle in The Who. Here you had these three other guys who were so dynamic and even though The Ox was up there laying down these amazing basslines, they often got missed because Keith Moon was busy setting fire to his own ass.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I think The Beatles: Rock Band will go a long way toward readjusting people’s perceptions of Ringo’s skill. When you’ve actually gotta play the drum part from Tomorrow Never Knows yourself, you realize he was more than just a pretty (interesting) face.
