listener101

Right, as he wasn't a songwriter of any significance.

Pet_Sounds

I'd give Ringo a half. Even though he didn't write, he was still contributing. The non-Brian Beach Boys weren't at most of the instrumental recording sessions for Pet Sounds and SMiLE. They'd do vocals, and occasionally Carl would contibute a bit of guitar. Otherwise, they were on the road, spreading the gospel.

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Black Francis

But he did play the drums well, but not in a flashy way more like in a subtle atmospheric way.

When i hear the beatles the drums always merge with the song seemingly and i know much of it is in the production value of the recording but it's also because Ringo is a talented drummer.

I think that's his true creative input in the beatles.

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Surell

Yeah I actually have to admit ringo was a killer drummer, very flexible, always on point, but still unique in how he utilized toms over snares. He wasn't jazzy but he had neat ways of keeping the rhythm and doing fills when he did them.

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Pet_Sounds

Especially Ticket to Ride and Tomorrow Never Knows. Man, his drumming is good on those two.

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Surell

Ticket to ride is great for him, one of my favorites overall. He does a really great but subtle job on a day in the life, with the little fills he puts in.

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Pet_Sounds

I think Ringo gets a lot of contempt because of his willingnes to contribute to the group and not show off. The others had to talk him into the drum solo on The End. Plus the fact that he was rather overshadowed by the others, and all the "not even the best drummer in the Beatles". But IMO it was partially his personality that kept the band together for a couple of years after Epstein's death. Definitely the smallest ego of the bunch.

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Necromancer

Ringo Starr sounds alright on drums to me personally but he is in no way as good as someone like Charlie Watts for example. And nowhere close to the status as Keith Moon. He's just OK and nothing more than an average drummer in my opinion.

Neapolitan

I think Keith Moon is much over rated. Ringo at least had put in the slightest of bit of effort to play different drum style as with Moon he did the same darn thing every song, he was a one trick pony. If you take Rock drummers of the time Mel Taylor, Hal Blaine and Brian Bennett were better the Ringo (most people would agree) but they infinitely better than Keith Moon. Gee whiz even Dennis Wilson was more imaginative as a drummer than Keith Moon.

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Necromancer

In all reality Keith Moon was to the drums what Jimi Hendrix was to the guitar.
I did read an article a while back that Moon did admire Ringo Starr as a drummer. He admired the Beach Boys music even more so. Roger Daltrey once commented that Keith Moon would had joined the Beach Boys as their drummer if they wouldve offered him the job, even at the height of his career with Who.