Listen to the isolated drums of Stewart Copeland on The Police track ‘Driven to Tears’
This past Saturday, Stewart Copeland took the stage at Wembley Stadium for the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert to help pay homage to one of his most famous disciples. Hawkins frequently cited Copeland as his primary inspiration on the drums, and Copeland seemed more than happy to return the favour by busting out a few Police classics at the show.
With members of the Foo Fighters, Copeland blasted out the classic beat to the early Police track ‘Next To You’ before welcoming Supergrass singer Gaz Coombes on stage to play ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’. Copeland hasn’t lost any of his remarkable abilities in the roughly 35 years since The Police officially called it quits, but with just two songs to play, it’s hard not to wish we had gotten more from Copeland.
Just imagine if he had busted out the frantic 3/4 drive of ‘Synchronicity I’, or perhaps the delay-heavy shuffle of ‘Walking on the Moon’. We could have gotten the classic offbeat hits of ‘Roxanne’ or the devilishly tricky rhythms for ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’. Maybe they could have even done classic tracks that never got played live, like the Zenyatta Mondatta cut ‘Canary in a Colemine’.
There are endless Police songs that could have been trotted out for the concert, but one that would have shown off what makes Copeland such a fantastic drummer would have been ‘Driven to Tears’. The hard-driving new wave track features all of Copeland’s signatures: hi-hat flourishes, steady bass drum hits, waves of delayed hits, and some frantic ride cymbal work.
As is his wont, Copeland largely focuses on everything but the snare drum throughout the song’s verses. He never hits the actual drum until the chorus, and even then, it’s only to emphasize the backbeat. Throughout most of the song, you’ll hear dizzying hi-hat hits, tumbling tom rhythms, splashy cymbals, and some cross-stick hits on the rim of the snare, but rarely will you hear the snare drum itself.
It’s all part of the genius of Stewart Copeland: taking a standard drum kit and playing it in a fashion that most other drummers couldn’t even wrap their heads around. Dexterity and flash are important elements of his drumming, but so are minimalism and stripped-back simplicity. When that snare does eventually come in, it gives the double-time outro section all of its ferocious intensity. All told, it’s a masterclass in variety from a legendary drummer.
Check out Stewart Copeland’s isolated drums from ‘Driven to Tears’ down below.
