The drummer Roger Taylor said blew him away: “Everything was tight and so perfect”
Queen’s Roger Taylor will go down in history as one of the best rock drummers. Never one to be overstated or limelight-grabbing, he held down the foundation of the band while, in his day, Freddie Mercury brought the theatrics. But there was one drummer that always stood out as impressing the percussionist.
Taylor’s interest in the drums started early. After mastering the ukulele and learning the guitar, he turned to the drums at 15 after realising he had a natural skill for rhythm. Inspired by Keith Moon’s playing, Taylor would tune his drums to match Moon’s signature sound. Like many drummers of the day, Taylor was completely captivated by The Who man, but he wasn’t the only influence on the percussionist who gave us ‘We Will Rock You’.
There was one drummer who hugely influenced a teenage Roger Taylor. As he moved to London, met Brian May and started sharing a flat with a young Freddie Bulsara, later known as Mercury, his love for Jimi Hendrix followed him.
A key part of the rock explosion of the 1960s, Taylor was hooked on the Jimi Hendrix Experience after their 1966 UK breakout. Hendrix’s drummer, Mitch Mitchell, immediately captured Taylor’s attention as a tight, skilful player. “I was blown away by his playing,” Taylor told the Express, “Everything was tight and so perfect, and he always played for the song.”
Mitchell has flown under the radar as an often underrated player. Keeping the instrumentation tight to allow Hendrix to be the exciting frontman he was, Mitchell was a no-frills player. Alongside Hendrix, he oversaw one of the most revolutionary bands of the decade, and while, quite rightly, Hendrix would enjoy the majority of the kudos, those in the know were well aware of Mitchell’s imposing talent. Through his work on the drum kit, Hendrix was given the space and spotlight to deliver his generational performances.
Mitchell’s own key influences were jazz players, citing Elvin Jones and Tony Williams as his idols. Learning to balance tight rhythms with thrilling improvisations, that jazz education is heard in his wild drum solos. That’s also what stood out to Taylor, who said, “his fills were just fantastic, and he was so fast with those jazz chops that you barely saw his hands.”
Two songs especially stand out as tracks that majorly inspired his own style and career; “‘Fire’ and ‘Manic Depression’ – from Are You Experienced? – are still two of my favourite drum tracks.”
As two highly skilled but understated players, both holding down the fort to allow flamboyant frontmen to shine, it’s easy to see why Taylor has such a kinship and admiration for Mitchell.
