(08-27-2010 03:46 PM)Lady Floydian Wrote:  I think everyone is getting crossed up here.

I think we all agree that Nick Mason is a great drummer and was a great drummer for Pink Floyd. Where people seem to be going off in separate directions is what makes a musician overrated/underrated compared to a peer. When people think 70s rock drummers, they think Keith Moon, John Bonham, Neil Peart. Those are usually the first names that come to mind. Underrated drummers would be those who are as good as the above-named artists, but get no attention because their band wasn't as high-profile as the bands those drummers were in.

I think we can all safely argue that Pink Floyd was better than The Who, Led Zeppelin and Rush, but got about 1/10th as much attention because the band and the guys as individuals were pretty anonymous. So their musical contributions to the music tend to get overshadowed. Which is why I think all four of them as instrumentalists are highly underrated compared to their peers. I mean, Jimmy Page was/is a great guitarist, but David plays circles around him, IMO. No one talks about him in that way.

I think that's what everyone means by underrated.

I agree with most of your points. Nick Mason was indeed a fantastic drummer for Pink Floyd. And if he had "drummed" in any other way than what he did, I think it would have ruined the music. I don't know though if his drumming compares to Moon, Bonham or Peart. But I guess in some aspects Mason was underrated in that he got less attention, although at the same time, he wasn't doing anything amazing. I guess what I'm getting at is that yes Mason was fantastic for the Floyd and was solid as a drummer, but I don't think he did anything that would warrant him being ranked as an amazing drummer in any drummer magazine, which is why I can't say that he is totally underrated in that aspect. But I guess his contribution to keep the band in check on stage and everything moving smoothly can be looked at as being underrated. I hope that made sense haha.

But either way, discussions like this are a good thing! We can all discuss this topic in a friendly manner as we have done so so far (at least since I've been part of the discussion) This is what these types of forums are meant for. Good solid discussion!