As one of those effortlessly cool rock stars able to transcend music scenes, Travis Barker (of Blink 182 fame) brings us Give the Drummer Some, an ambitious project that reflects his character in its attempt to bring together sounds as varied as Hip Hop and Hard Rock into one cohesive experience. Putting his reputation to good use, the renowned drummer has pulled in heavyweight A-list guest talent including Snoop, Slash, Kanye and the Cool Kids in an immense cross-genre collaboration of guitar licks, rap beats and most importantly, the awe-inspiring drumming of the Barker himself.
Although a few underwhelming tracks, such as ‘Saterday Night’ (featuring Slash and The Transplants) deny the album the cohesion that could have made it masterful, ‘Knockin’ and ‘Beat Goes On’ confirm that even seasoned hip-hop legends Snoop, Ludacris and Cyprus Hill fit the unconstrained beat of a skilled drummer in ways bland computer generated backings could never hope to achieve. While the album is largely Hip Hop driven, ‘On my Own’ (featuring Corey Taylor) is music to the ears of any heavy rocker and the overall album experience is one of consistently exceptional tracks that the most hardcore fans at both ends of the spectrum are able to enjoy. This drummer can definitely give some.
8/10
1 Comment
“even seasoned hip-hop legends Snoop, Ludacris and Cyprus Hill fit the unconstrained beat of a skilled drummer in ways bland computer generated backings could never hope to achieve.”
Yet, songs with “bland” computer generated beats tend to have way more rhythm than anything Travis Barkers ever drummed for.