10 Most Underrated Drummers Of All Time
6. Ginger Baker - Cream
Many tend to hold Cream in high regard as the first real supergroup, and it's not hard to see why. Though Eric Clapton was the real musical god among his contemporaries, there was still a lot of musical genius at play between this power trio. Whereas Jack Bruce might have had the soulful voice and bass chops, Ginger Baker really brought an added sense of chaos to Cream's sound.
As opposed to just playing the straight beat, Ginger's background in blues and jazzier territory led him to take unconventional approaches in his drumming style. Look no further than songs like Toad, which shows basically everything a drummer needs to know across almost 10 minutes. That's far from where his chops end though, with Sunshine of Your Love being a masterclass unto itself. For as classic as the riff from Clapton is, Baker's the one who gives the tune its charm, focusing heavily on the tom toms to create an almost primal sounding foundation for everything above it.
Most of these tracks became completely different beasts once they played them live as well, with Baker taking the reigns from behind the kit and transforming these songs into amazing exercises in rock and roll badassery. While people may go on and on about the beginnings of heavy metal starting with Black Sabbath, heavy metal drums actually started a few years earlier than that.