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Larry Mullen, Jr., July 2009

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Larry Mullen, Jr., July 2009 v s T *BUllEr THE B1UE SIIY,'l58t recognition. Depressing. "\l/here The llt;;;;',"ci;;;".n Mutlen opens this howling song from Streets Have No Name" is an anomaly' In verses, Mullen plays a tnb- V a of lrishteenagers The loshua Tree with a lurching beat. the anthem's al pattem on the snare with the snares schooled on classic rock and post-punk His kick drum is cinched up tightly with thrown off. Then, in the soaring chorus' to shape-shifting superstars is due in Adam Clayton's bass line, and his he drops in huge cymbal crashes' with Iarge part to the skiljs of the band's 16th-note hi-hat pattern plays a hyp- the snare accenting 2 and 4.It's primal drummer, Larry Mullen Jr. notic foil to the slide guitar smeared timekeeping-the complete opposite of Pick any phase from U2's thirty-year throughout the song by the Edge. Aside was being heard on the radio (and counting) career, and you'll hear from a rattling snare fill at the break- what then. Thank goodness. Mullen pacing things with some sort of down, MuIIen never deviates much back from his intro a Bonham-like twist. It could be the martial drubbing Part, *oEslnE,'1388 of a timbale, a metronome-Iike pulse, a groove you recognize instantly. The fascination with American roots loose and funky groove, a ceding of his music U2 hinted at on The Joshua Tree tud to loops and drum machines' or an "sullDlY BlllollY sulllllY,' lgES was in fuIl bloom on the studio tracks explosive garage rock walloP. There wasn't a Young drummer anY- tacked on to the live album Rotfle And Such a versatile arsenal is the mark where in the mid-'BOs who didn't "rat-a-tat-tat, intro Hum. The Bo Diddley beat Mullen plays of a player caPable of hanging with mimic Mullen's tat" "Desire" was completely out of char- wholesale change, which Mullen is. to "sunday Bloody Sunday." It's one of on acter yet so totally spot on it could've He's never been a iook-at-me-PlaY- the most recognizable drum figures in passed for a lost single from the Chess my-drumkit virtuoso, just the absolute rock history. And it sets the stage for a Records archives. perfect timekeeper for the Rock And song where Mullen's roots as a march- good use. RoIl HaII Of Fame band. From the brash ing band drummer are Put to nGHTUilG EIBY, llSl urgency of 1980's BoYthrough the When U2 released Achtung BabY, t}leY eclectic yet accessible sounds of U2's "WI|:NE THE STBEETS sounded like a totally new band-one latest set, No Line On The Horizon, ttnuE ilo tnHE,'l58t a fairly raw and distorted sound, Mullen has laid down many memorable On the rare occasions when you heard with plus looseness in the bottom end you performances on record. Here, we cele- real drums on ToP 40 radio circa 1987, a never figured they were capable of. brate twelve of them. they were gated and triggered beyond 82 MODERI'I DRUMMER . JULY 2OO9 While the songwriting on the album is again, all on the strengith of Mullen's some of U2's most enduring, Achtung performance. His part is a layered Baby is really brought to life by the affangement of drums and percussion, way tracks like "Mysterious Ways," with the close-miked and roomier "Ultra Violet (Light My Way)," and sounds of his kit mixed in and out to "The Fly," to name a few absolutely great dynamic effect. It's not so much THE swing. Mullen and Clayton are the studio sleight of hand as it is captur- true stars of this album. ing a great drummer at work from several different angles and fusing the ONLY *GLonl[,'lggl results together. And Mullen always A young Mullen put on his own little captures the dynamics of the track THING variety show in "Gloria." From the live. See the Rattle And llum movie. or Beatles-y "Ticket To Ride"-like beat YouTube, for proof. BETTER THAN he plays as the song fades in to the double-time parts to the way he *IllUlrloil,'2ooo keeps the verses surging with a clat- \Mhen U2 has consciously tried to ter of 16th notes on the hit-hat, he make dance music, like on the loop- proved early on that he was capabie heavy Pop album, the results have of handling many different feels- been too rigid and synchronized- often within the same tune. nothing at ali you'd want to shake it to. Tracks like "Elevation" prove the trlpnfltEl il rrfi ilAuE band needs Mullen and Clayton work- trI lOUE,n lgg4 lng together to make things swing. All the trademarks of Mullen's sound This song from 4ll That You Can't in the 'BOs are represented on this Leave Behind marked a hip-swiveling uplifting single: a 16th-note hi-hat return to Achtung Babys funky form. pattem, measure-long snare rolls A classic example of U2 making fan- with alternating accents, and Larry's tastic dance music without trvino patented tom hit (usually a floor tom, too hard. to the left of the snare) on the "e" of 4. Like he did on many tracks during *GET Olt YtrUR BOOrS,s 2OOg U2's flrst phase, Mullen weaves With its trippy mash-up of alt-rock these parts together seamlessly, and dance-floor styles, the first single proving himself to be an unobtrusive from JVo LIne On The Horizon harkens For o limited player with a style all his own. back to the era of Pop and Zooropa. time qf Mullen's live kit work-like the rattling A. porticipotina *u;RrlG|l,il 2OO/[ Ringo-style fill that opens the song tM oeoters, Duy This track hits you like a ton of bricks, and repeats several times-aitemates o brick"of sticks mostly because of Mullen's simple-as- with loops, giving the dark yet infec- ond get o PDP it-should-be kit work. There's realiy tious track a man-versus-machine 800 Series not much else to do on a song as feel. And even though Mullen ptays Colorwore" cymbol straightforward as "Vertigo" but to nice with technology, the drummer is stond obsolutely FREE. keep the beat and accent when you gorng to win that matchup every sin- need to, then repeat as necessary. It's gle time. that streamlined approach that makes this one of Mullen's finest recorded *I Wlll fOllOW,'lggo performances. And it's the iittle things Everyone thinks of the iconic guitar too: the stick clicks to open the song, nff when "I WiIl Fol]ow" comes to s the doubie snare hits to accent Bono's mind. But it's Mullen's steady beat melody in the verses, and the spot in and simple fills that keep the song \/ the choruses where Mullen beats the chugging along. This is the beat a i crash cymbal like it owes him money. million songwriters have programmed u on their demos in hopes their drum- To see the full line of professionol "wlTH On WffHOUT YOU,'tggz mer gets the hint: Don't get in the quolity, oll-hlckory 3Drumsticks visit: "With 0r Without You" rises from a wav of the riff. www.3drumsticks.com *A whisper to a scream to a fu]l-throated brick is romprised of4 seh of$irk 19 Q2009 Drum Wo*shon lm. roar and then settles back down ixl The 3 logo is o trodemrk of Drum Woriishop, lm. All Righh Rmerued..
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