Vinnie “Mad Dog” Lopez may have been the worst drummer to ever record a major-label album.
The New Jersey drummer, most famous known only for having played on Bruce Springsteen’s Greetings from Asbury Park and The Wild, the Innocent and the Street Shuffle – albums famous for swooping changes in rhythm for no good musical reason – was whacked from the E Street Band in 1974, replaced first with Ernie “Boom” Carter (who played on “Born to Run”) and finally Max Weinberg, both of whom could…well, keep a beat for starters.
It’s interesting, then, to look at this video of the tribute band “Tramps Like Us”, featuring Lopez on drums, doing a ’73-era Springsteen classic , “Thundercrack”.
So – not only is he no better a drummer than ever, but he’s backing a bunch of singers that sound like a bunch of Italian soccer fans trying to sing harmony.
Did you see the show on 11/2? Guessing not, because you’ve posted no review. Good show, he played Incident on 57th Street. Never thought I’d hear that in a million years. Yeah, politics, blah blah blah, but the music…Good times.
I missed it; other things called, unfortunately.
I heard he played “Incident…”. Sigh. One of my favorites.
Tickets on sale for the March 16 ’08 show on 11/09 or 10. Announced after the show.
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