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Reni

Postby Garageflower » Wed Sep 01, 2010 3:45 am

 

I have had this discussion with quite a few musicians, and pinning down the qualities that made him so damn good is no easy task, indeed an all encapsulating answer is as enigmatic as the man himself.

 

That being said I'll give it a go. (apologies for the long answer)

 

First off, I have to say that if you want to understand why Reni was so good you HAVE to listen to the live Bootlegs, he was criminally (IMO) under used on the studio recordings. Specifically listen to; Blackpool, Ali Pally, Spike Island, Tokyo, Hacienda, Walsall Junction 10.

 

I've been in quite a few bands and I am quite experienced on the guitar, bass and drums. I know all the Roses early stuff and have covered most of them at some time or other - and have heard other bands cover them too. Whilst most (good) guitarists can emulate John Squire pretty well, and most bass players can copy mani exactly, I've yet to hear a drummer who can get anywhere near re-creating Reni's sound. Look at the Roses cover bands - everything is right except the beats. Or listen to Ian Brown covering the old Roses tunes live - his guitarist nails it, but the drummer is nowhere near.

 

How can this be?

 

Well the answer IMO can be broken down into two catagories; Technique and Personality.

 

Technically speaking, I've heard a few drummers say that Reni plays the wrong way round, that is he is right handed but leads with his left, which could be why his beats have a certain 'feel' to them - but I dont know enough about it to know if this is the case. It could be of course that he is ambidextrous. Who knows? But whatever the case Reni always used patterns and cut shapes that were unexpected - see The Hardest thing, Elephant Stone, Shoot you down etc. He never employed standard beats (except maybe on the first part of IATR - and then only so he could concentrate on singing), but always sought to play something that was individual and inventive.

 

Much of what we think of as the 'Roses sound' that indefinable loose, baggy feel, came from Reni's playing and not Squire or Mani - play any of the Roses tunes with any other drummer and they would just sound like rocksongs (witness Maddix). This can only come from Reni's hands - it sounds obvious, but ask any drummer and they'll tell you that it is all in the way you hold your sticks, and whether you hit from your wrist or your arm or your shoulder. Reni had served his time, and was a hugely accomplished technical drummer (see Youtube Joe Morrello for more of an understanding on this), whereas in comparison Squire and Mani were good, but still aprentices on their chosen instruments. (See the very early video of them on Youtube to see how much better Reni was than the rest of the band in the early days). If you listen to the live bootlegs there are occasional glimpses of Reni's masterly technique - at the Break in Shoot you down at Blackpool - or the Intro to Fools Gold at Ali pally, here he was puttin things in that were not on the recordings, as if to say 'look at what I can do'. Truly stunning stuff, live improvisation to that level takes years and years of practice, and a large pair of cojones - especially if you're the drummer, where the slightest mistake will throw the rest of the band out.

 

Then there is the point that his drumkit was unique. Most drummers use a kit that is complete - or bought as a package from one manufacturer. With Reni however, he pieced together his kit over quite some time, choosing drums that had a 'feel' to them, ultimately making his kit as unique as his playing. I've heard that for the recording of Fools Gold Reni tried over 20 snare drums before he settled on the 'one', this could be hypocriful however.

 

Reni is a one off, a genuine musical genius. His feel for the beat and pulse of a song is incredible and his phrasing is unique, he just seems to 'know' what is right at any given time - and had the confidence and the mandate to play what he liked - something alot of drummers are not given. He has 'perfect timing' something most musicians will never have - listen to as many bootlegs as you can and you will NEVER hear Reni make a mistake. His sense of timing is perhaps nowher better demonstrated than on IATR at Blackpool where it comes back in and goes into the jam, that part is ALL Reni, no other drummer could carry that off.

What is truly remarkable about Reni is that he could do all this whilst singing - and singing briliantly. (it pains me that the Roses never gave Reni a song of his own a la Ringo) - Listen to IATR at Spike Island to hear him completely blow Brown away - to me you can hear him become frustrated with Ians lack lustre performance and just let rip on that last tune - listen carefully at the end of the chorus and you can hear Reni doing the spaz voice (tongue in bottom lip) instead of the usual ooh -oo-ooh bit - definately aimed at Brown.

 

In terms of personality, Reni is unlike most drummers; they are all too often the guy at the back who just bangs out the beats and takes flack for being the stupid one. Reni however is incredibly intelligent and eclectic - see his poem 'don't feed the underdog' or listen to the Roses interviewed on the Radio 1 evening session, to see that he is exceptionally sharp witted and conversationaly erudite (something I can boast first hand experience of!). His music choices on that show also shed some light on his musical leanings - they were nearly all reggae tunes with complex unusual rhythms. This perhaps tells us that Reni was capable of drumming to any genre, reggae, jazz, punk, hip-hop - you name it.

 

In short then Reni is considered so good because he is a very intelligent man with a genius for rhythm, who played with a swagger and genuine joy (see Sally at Finland) It is often said that a band can only ever be as good as its drummer, and this defines the Roses perfectly...they were amazing because of Reni. How many other bands can you name where the drummer is the star of the show?

 

NB
I feel that he left the band because he didn't like the way it was going, and saw that Squire was on an ego trip. Whilst the records were the preserve of Squire and Brown, live Reni WAS the Stone Roses, but the music John was writing left little room for the inovative cross genre beats that were Reni's trademark (listen to the 11 minute solo from the Second Coming sessions on Youtube to see where Reni was really at during that time). I also feel that he was fed up with their performances being marred by Browns vocals, but could never openly say that without causing grief.

 

Edited January 16, 2017 by Hella

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