I've always thought A Day In The Life has some cool drumming in it. Not particularly difficult to do, but I bet it's totally unlike what any other drummer would have done on that song.
Well, things that seem easy are not easy. Let me post again what I've posted on another topic of Ringo - the praise from Phil Collins:
Starr is vastly underrated. The drum fills on the song "A Day in the Life" are very complex things. You could take a great drummer today and say, 'I want it like that.' He wouldn't know what to do.My favourite Ringo's drumming is on "Strawberry Fields Forever". I love listening only to the left channel of that track just to hear those great drums!
Oh, me too! So I'm not the only one who does that!
On some of Ringo's fills, it almost like they are backwards of what you would expect to hear.
Listening to some out takes now, specifically "Don't Bother Me".
A sharp remark, but it can be explained. Ringo said:
I'm no good on the technical things [...] I'm your basic offbeat drummer with funny fills. The fills were funny because I'm really left-handed playing a right-handed kit. I can't roll around the drums because of that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringo_Starr
What was Ringo's Best Drumming? In my opinion, it was songs such as "I Saw Her Standing There," "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You," "Ticket To Ride," "Revolution," "Paperback Writer" "Birthday," "Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey," "Helter Skelter," "Hey Bulldog" and "It's All Too Much" just to name a few. Ringo said it best at the end of "Helter Skelter:" I'VE GOT BLISTERS ON MY FINGERS! Take care.
So, I guess most of you fall on Ringo's energetic performances. That's okay.
Now, listen to that soft, rather quiet, meditational George's
Long, Long, Long. The drums there are so great because Ringo doesn't drum thru the whole song, but just partially,
during some lyrics and during the refrain. The drums are actually the loudest instrument and you really NOTICE them.
In similar manner:
A Day In The Life. It starts with piano, guitar, vocal, maracas (by George), and the drums "join in" after some 45 seconds (after the line
he
blew his mind in a car.) We would, normally expect that the drumming would continue - but, no, we hear the instrument that we heard before, there are no drums on
he didn't notice that the lights have changed. And, then, the drums again come in.
I like songs when the drums come a little bit later like in
Hey Jude, You Never Give Me Your Money, Golden Slumbers, The End, etc.