A DIFFERENT DRUMMER

Superb article on Electric Ladyland in your October issue, with one exception. To say that Mitch Mitchell “was struggling to keep up” is idiotic. Mitch’s later life struggles notwithstanding, in 1968 he stood alone in the pantheon of rock drummers, soon to be followed by Bonham and Paice. Buddy Miles was a competent drummer. My guess is that he happened to be around when Hendrix was laying down the two “Rain” tracks he appeared on. As evidence, I offer Mitchell’s performance on “Third Stone From The Sun” – one of the best drum performances by anybody, in any genre, ever. Try to find something on that level by Buddy Miles. Randal Keller, Toronto