There comes a time in the careers of most rock bands when the individual members develop the urge to step into the spotlight and release a solo album. And, despite the jokes, rock drummers are no exception.
Here’s our pick of the best solo albums by drummers – and before the comments flood in, we’ve not included Phil Collins as he was the lead singer of Genesis before going solo and as Foo Fighters has always been a band, Dave Grohl doesn’t count either.
15 best solo albums by rock drummers ranked
15. Keith Moon, Two Sides Of The Moon (1975)
Anybody expecting percussive pyrotechnics from the solo album by The Who’s drummer will come away sorely disappointed.
Though Moon was a force-of-nature behind the kit, he only drums on three tracks on Two Sides Of The Moon – according to Tony Fletcher’s 1998 biography Dear Boy, he considered drumming ‘his job’, so avoided it where possible during these sessions.
Instead, Moon was on lead vocals throughout, with varying results, seemingly depending on how much he’d enjoyed himself before taking the mic.
Moon was a Beach Boys fanatic and while his shaky vocal on ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ is often seen as Two Sides Of The Moon’s nadir, there isn’t the sense of Moon showboating or cracking jokes as there is elsewhere – instead it’s a moment of genuine vulnerability that’s strangely in keeping with Brian Wilson’s original.
Elsewhere, it sounds like a bunch of very naughty boys (guests included Ringo Starr, David Bowie and Harry Nilsson) having a blast at the record label’s considerable expense – which is pretty much what it was.
Key track: 'Don’t Worry Baby'
14. Peter Criss, Peter Criss (1978)
Pantomime rock heroes KISS have always had a knack for self-promotion. On 18 September 1978, the band’s four members made the unprecedented step of each releasing solo albums on the same day – each eponymously titled and all featuring thematically linked artwork – thus turning solo jaunts that might have otherwise been overlooked into an event.
Perhaps predictably, drummer Peter Criss’ (or Catman in KISS-speak) album was the least popular of the four, but it still reached No 43 on the US Billboard Hot 200 album chart.
And while hard rock-loving fans might’ve been drawn to guitarist Ace Frehley’s album, Criss was at least true to his musical loves – a straight-down-the-line set of horn-driven, barroom R&B featuring the drummer’s raspy vocals – and remains an enjoyable listen, as long as you steer away from unfortunate power ballads such as ‘Easy Thing’.
Key track: 'I Can’t Stop The Rain'
13. Roger Taylor, Fun In Space (1981)
Queen drummer Roger Taylor had given glimpses of his songwriting talent throughout the band’s career, with songs including ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, ‘Tenement Funster’ and ‘Sheer Heart Attack’, but 1981’s Fun In Space gave Queen fans a whole album written, produced, sung and performed by Taylor himself.
"I’ve written so many songs lately that it was impossible to put them all on a Queen LP," Taylor told Popcorn in June 1981, "a solo album was the only solution."
Fun In Space veers between energetic ’80s pop (‘No Violins’), sci-fi funk rock (‘Future Management’), rock’n’roll pastiche (‘Lets Get Crazy’), space-pomp weirdness (‘Interlude In Constantinople’) and Bowie-in-Berlin soundscapes (‘Fun In Space’).
Key track: 'No Violins'
12. Mick Fleetwood, The Visitor (1981)
With Fleetwood Mac on hiatus following the Tusk tour, Mick Fleetwood had the idea of collaborating with Ghanaian musicians on a mixture of Western and traditional African songs.
The drummer approached Warners with the idea – when he told them he’d need $300,000 to transport equipment to Ghana for the sessions, they passed. Eventually, RCA stumped up the cash and Fleetwood travelled to Ghanian capital Accra to scout for musicians.
He soon realised that the roads were so bad that transporting equipment was a no-go and booked sessions in an Accra recording studio.
According to a 1981 article in Scene magazine, over seven weeks, Fleetwood, multi-instrumentalist George Hawkins and guitarist Todd Sharp were joined by over 200 local musicians on the sessions, with the Ghanian musician’s union paid $10,000 upfront and all musicians who appeared on the album given royalties.
Fleetwood then returned to England for overdubs, including a cameo from George Harrison. The Visitor cost an estimated $500,000 to make and flopped – but listening today it deserves credit for being such a radical departure, tracks such as ‘O’Niamali’, ‘Super Brains’ and the title track are enjoyable fusions of cultures, even if the ‘Western’ songs would benefit from a bit more African spirit.
Key track: 'O’Niamali'
11. Philip Selway, Strange Dance (2023)
With gaps between Radiohead albums increasing over the years, solo projects have come thick and fast – Thom Yorke’s appetite for claustrophobic, twitchy electronica is seemingly insatiable, while Jonny Greenwood has become one of the most acclaimed film composers of his generation.
But quietly, drummer Philip Selway has released a trio of solo albums of hushed, atmospheric beauty. The introspective Strange Dance is our pick, an album featuring Selway’s best songwriting yet (‘The Heart Of It All’, ‘There’ll Be Better Days’) and adventurous arrangements (‘What Keeps You Awake At Night’, ‘Strange Dance’).
Key track: 'The Heart Of It All'
10. Moe Tucker, I Spent A Week There The Other Night (1991)
While Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker’s solo career never quite hit the heights of the best of former bandmates Lou Reed or John Cale’s solo work, her 1991 album I Spent A Week There The Other Night is an underrated treasure.
Backed by indie heroes Violent Femmes, Tucker is at her insouciant best on the garage rock gem ‘Lazy’ and the Moldy Peaches forerunner ‘Stayin’ Put’.
Velvets fans will be especially interested in the bolshy ‘Fired Up’, which features a wild, wall-of-distortion solo from Reed; her drowsy cover of The Crystals’ ‘(And) Then He Kissed Me’, which has a beautiful viola solo from Cale; and the terrifying-in-a-good-way drone of ‘I’m Not’, which was the first song to feature all four original Velvets – Cale, Reed, Tucker and Sterling Morrison – since 1968.
Key track: 'I’m Not'
9. Bill Ward, Ward One: Along The Way (1989)
Underestimate the powerhouse drummer behind Black Sabbath at your peril – Bill Ward’s debut, Along The Way, is among the best solo albums released by any member of the metal pioneers. It’s an album teeming with restless creativity and a refreshing lack of interest in selling units.
There’s an appealing sense of proggy weirdness to tracks such as ‘Pink Clouds An Island’ and ‘Bombers (Can Open Bomb Bays)’, featuring Ozzy Osbourne on lead vocals, while the gospel-tinged heavy metal of ‘Tall Stories’ (that’s Jack Bruce on bass) and the hard-riffing ‘Snakes & Ladders’ show that Ward was capable of writing no-holds-barred rock with a twist. And the cover features a bowler-hatted Ward dressed up as a one-man band – what’s not to like?
Key track: 'Tall Stories'
8. Bill Bruford, Feels Good To Me (1978)
Former Yes, King Crimson and Genesis drummer Bill Bruford was not messing about when it came to his first solo album.
Bruford enlisted some of the most exciting talents in prog to bring his innovative, jazz-fusion compositions to life, including virtuoso guitarist Allan Holdsworth (Soft Machine, Pierre Moerlen’s Gong), Berklee College of Music graduate Jeff Berlin on bass, Dave Stewart (Egg, Hatfield & The North) and electronic pioneer Annette Peacock on vocals.
Highlights include the nimble, Zappa-circa-Roxy-like ‘Sample And Hold’, the jazz exploration of ‘Either End Of August’ and the gorgeous, wee small hours feel of ‘Springtime In Siberia’. The players’ chemistry shines through and before long, Bruford became a fully-fledged band.
Key track: 'Sample And Hold'
7. Don Henley, The End Of The Innocence (1989)
When the Eagles broke up in 1980, drummer Don Henley didn’t waste time in establishing himself as a solo star, duetting with then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks on her US Top 10 single ‘Leather And Lace’ in 1981.
Henley had huge hits of his own throughout the ’80s, including the million-seller ‘Dirty Laundry’ and the ageless ‘Boys Of Summer’.
But his biggest solo album came with 1989’s The End Of The Innocence, a collection of adult contemporary rock seemingly designed for men going through divorces to listen to while looking wistfully out to sea – see the title track and ‘New York Minute’. When Henley notches up the rock, on ‘I Will Not Go Quietly’, he’s helped out by none other than Axl Rose on backing vocals.
Key track: 'New York Minute'
6. Ringo Starr, Ringo (1973)
Well, c’mon, we can’t leave Ringo out. This was the album where the former Beatle's solo career really kicked into gear, following the standards collection Sentimental Journey and the low-key country delights of Beaucoups Of Blues.
However strained Beatle relations were in the early ’70s, everybody loved Ringo and so all of his former bandmates contribute to the album.
John Lennon wrote and provided backing vocals for the fantastically cocky ‘I’m The Greatest’; Paul McCartney (along with wife Linda) wrote, played on and sang on the ballad ‘Six O’ Clock’; and George Harrison wrote a trio of tracks, including the nostalgia-tinged beaut ‘Photograph’ (co-written with Starr) which he also played guitar on.
Of course, this being Ringo, there were more stars queuing up to work with him – Marc Bolan, most of The Band, Harry Nilsson and Steve Cropper are among the guests. But tying it all together is the comforting voice of the Beatle you always root for, making Ringo an absolute joy.
Key track: 'Photograph'
5. Ginger Baker, Horses & Trees (1986)
Anybody who has seen the excellent 2012 documentary Beware Of Mr Baker will be aware of Ginger Baker’s extraordinary talent as well as his capacity for self-destructive behaviour. It’s unsurprising then, that after Cream self-destructed, Baker was both in-demand and a serial collaborator, thanks to his uncanny ability to burn bridges.
This means there are plenty of Baker solo albums to choose from but we’re going for 1986’s Bill Laswell-produced Horses & Trees, a danceable mash-up of funk, Afrobeat, jazz, electronica and all manner of other genres.
Baker’s chops come to the fore on the pulsing groove of ‘Interlock’, the percussion masterclass of ‘Mountain Time’ and the gentle highlife of ‘Makuta’.
Key track: 'Interlock'
4. Mickey Hart, Rolling Thunder (1972)
Why have one drummer when you could have two? Or so reckoned the Grateful Dead. Broadly speaking, while Bill Kreutzmann held down the jams, Mickey Hart brought another dimension to the band’s percussion, adding texture and depth to the sound through his use of innovative rhythms and experimental layers.
Released while on a sabbatical from the band, Rolling Thunder draws upon an all-star cast – including assorted members of the Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Stephen Stills and the Tower Of Power horn section – for one of the great psychedelic albums of the early ’70s.
Deadheads will be especially intrigued by ‘The Main Ten’, a killer early version of future concert staple ‘Playing In The Band’, and a horn-heavy early take on ‘The Greatest Story Never Told’ (‘Pump Song’), as well as a couple of jams featuring Jerry Garcia (‘The Chase’ and ‘Granma’s Cookies’).
Key track: 'The Main Ten'
3. Levon Helm, Dirt Farmer (2007)
Arkansas-born Levon Helm gave The Band their country soul, providing an authentic voice for Canadian-born Robbie Robertson’s songs of the South.
Following the break-up of The Band, Helm released a string of solid solo albums and embarked upon an acting career (notably as Loretta Lynn’s father in Coal Mining Daughter) alongside stints in a Robertson-less line-up of The Band.
His defining moment as a solo artist came in 2007 with Dirt Farmer, a rootsy collection produced by Bob Dylan guitarist Larry Campbell and Helm’s daughter, Amy.
The gritty backing is perfect for Helm’s weathered vocals, at their best on a gripping cover of Steve Earle’s ‘The Mountain’ and the funky groove of The Carter Family’s ‘Single Girl, Married Girl’.
Key track: 'The Mountain'
2. Dennis Wilson, Pacific Ocean Blue (1977)
As his elder brother Brian retreated from his role as leader of The Beach Boys in the late ’60s, drummer Dennis Wilson – previously written off as the wild child, teen idol of the group – stepped up.
Starting with 1968’s Friends, the songs Dennis contributed to Beach Boys albums tended to be among the highlights – usually either swooning, deeply romantic ballads or lust-fuelled rockers – and after the brilliant 1970 solo single ‘Sound Of Free’ b/w ‘Lady’, solo stardom seemed inevitable. But plans for an early ’70s album were waylaid when songs found their way onto Beach Boys LPs.
In 1977, Dennis finally went it alone with the astonishing Pacific Ocean Blue, a collection of soulful epics (‘River Song’, ‘Rainbows’), muscular funk-rock (‘What’s Wrong’, ‘Dreamer’, ‘Friday Night’) and heartbroken ballads (‘Moonshine’, ‘Thoughts Of You’, ‘You And I’).
Tragically, Wilson died in December 1983 having never completed another solo album – we can be grateful he left us this one.
Key track: 'River Song'
1. Robert Wyatt, Rock Bottom (1974)
In June 1973, former Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt fell from a fourth-floor bathroom window in a tragic accident, and was paralysed from the waist down. Six months later he was in the studio making his second album, the all-time classic Rock Bottom.
Though Wyatt claimed all of the material was written before his accident, he later suggested that his time in convalescence helped its recording, telling Q in 1991, "Being in hospital left me free to dream, and to really think through the music." The results were spectacular.
‘Sea Song’ is a fathoms-deep exploration of everyday love set to layers of burbling synth and twinkling piano, with Wyatt’s vocals shifting between tender coos and awestruck gasps of devotion.
Meanwhile, ‘A Last Straw’ and ‘Little Red Robin Hood Hit The Road’ are thrilling, free jazz-inspired blasts (the latter featuring Scottish poet Ivor Cutler) and the double-header of ‘Alifib’ and ‘Alife’ cocoon the listener in a warm, proggy cocoon before unsettling interludes shake things up.
Wyatt has never made a bad album, but Rock Bottom is a playful and dazzling feat of imagination like no other.
Key track: 'Sea Song'
All photos Getty Images
Top image Keith Moon of The Who, October 1975
