Aynsley Dunbar (drums for John Mayall's Bluesbreakers/Bowie/Journey/Whitesnake) 5

The first time I heard Aynsley Dunbar play drums live was May 9, 1975 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA. Ian Hunter, former lead singer of Mott the Hoople, had just gone out on his own. His first album was released that spring, and he was touring with his favorite sidekick, ex-Bowie axeman and Spider, Mick Ronson. They were headlining at the Spectrum, with Journey opening and Aerosmith in the middle (great show!). When I bought my ticket for the show, I asked my local record store owner if he knew anything about Journey. He said that they had one of the best rock drummers in the world; his name was Aynsley Dunbar. I recognized the name because my friend's sister was a Bowie fanatic, and I had recently borrowed her copy of Bowie's Pin-Ups album, with Aynsley on drums. His drumming was unbelievable at that Journey concert, and I've never looked back in nearly 34 years. I love Phil Ehart of Kansas, Neal Peart of Rush, Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, Keith Moon, and Jon Bonham, but with all due respect to those guys, no one plays drums like Aynsley. One thing that's remarkable about his playing is that he doesn't always sound the same, like some of the other guys. Just listen to his drumming on albums from artists as varied as Ian Hunter (All-American Alien Boy), Whitesnake (1987 w/Still of the Night, etc.), Lou Reed (Berlin), David Bowie (Pin-Ups and Diamond Dogs), Journey (Journey, Look Into the Future, Next, Infinity), Pat Travers (Blues Magnet, PT Power Trio), Nils Lofgren (Nils Lofgren), Frank Zappa (Filmore East - June 1971, Waka Jawaka, Apostrophe), his own late '60s blues group, Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, Mother's Army (Fire on the Moon - with Joe Lynn Turner, Bob Daisley, Jeff Watson), Jefferson Starship (Freedom at Point Zero, Modern Times), UFO (Sharks), Metallica tribute album, Leslie West (Blues to Die For), etc. The list goes on and on. The guy is 63 years old and still plays incredibly.

My UK supergroup would have Aynsley Dunbar on drums, Ritchie Blackmore and Michael Schenker on guitars, Ian Gillan on vocals (only if his voice sounded like it did in 1972 because it's shot now), Roger Daltrey on vocals if I couldn't go back in time to use Gillan's 1972 voice, John Entwistle on bass (he's dead, but can he come back for the battle of the UK vs. US supergroups?), Elton John on piano/vocals and Rick Wakeman on keyboards, and Ian Hunter as multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/frontman. Hunter's voice is not good, but there's something about his lyrics and stage presence that more than make up for his lack of vocal range. I'd probably want Paul McCartney and Pete Townsend on backing vocals and acoustic guitars for the unplugged part of the competition.

Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, but I would love to hear the logic behind those who rated Dunbar 1, 2, or 3 stars.