In the realm of studio drumming and hit records,
Buddy Saltzman is best-known for the type of records where many listeners don't even notice the drums. This was quite often an aspect of a folk-rock hit, an irony since one of the so-called revolutionary aspects of the style was adding a drum set to a folkie combo.
Saltzman was the guy asked to bring his, setting up his drums on records by artists such as
the Cyrkle,
Peter, Paul & Mary, and
Ian & Sylvia. His sensitive style, friendly in the dynamics department, was also just what was needed for the unique, haunting works of some of the best singer/songwriters from the '60s and '70s, including
Janis Ian,
Tim Hardin, and
Laura Nyro. All in all, despite a background that also included R&B hits by
the Coasters,
Saltzman's reputation could be summarized as more of a groovy drummer than a big-beat man.
This description might be withdrawn in light of the revelation that he recorded on bongos more than once. If that isn't enough to take back a "groovy," it was also
Saltzman, along with peers such as guitarists
Hugh McCracken and
Dave Appell, bassist
Chuck Rainey, and fellow drummer Gary Chester, who provided the instrumental backup on records by
the Archies. Chester is another studio drummer whose career overlaps with
Saltzman, and students of rock drumming can try to figure out which one of the two is playing on sides by
the Monkees. When it comes to
the Four Seasons, however,
Saltzman seems to have been a favorite of the group's creator,
Frankie Valli. The subsequent string of hits features the drummer's most aggressive and bombastic work, inspiring the following description of
Saltzman over cyberspace: "God as a drummer." The point is well-taken. If God played drums, he most certainly would be sensitive to dynamics. ~ Eugene Chadbourne