Whatever he did, he played with a brain. Not all drummers do.
My favorite drummers with Priest were Simon Phillips and Les Binks. I liked Dave Holland with Trapeze but for Priest he dumbed down his drumming beyond almost any recognition though he retained a certain groove before the drum machines took over on Priest’s 80s output. Scott Travis is a great guy and looks cool, but as a drummer I’m in two minds about him. He’s become a bit looser over the years which is good. I think they even recorded the last album without a click track, he at least said so in an interview.
The intro to Painkiller is something that should have appealed to Cozy, don’t you think? It’s that comic strip/cartoonish drumming style many people love:
I however can’t help it if I prefer drumming like this:
You tell me if Cozy, the showman, could have handled that with his limited chops, I think not, but I defer to your judgement.
It’s been 50 years since the release of Rainbow Rising and my immediate (!) disappointment at (i) the sound of that record, (ii) the way the drums were played by Powell (more Gary Glitter than Ian Paice in my ears). Why do I still have to defend not liking how Cozy played? 
Is there a secret book somewhere that includes the 11th Commandment Thou shalt at all times revere Mr Powell’s drum style! I simply don’t, his drumming always sounded oafish and heavyhanded to me - if that is what you like in music because it touches something primal in you, fine, more power to you. But don’t take it as a given that someone who appreciates Ian Paice has to like Cozy Powell, high treason it may be considered in some quarters.
Re Priest: Much like Status Quo they speak to me solely on an emotional level. DP speaks to me on an emotional and a cerebral level. I don’t expect improvisation from Priest and anybody is free to criticize their image, the rigidity of their rhythm section or whatever, I don’t give a toss. Priest is a guilty pleasure for me, their music makes me feel good, simple as that. IGB as far as getting lost in the details and intricacies of their music they are not. (Granted, much of Priest’s music sounds simpler than it is constructed.)
Worship? Other than that Halford has a one-of-a-kind (not necessarily pleasant) voice and that Glenn Tipton in his prime was one hell of a technically astute guitarist (until Parkinson’s disease tragically gnawed away at his abilities), there is nothing to worship with Priest, they are often outright unwillingly hilarious which is ok.
S&M is the worst performance of LittleIan’s career, to hear the first drum roll you have to listen to Wicked Ways, which is the last track!
they could have put a drum machine in its place!
I never understood the unhealthy equation flat drums = commercial album, but evidently at RCA and BMG they thought so.
I think LittleIan erased S&M from his memory as early as 1993!
You and your childish obsession with drum rolls! 
What I hear of Paicey‘s inherent groove and bass drum work on various tracks is plenty fine, you must have a mispressing too, Flavio, I hear plenty of subtle, clever snd succinct rolls and embellishments here:
But perhaps a potato-sack-rumbles-down-the-cellar-stairs effect à la Cozy in Stargazer would have been more to your liking? I‘m sure Herr Powell could have come up with something suitable to ruin the song.
You don’t have to defend your preference for Paicey over Powell. The intros to Stargazer and Painkiller are considered iconic to the majority. This is why Scott Travis is basically given the mic to announce it live.
the only thing that resembles a 4 year old’s drum roll in King of Dreams is at 1’15" the rest are few fills on toms and floor toms.
King of Dreams is an example of a song that offers a lot of space to the drummer to embellish the song, and Ian Paice who in this album limits himself (or was limited) to doing his homework makes my blood boil
He not-played drums like that not even in the most dull songs of the Morse era.
I see your King of Dreams and raise you Fire, Ice and Dynamite… though even Paice has hinted that may not be him 
It certainly wasn’t Jon Lord on it either - and it sounds like it too! Terrible song befitting the product placement movie.
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I know, both drum intros are indeed iconic, but not exactly what I look for in a drummer as a musician.
Well, you say that, but… er… um…
Nope - I can’t argue against that point
As has been said many times, S&M is a great AoR album. I don’t want to exegetically criticize it because we’re discussing Bananas. However, aside from LittleIan being caged by commercial logic, Jolene delivered an exceptional performance. Ritchie’s inspired riffs connected PS, bypassing THOBL, and I consider Lord’s performance excellent. The Hammond was a bit sleepy, but the research into synth sounds is truly accurate and predominant throughout the album. In some ways, this is astonishing considering Jon’s background. It must have actually been very laborious for him.
Finally, I would add that S&M, with all the potential hits it contains, would have made the fortune of groups like Journey, Survivor or Bon Jovi.
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S&M was the best hard rock album of 1990.
It was eclipsed by changing tastes in rock, though. And by the fact that Deep Purple has done much better before and since.
I don‘t like Bananas - neither the fruit nor the Purple Album However there are least two nice tracks (Haunted and Walk On) and more generally speaking enough Purple spirit to save the album from the bottom of my list of Purple albums.
How could I forget about Fla76’s drum machine comment, shame on me. A drum machine Fla, a drum machine!!! Surely you are joking and thankfully you are doing just that. I agree Ian’s drumming is low par for him and the whole vibe of that album follows the low par overall performances into the grave. But a drum machine???/ I am still reeling. We Jethro Tull aficionados had to put up with that in 1984 on that dreadful album Under Wraps. Please show a little more compassion to some of us, he he he. Cheers.
Mac, mine was clearly an exaggeration to underline how caged LittleIan was in S&M, his performance there is crushed between the monumental ones of THOBL & TBRO
You know how Italians are, Signore MacGregor, allora, cut Lil’ Flavio some slack!
Cher looked hot in that movie.
Mac always has to be precise about everything, he doesn’t miss anything.
I take “little” as a sign of affection between older and younger “true fans”, and also Italian… 
Luckily I don’t have a wooden hand like Ronny, but I can understand him!
Cher was very beautiful even if at the time I already considered her old.
I was jesting as Fla understands and also a few others. Talking about the 80’s drum machines and electronic drums, I wonder if Ian Paice has ever played an electronic kit, I couldn’t see it myself. That technology has not aged well, so many artists went there, even if only once. I could handle it back in the day (sort of), but nowadays it grates deeply. Not to worry it doesn’t diminish good songs of course. Malmsteen’s debut album had Barriemore Barlow ex JethroTull on drums, electronic and I couldn’t believe that when I purchased that album, still can’t. Cheers.