The object of ridicule for many years among the percussion-minded community and often something they give the singer (or some attractive female) to play so they feel like they are part of the band (as opposed to the token focal point and/or simply the one of the gang who can’t play a proper instrument), the tambourine has long been neglected as a true icon of sound. Well, I come to correct the many years of music snobs looking down their noses at it. I am here to elevate it to its proper place by sharing three of my favorite tambourine-driven tracks, though there are many more to choose from (feel free to use the comment section to share some of your own�you know you have one!) They might not be explicitly written for the tambourine, but the fabled circle of wood with the finger cymbals sewn in are integral pieces of each one nonetheless. Respect is due, as they say…

A Certain Ratio� Do the Du

Classic early Factory single wherein these funky white boys from Manchester really get their punk-funk groove on in earnest. The track is almost entirely rhythm, with the slashing guitar figure to the propulsive snare sound and the thundering bass all locked in place and swinging like a mother. But it’s that relentlessly shimmering tambourine that really keeps it all in constant motion. In a perfect world, this track would have been twice as long and contained a really sinister sounding analogue synth solo at the end, but it is damn near perfect as it is. Fun activity: play this really loud, close your eyes, and see which part of your body starts to involuntarily move first. For me, it is usually my head, nodding in time to that tambourine.

[visit A Certain Ratio�s website here, buy A Certain Ratio music here, read Todd Hutlock�s Stylus review of Sextet here]

Billy Bragg� Levi Stubbs� Tears, [Talking With The Taxman About Poetry]

For those of you unfamiliar with Billy Bragg’s early career, the first minute or so of this track (from his third album, Talking With The Taxman About Poetry) is pretty much what it sounded like�Billy, his accent and his amplified guitar. So when the tambourine break in the middle of this track breaks the mold, the effect was truly staggering to those used to hearing the same musical palate from song to song for a few years at that point. It was as if Billy’s charming little black and white world suddenly exploded into Technicolor. Followed by a stunning trumpet solo and even some bongos, “Levi Stubbs’ Tears” brought Bragg that much closer to embracing technology.

For those of you unfamiliar with Levi Stubbs, he was the lead singer of the Four Tops, whose music the tragic housewife in the story turns to for comfort and solace. Extra synchronicity points to Bragg for dropping the very Motown-sounding tambourine break behind the lines about Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, and Holland/Dozier/Holland as well. Still gives me chills all these years later.

[visit Billy Bragg�s website here, buy Talking With The Taxman About Poetry here, read Colin Beckett�s Stylus review of Bragg�s England, Half English here]

Gary Numan� Cars, [The Pleasure Principle]

Come on, there’s even a giant superimposed tambourine in the video! I love the fact that this track (which was all super-futuristic and Brave New World at the time, mind you) still manages to get a good old fashioned tambourine break in there. It’s timeless!

[visit Gary Numan�s website here, buy The Pleasure Principle here]