Hudson Music released its second product with top drummer Todd Sucherman (Styx, Brian Wilson, Jerry Goodman, Spinal Tap, Eric Marienthal). The Methods and Mechanics Companion Book is based on Todd's first award-winning DVD release of the same name.
Co-authored and transcribed by drummer/educator/journalist Brad Schlueter, the book ($19.99) contains note-for-note transcriptions of Todd’s amazing performances on 8 songs and 5 drum solos. The songs represent Todd's playing with Styx, Jerry Goodman, and Taylor Mills. All 8 songs, as well as 4 play-along tracks, are contained on the included CD. Covering every note of each song and solo, the amazingly detailed transcriptions are accompanied by analysis and practice suggestions from both Todd and Brad. Also included are bonus lessons on Todd’s approach to double bass drumming and applying rudiments and hybrids to the drum set. This package presents an unprecedented educational analysis of the approach that has made Todd one of the most in-demand and popular rock drummers on the scene today.
“Todd's playing represents both great chops and incredible feel, and all intermediate- to advanced-level drummers will benefit from checking out this material,” said Hudson Music Senior Drum Editor Joe Bergamini. “Hudson is thrilled to have this book as a follow-up to Todd's new DVD, which we released earlier this year.”
“I've had so many requests for a companion book to the Methods and Mechanics DVD, and I'm excited to team up with Hudson Music to finally present it,” said Todd. “Brad Schlueter was my co-author—we've known each other since the early ‘90s and he knows my playing so well. His skill and attention to detail in his transcriptions are truly astonishing. I hope drummers find the materials challenging and ultimately rewarding.”
REVIEW 
Todd Sucherman's Methods and Mechanics Companion Book/CD is a 128-page book with supplemental CD designed to work in tandem with his instructional DVD by the same title. While this Book/CD can certainly stand on its own, the DVD certainly makes for a complete study package of the materials covered by Sucherman.
The note-for-note drum transcriptions on all of the eight songs and five drum solos are thorough and well-done, however the missing double bars, commonly used to mark new sections of music (eg. between Verse and Chorus), makes the already challenging read of a sea of notes even more difficult.
The play-along "drumless" tracks on the CD are only for the four Taylor Mills songs. It's disappointing to not have all eight songs available for play-along; I assume licensing and/or technical issues kept that from coming to fruition — a common hurdle that can often times be difficult to overcome. All four of the drumless play-along tracks have a click-track throughout the song.
The final seventeen pages in the book cover lessons on double bass drums, drum rudiments, and hybrid drum rudiments, all applied to the drumset. No audio examples are provided on the CD for these exercises.
Anyone interested in learning the drumming style of Todd Sucherman and how he approaches his drum parts within a song will enjoy Methods and Mechanics Companion Book/CD. Used as a companion to Methods and Mechanics DVD or as is — a stand-alone book/cd package — Methods and Mechanics Companion Book/CD is sure to be a favorite among intermediate to advanced drummers.
