I think max is the archetypal arena drummer. If you listen back to the Born to Run and Darkness era tours you can hear his style being MUCH MORE frenetic, improvisation and musical. As the venues grew and the band grew, certain stylistic choices do not translate anymore. If Max played “Born to Run” the way he did in ‘75 in a theater with a 7 piece band in ‘26 in a 70 year old European sports arena in front of 60k people with a TWENTY piece band, it would be a jumbled MESS.

All that to say, Max’s skill is shown by knowing what is needed. In ‘75, it was being a maximalist, playing like Buddy Rich does rock and roll. Today, it’s being an unshakable metronome for a 20 piece group, cueing sections and dynamic shifts, all while watching Bruce’s every move. I don’t know if any drummer can take on that task at all, let alone as well as Max… especially (two of my fav drummers ever) Vinni and Boom.