A true asshole. (Before you start ranting about "chops" and "musicianship" ask yourself when you last played some Buddy Rich records for enjoyment.) Fuck you technique.
Are you kidding? Buddy Rich had some great albums... I still listen to them on occasion. I will admit many are uneven-- and some songs can be cheesy-- but albums like "Big Swing Face" and "Mercy Mercy" are still great.
I used to listen to Rich vs. Roach on speed in order to finish essays in college. I don't really have much use for it anymore because I don't have any speed.
I think you mean "Mercy Mercy Mercy". As good as Buddy Rich is, compared to the original his version is like someone finding the decaying corpse of true soul music and repeatedly raping it.
Cannonball Adderley was one of the best damn things to ever happen to this planet, and if Rich was half the musician people make him out to be, he would have not turned such a heartbreakingly uplifting tune into just one more drum solo in a career filled with drum solos.
I was sad to learn that Frank Zappa was a demanding asshole to his backing musicians, until I realized that if he wasn't, I'd probably never have heard anything he did after 1968.