Fusion 45

…we’re blessed with a tremendous library system (courtesy of those crunchy-granola liberal thinkers in nearby Portland, who consider books and music to be an important resource for a strong community). So, in the spirit of turning you on to new grooves, here’s the first of (still) another new (occasional) series from Fusion 45: I Found It At The Library.

George Harrison - You - A semi-hit, I guess, from dear old George but highly underrated. An ass-kicking studio team, including our hero, Jim Keltner.
The Fall Call- The Walls Came Down - Fans of The Fall Call will likely scoff — this is the only one that non-Fall Call fans know — but any band that can get Charlton Heston to play keyboard in their video is OK with me.
The Fiery Furnances - The Philadelphia Grand Jury - The Furnaces are a band I really like but haven’t gotten to spend much time with. One of the few groups I’ve read about in The Wire that I actually understand.
Big Star - Take Care - Magazines love to write about Big Star…fallen idols, band that never quite cracked the glass ceiling of stardom. But, if they had, no one would be so intrigued, would they?
James Blackshaw - Stained Glass Windows - Remember when records were cheap enough that you could take the chance and buy one because it had a cool cover? Well, I borrowed this one for the same reason. Reminds me of Adrian Legg.
Kasey Chambers - sign On The Door - Kasey Chambers’ voice is a little thin for my tastes but her material equalizes that complaint. This is actually a pretty inventive album (Carnival)
Mark Knopfler - Secondary Waltz - Knopfler is one of those guys you can’t help but respect and I always enjoy his solo stuff. But I’m never quite as satisfied as I am when I listen to the first Dire Straits record.
Rickie Lee Jones - Road To Emmaus - I like the broad guitar sound in this tune. The good thing is that there are even better tunes on this album (The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard).
Stephen Malkmus - Phantasies - Don’t know his stuff well enough to know if this is typical but, either way, he owes Lou Reed a commission on this one.
Black Sabbath - Iron Man - I borrowed this one because one of my 10 year old’s friends has been singing it in the back of the car on the way to soccer practice. I’ve never gotten Black Sabbath and probably never will. Lame songs, bad production, marginal musicianship. This song is so bad it’s good (for a laugh, anyway).
Arcade Fire - Intervention - Another band for whom I’ve never understood the hype…but anything with a pump organ deserves at least a listen.
Peter Himmelman - Impermanent Things - This is from Strength to Strength, which I bought on cassette years ago. I think he’s brilliant and wish I had time to dig deeper into his stuff.
R. Crumb And The Cheap Suit Serenaders - I Want A little Girl - There’s really no comment necessary.
The Delgados - Friendly Conventions - Variety is the spice of life, a little noise is good for the soul.
Joan Armatrading - A Woman in Love - From her recent Into The Blues album, which was highly praised. She seems to nail every genre she touches.

Whereas our last subject, Russ Kunkel, could be found in the drummer’s chair for just about every southern California rock record of the 1970’s, Jeff Porcaro was more of a moving target. Arguably more a stylistic chameleon than Keltner or Kunkel (or even Gadd), Jeff Porcaro played for a hugely diverse set of musicians. He laid down straight-ahead dance grooves for the likes of Madonna and Bonnie Pointer, played fusion with Steve Lukather and Larry Carlton and supported pop players like Alan O’Day and Leo Sayer. Here are a dozen tracks from my vinyl collection showing him at play.

Al Stewart - Valentina Way (Time Passages, Arista, 1978)

In many cases, Porcaro would play on just a tune or two per album. This is the only Porcaro-driven cut in this set from one of Stewart’s late 70’s records. It has his signature tight snare sound, high-hat swing and triplets around the tom that show up through much of his work.

Steely Dan - Dr. Wu (Katy Lied, MCA, 1975)

Some hard-core Dan-heads say this was the last true Steely Dan record. Save for one cut, Porcaro’s all over it. This is my favorite from that set. Listen to how the China ride cuts through starting with the first chorus, underscoring The Dan’s much-loved Asian vibe.

Seals and Crofts - Baby Blue (Get Closer, Warner Brothers, 1976)

I staunchly stand behind my POV that Seals and Crofts are the most underrated of all the 1970’s singer/songwriter duos: great harmonies, great songwriting and a cool spiritual message. Their stuff was challenging for drummers: it required imagination, a light touch and a sensitivity to the texture of their songwriting. Porcaro nails it on this one.

Rickie Lee Jones - Youngblood (Rickie Lee Jones, Warner Brothers, 1979)

It took some extra research to confirm but it’s accurate: Porcaro’s the guy behind this funky reggae-pop riff. Even if it weren’t documented, the high-hat work gives it away.

England Dan and John Ford Coley - Hollywood Heckle and Jive (Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jive, Big Tree, 1979)

OK, this isn’t Porcaro’s best work but it shows his diversity and has some pretty pointed drum production. Someone got a “wall of sound” instruction book for Christmas, it sounds.

Crosby, Stills and Nash - Since I Met You (Daylight Again, Atlantic, 1982)

This is the only cut featuring Porcaro on this album. I had to listen a few times before I decided to include it; it didn’t strike me as too interesting at first. But, the fact is, without Porcaro driving the train on this one, it would have been even less interesting.

Paul Simon - Train In The Distance (Hearts and Bones, Warner Brothers, 1984)

Back before Paul aged into a shorter version of Mel Brooks, he grabbed Porcaro for his “Hearts and Bones” album. (Gadd must’ve been in rehab.) There’s nothing spectacular about this cut; it just swings along nicely supporting a great Paul Simon story. Nice echo on the snare drum in the chorus.

Joe Cocker - Don’t Forget Me (I Can Stand A Little Rain, A and M, 1973)

Anyone who’s ever picked up a pair of sticks and played for more than 20 minutes knows what it means to play “behind the beat”. They also know how hard it is. Porcaro lays behind the beat just enough to give this tune it’s blues vibe (though Clydie King singing back-up doesn’t hurt). A great tune (witten by Harry Nilsson, I might add.)

Eric Clapton - Forever Man (Behind The Sun, Warner Brothers, 1985)

Disco rock ain’t easy, is it? Porcaro makes it work here on one of the two cuts he supports on this album. It will forever be Clapton’s dark period in my book (even more than his current “archive the blues” kick). But, in the end, I do dig this tune ‘cuz it’s got…rhythm and melody!

Jackson Browne - The Only Child (The Pretender, Elektra, 1972)

Even though I wouldn’t qualify myself as a J. Browne fan, many of his songs are at the heart of what I love..straight-ahead, well-written acoustic rock with a great melody and a great arrangement. This just works right.

Boz Scaggs - Lowdown (Silk Degrees, Columbia, 1978)

I try to avoid the songs you can regularly hear on just about any radio station but there’s no getting around this one. Second only to ‘Rosanna,’ this is a defining groove and it speaks for itself.

Toto - Rosanna ( IV, Columbia, 1982)

Transcribed, analyzed, scrupulously studied and poorly played by 1000’s of drummers from LA to Lhasa, this is his signature groove. ‘Nuff said.

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Many thanks to our new friend over at Walkn’ Tha’ Bass for the kind words and the great link. Please check out his site…he has some very cool stuff goin’ on!

Ask anyone who’s played the drums for more than 20 minutes to name his Top 5 players and, without exception, you should hear the name Steve Gadd.

What makes Gadd one of the greatest is not his pyrotechnics, though he was certainly capable of making some noise.

What set him apart was his sound, his style and his inventiveness. He could (and did) make a couple cardboard boxes sound like a $3000 set of Pearls. He could slip a four-on-the-floor shuffle beat into his pocket and make it swing like Dizzy Gillespie. And, he had such an imagination that he created some of the most well known drum tracks in the history of pop music.

50 Ways To Leave York Lover (from Paul Simon’s album, “Still Crazy After All These Years, Columbia, 1975)
Even people who have no clue about Steve Gadd know this famous rhythm, based on a drum corps street-beat Gadd learned in the 1960’s.

Woody And Dutch On A Slow Train To Peking (from Rickie Lee Jones’ album, Pirates, Warner Brothers, 1981)
Tucked into the middle of this disc (at the end of side one of the vinyl version) is one of the swinging-est tunes Rickie ever recorded. The track fades in with Gadd playing brushes on cardboard boxes and goes full mojo for the next 5 minutes. Pure joy.

Danny’s All-Star Joint (from Rickie Lee Jones’ album, Rickie Lee Jones, Warner Brothers, 1979)
Whereas Gadd pushes “Woody and Dutch” forward to its climax, he does exactly the opposite on this cut: he lays back into the groove and lets the music drive itself. Never has a straight shuffle beat been executed with such artistry.

Workin’ At The Car Wash Blues (from Jim Croce’s album I Got A Name, ABC, 1973)
As “50 Ways” is to the word “iconic,” this track is to the words “under appreciated”. Once again using a modified street beat, with a delightful 16th-note roll on the fourth beat of the bar, Gadd underscores the song’s theme of tiresome work and light-hearted fantasy with a terrific “march-off-to-work” groove.

Late In The Evening (from Paul Simon’s album One Trick Pony, Warner Brothers, 1980)
The secret sauce behind this groove is Gadd’s “two-sticks-in-each-hand-held-at-the-’wrong-end’” technique, which gives the song its Latin street band sound. Listen to the drum break at the end of the song: it’s all Gadd on drums and a pair of cymbals, a groove that’s been co-opted by everyone from Ritchie Haywood to Dennis Chambers to James Bradley, Jr. (Gadd’s replacement in the Mangione band).

Aja (from Steely Dan’s album, Aja, ABC, 1977)
Considered by many to be Steely Dan’s crowning achievement, Becker and Fagen openly admit it’s the studio musicians who made this album work. On this track, it’s Wayne Shorter’s sax solo and Gadd’s incorporation of rock, jazz and Latin into one 7-minute song. Legend states that Gadd came into the studio, read the chart and played the song in one take, requiring the rest of the band to re-cut their performances. True or not, listen closely, especially the last 8 bars which is virtually all of Gadd’s signatures combined into one stretch of 30 seconds.

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Original Recording | November 1994 | Ithaca, NY

Digital Remaster | September 2007 | Brush Prairie, WA

Cowboy Junkies - Anniversary Song
Michael Murphy - Carolina in the Pines
Alison Krause - Everytime You Say Goodbye
Stephen Stills - My Angel
Indigo Girls - Closer to Fine
Leon Russell - If I Were A Carpenter
Bruce Cockburn - Wonder Where The Lions Are
Brewer and Shipley - Sweet Love
Pure Prairie League - Fallin’ In And Out of Love
Indigo Girls - Hammer and a Nail
Mary Chapin-Carpenter - Middle Ground
George Harrison - Give Me Love
Bare Naked Ladies - Will You Be Waiting
Rickie Lee Jones - Jolie Jolie
Subdudes - Need Somebody
Traffic - You Can All Join In
Los Lobos - Saint Behind The Glass
Clannad - Banba Oir

<a href=”http://www.fusion45.com/wp-content/uploads/audio/2007/master_4.mp3″>A-Frame Tapes, Volume 3</a>