Jeff Porcaro

I really been into listening to the great jeff porcaro playing with Toto and have been really inspired by his amazing playing...

I was wondering if anyone could tell of other albums, bands, etc of which jeff has played with so i can further check him out and study his playing and hear the legend in action...

thx

Oli
 
The list is endless: Check out early Boz Scaggs ("Silk Degrees" I think - sometimes referred to as Toto's first album!). JP also played with Steely Dan on some great stuff. In particular, listen to the title track from "Gaucho." JP also played with Michael Mcdonald on some of his early solo albums. The groove on "I Keep Forgettin'" is about as in the pocket as you can get. I am sure you can fins a discography out there on the web somewhere. I am at work or I would do it for you!

Good luck hunting for the playing of quite simply one of the best ever!

Paul
 
His half time shuffle is like the funnest beat i could ever play. he ownz.
 
Dirty Laundry by Don Henley has some tasty Porcaro playing too.
 
Dirty Laundry???!!!! Wow, I thought I was the biggest Pocaro fan ever, and I didn't know that (maybe because its the most commercially succesful tune of his I can think of).

The thing about Porcaro is you know IMMEDIATELY its him playing, or somebody who really idolizes his style. I didn't think of "I keep forgettin'", but now that I hear it in my head, yeah, definately Porcaro!

He plays on all the Toto albums up to the greatest hits cd (and his untimely death).

Many Bozz Skaggs cuts (Lito, being a great forgotten tune, and that definitive Porcaro shuffle sound).

He is on James Newton Howard and Friends (ca. 1985) considered one of the best sound engineering accomplishments of the time. The 'and Friends' part just refers to the guys from Toto, minus singing. If you watch movies you'll know James Newton Howard, he's one of the busiest Hollywood soundtrack guys ever.

Man, he's awesome. I got to play on his kit an 17 year old wannabee fledgling drummer in 1987 in a clinic in Seattle, WA.

I found this site too...tons of stuff, presumably everything he ever recorded:

Jeff Porcaro Discography


oops: EDIT...I guess Michael Jackson's Thriller would be the biggest commercial success...man so much good stuff his discography Bonnie Raitt Luck of the Draw..just awesome!
 
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He played on Jackson Browne's Pretender. I also believe Pocaro and his drum tech are credited with developing the modern drum rack for Pearl.
 
jeff porcaro records

what are some of your favorites of jeff porcaro's (r.i.p) works? i enjoy few of the Toto albums but i wanna hear some more stuff.
 
Whoa I don't know how I've only just seen this thread! Ok, some albums Jeff lovers should definitely own:

1) Randy Crawford, Secret Combination: a pretty cheesy album in places but has Jeff and Abe Laboriel throughout - 'You might need somebody' has an incredibly 'phat' shuffle groove.

2) Larry Carlton, Friends: again, Abe and Jeff. Bass and drums don't come much tighter. A very listenable 80's guitar album.

3) Dire Straits, On Every Street: 'Calling Elvis' features absolutely perfect rock drumming. You must hear this track!! The big single off the album was 'Heavy fuel'; crap song, great drumming, with a massive Jeff snare fill at the end.

4) TOTO, The Seventh One: features what I think is Jeff's best ever shuffle on the track 'These chains'. And a great Lukather solo at the end, but then every solo that guy plays is amazing.

5) TOTO, Kingdom of Desire: bad album, but the track 'How many times' has one of the greatest Jeff fills ever. You can hear it on Keith Kronin's 'Drum licks from hell' site - http://www.keithcronin.com/fromhell.html

6) It's already been mentioned but the Michael McDonald track 'I keep forgettin' is probably Jeff's finest moment.

And let's not forget Michael Jackson's 'Heal the world'...lmao :)

If you really want to see Jeff at his best though you've got to get the TOTO Live DVD, filmed in Paris in '92. Every time I watch it I'm flawed by his time; he never ever drags or speeds up, except for the odd deliberate moment in a fill. I've never heard a drummer who had such control over the tempo...possibly Jim Keltner, but he did it in a different way. I've always been a massive Jeff fan but my respect for him was brought to new levels when it was pointed out to me, or at least opined, when I was at LAMA that Jeff was the only drummer who never once dragged or sped up. Not even JR could claim that.
 
4) Word on both comments. That's a wonderful tune. As for Lukather, he's a mofo live. I've seen Toto a half dozen times now and I never leave disappointed.

5) Gypsy Train is a nice tune as well. It shows Porcaro's ability to play it heavy when need be.

Toto is one of those bands that is under-appreciated because the tunes that everyone hears on the radio (or in the elevator) are the commercial sell-out tunes that a band needs to write to get album sales (i.e. radio play). I get tired of the "Toto? You mean Africa? What a gay band." comments. Then you pull out a tune like "Dave's Gone Skiing" or "Jake to the Bone" and you get to hear the harder side of Toto.

Lukather to guitarists is Porcaro to drummers. Never overstated, always just the right playing for the song but when they let loose, look the F out.

Womble said:
4) TOTO, The Seventh One: features what I think is Jeff's best ever shuffle on the track 'These chains'. And a great Lukather solo at the end, but then every solo that guy plays is amazing.

5) TOTO, Kingdom of Desire: bad album, but the track 'How many times' has one of the greatest Jeff fills ever. You can hear it on Keith Kronin's 'Drum licks from hell' site -
 
Right on! I'm always surprised and disappointed when I come across 'Who's your favourite guitarist?' type threads/surveys, because Lukather is never mentioned. The guy's a monster. I'm pretty sure he was also on 'I keep forgettin'', right? Ridiculous rhythm playing.

Mlehnertz, have you seen the Los Lobotomys DVD with Simon Phillips and David Garfield? It's most amusing, Philips obviously plays his arse off, Garfield seems to be completely whacked out on coke, but Luke holds it all down...his ability to play with taste, balls, and yet also restraint is very impressive. And on the TOTO live DVD I mentioned, Lukather does Little Wing as a tribute to Hendrix and Vaughn....for me it's the best guitar solo ever.
 
It's all because of Toto and the nasty reputation Toto has among mainstream music listeners.

What I love best about Lukather is that he's probably on a recording that everyone on here owns and doesn't realize it. His discography is absolutely huge. I think I'll put on "The Tubes" and listen to the tunes that Lukather wrote that got them on the map.

Hahaha, funny. The Lido Shuffle just came on. Oooooo, freaky!

(I have to get the recordings you recommend. I want the Larry Carlton thing he did too.)

Womble said:
Right on! I'm always surprised and disappointed when I come across 'Who's your favourite guitarist?' type threads/surveys, because Lukather is never mentioned. The guy's a monster. I'm pretty sure he was also on 'I keep forgettin'', right? Ridiculous rhythm playing.

Mlehnertz, have you seen the Los Lobotomys DVD with Simon Phillips and David Garfield? It's most amusing, Philips obviously plays his arse off, Garfield seems to be completely whacked out on coke, but Luke holds it all down...his ability to play with taste, balls, and yet also restraint is very impressive. And on the TOTO live DVD I mentioned, Lukather does Little Wing as a tribute to Hendrix and Vaughn....for me it's the best guitar solo ever.
 
Womble said:
3) Dire Straits, On Every Street: 'Calling Elvis' features absolutely perfect rock drumming. You must hear this track!!


Wow, one of my favorite drumming tracks ever and one of my favorite drummers, and I never even knew it was Jeff on that track!!!!!!!!!!

That's the thing about great session drummers...they always astound you when you find out another song they've been on! This happens all the time to me with Steve Gadd and Jeff Porcaro.
 
Tut-tut Stu, do you not digest every word of my posts at the time I write them?

Calling Elvis is one of Jeff's all-time greatest performances. The first backbeat is one of the fattest things I've ever heard - just slightly delayed. It's moments like that that keep Jeff at the top of my list. I've never heard anyone else play with time to such effect, not even the other greatest groove players.
 
I had no idea that was him on the Dire Straits tunes. I've always dug the drumwork and though I'm pretty amazed to learn this I'm not suprised its him because he's good like that.
 
Yes, and just in case you didn't see, it was him on Heavy Fuel as well.
 
Womble said:
Tut-tut Stu, do you not digest every word of my posts at the time I write them?

I was busy moving from Texas to England at the time ;-)
 
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