The legendary Steve Gadd

IMO, Steve Gadd is an excellent drummer and also very accomplished. But (IMO) if you take away that one lightning fast lick he does all the time, there isn't anything very impressive left. It seems like most of his stuff is based on it. He throws it in everywhere and it gets a little old.

Great drummer, great chops, I just can't find anything to get impressed about.
 
The drum solo on Chick Corea's Three Quartets album amazes me everytime. I think Modern Drummer had it transcriped once.
 
IMO, Gadd would rank among the best drummers to ever have breathed even if he had never played a solo... or a fill for that matter.

Gadd is all about the GROOVE!
 
jpekarek said:
IMO, Steve Gadd is an excellent drummer and also very accomplished. But (IMO) if you take away that one lightning fast lick he does all the time, there isn't anything very impressive left. It seems like most of his stuff is based on it. He throws it in everywhere and it gets a little old.

Great drummer, great chops, I just can't find anything to get impressed about.

a quote from Buddy Rich
"Steve Gadd was and probably still is, the best at that particular kind of drumming. I think that's because he has a jazz background, so he's able to incorporate it when he plays. He was very interesting in the beginning. Out of all the drummers I've heard, Gadd would have to be the one who has the most class behind the drums."

well i guess he had Buddy fooled, if he could only have seen past "that one lightning fast lick".... Oh and btw Gadd has done thousands of recordings and most of his stuff is not based on this lick, maybe 1% of it. Thats not what Steve Gadd's drumming is about.
 
tomgadd said:
something brand new from gadd....
http://www.sunlightsquare.co.uk/

you can listen to 4 tracks from the brand new cd and you can watch some quicktime videos
from the recording session...

line up is:

BASS - Will Lee -
DRUMS - Steve Gadd -
VOCALS: JOY MALCOLM (Moby, Incognito)
SHARLENE HECTOR (Basement Jaxx), Z-STAR (Slow Train)

cheers


THANK YOU for this notice. I promptly ordered a copy and it just came today. So far I really like it, always a treat to hear Gadd playing in a cutting-edge musical environment. The compositions start off really grooving and invigorating, but it seems as you get deeper into the album, the tracks languish a bit. But oh well, the first 4 tracks more than make up for it. Not to mention that anything - ANYTHING - Gadd plays on I will gleefully listen to.

And for those who think he has only a couple things he does over and over, you are not listening close enough. Maybe it's the same rhythm orchestrated around the kit the same way, but if you're hearing the same thing as before, you're not grasping that, for whatever reasons, it simply fits the mood being created right then and there (making technical issues pointless to think about - just feel what the song/Gadd is saying). Not to sound condescending, but you must dive deeper into his sonic spectrum and think about his playing on many levels, and especially listen to the SPACE in between his notes just as much as the actual notes. Context, musicality, groove, efficiency, touch -- he pretty much has full ownership of these concepts, and you'll be much better to keep listening until you understand how he rules these.
 
i admire how his solos don't go on and on and on. most studio drummers can go on for hours playing rythms not only confusing to play, but also to listen to. gadd gives us a minute or two of perfection, before the rest of the band joins in again.
 
jpekarek said:
IMO, Steve Gadd is an excellent drummer and also very accomplished. But (IMO) if you take away that one lightning fast lick he does all the time, there isn't anything very impressive left. It seems like most of his stuff is based on it. He throws it in everywhere and it gets a little old.

Great drummer, great chops, I just can't find anything to get impressed about.


Wow, is this a joke post? Yes, you can have your opinion, but I think you probably haven't watched/studied/listened to or followed Gadd at all. There is so much more to his playing than the 32nd note Linear Riffs and the and the "50 ways" grove.

Watch him play with James Taylor. I assure you he doesn't play the linear riff at all, because IT DOESN'T FIT THE MUSIC.

Gadd is a master at playing for the music.

Just watch Clapton's Crossroads DVD and fast forward to the James Taylor/Joe Walsh bit with Gadd on drums.

The problem with Gadd is that he isn't always flash and chops all the time, so some more over-the-top type of drummers don't get him.

The man is a musical genius who defies classification.
 
darkcherryfade said:
I don't care that he can play an amazing single ratamacue. Anyone can master rudiments. I care that he can use it musically,

But did you SEE how he applied it to the kit! (besides, it isn't that amazing of a ratamacue anyway)

Ahh, this is what most people don't get. Yes he plays a fast ratamaque, but who else would have figured out how to put that to a song on a drumset??? Have you HEARD how he plays this in songs? It goes beyond comprehension sometimes. Like I said before, he shows you the riff, but none of us can pull it off like him.
 
but i dont consider him a legend or anything
he's a great drummerbut I don't find him to be so amazing.
I can't seem to find something SO speacial about this guy. overrated
I just don't hear any progress in Gadd's playing. One thing I noticed is that he does the same things, all the time! I've seen lots of video footage and heard lots of recordings he's on and it's always the same beats and that same lick between the snare and toms.
anyone else ever thought that the 50 Ways beat just doesn't really fit the song??


Ok now I'm really flustered. I guess some people just don't get it. Why is it that people can make really absurd claims (see above) that are made mostly out of ignorance then footnote it with IMO, or IMHO. Worse, when those of us who GET Gadd respond, we are somehow knee-jerk, and reactionary? Of COURSE I'm reactionary. When you know something you know something. When someone says something as fact, and they just don't know, then naturally those of us 'in-the-know' are going to speak out.

Call it old-age, maturity, smugness, whatever...


Most intelligent thing said in this entire thread (thinshells):
They want Steve Gadd to sound like Joey, or Travis. The bashings usually come from younger folks that aren't impressed by anything except faster, louder. Subtlety and musicianship along with groove are ideas that are undiscovered.

(sorry for the triple post, but man I feel passionate about this one)
 
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Stu, I understand your pain.....

It's not easy to explain the beauty of a lovely girl to a motorcycle.

For me with Steve Gadd, there are some steps:

Step 1

What a great lick - what the hell he's doing

Step 2

Analysing slow motion and tabs: oh, looks very easy - much easier as it sounds....

Step 3

Trying to play it - just got it - must be this

Step 4

Shit, doesn't sound

Step 5

I give up - what a genius


Bernhard
 
Stu_Strib said:
Ok now I'm really flustered. I guess some people just don't get it. Why is it that people can make really absurd claims (see above) that are made mostly out of ignorance then footnote it with IMO, or IMHO. Worse, when those of us who GET Gadd respond, we are somehow knee-jerk, and reactionary?

Holly COW! Talk about forcing you opinions on other people! You said I am allowed to have my own opinion and then you spent the next 45 minutes taking it away from me. I REALLY do not appreciate being called “ignorant” by you simply because I have a different opinion than you! That is a very closed minded insult. You posted quotes from 5 different people (none of which were even from me BTW I never once bashed Steve Gadd, I said he is an excellent drummer), and then proceeded to imply that everyone is stupid for not feeling the same way as you. Just because I think differently than you doesn’t mean that my thoughts are to be thrown aside (I’m 40 by the way). Yes you feel very passionate about Steve Gadd and that’s great, but you don’t have to force everyone else to as well. Settle down and realize that everyone on this board is an individual person entitled to his own thoughts and opinions.

I happen to feel very passionate about Mopars, but I am not going to call everyone that drives a Ford or Chevy an idiot and spend my life trying to tell them that their wrong.
 
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"You can have your opinion" was a preemptive strike. Usually when people say things that make no sense, their rebuttal is, "well, that's my opinion". I am just saying that your opinion is probably based more in what you DON'T know than what you do. How else could you justify those comments about Steve Gadd?

Now if you said, "I don't like Steve Gadd's style or sound" or something, that's different. However, you chose to say, "that one fast lick", which is a completely rediculous statement. This is STEVE FREAKIN' GADD we are talking about. If the name alone doesn't inspire awe, then I guess you just don't get it.

Nothing personal. I'm not attacking you at all. I didn't take 45 minutes to make everyone feel the way I feel. I am not FORCING my opinions on anyone. STEVE FREAKIN' GADD is completely off limits for criticism, heh. I took a few minutes to tell everyone how misguided and ininformed these quotes were (yours included.)

Ok, so he doesn't excite you, but you can't say he only has one fast lick. That is simply wrong, and yes, sorry to say, ignorant. Again, nothing personal, but what other word fits?

If you say the sky is red, I'm going to tell you it is blue, that's all I'm saying.
 
this is getting a little heated. i can see why some people think gadd only has a few patterns, but i think that may be down to those being such great patterns, and therefore the ones you always see and hear on websites. listening to songs on the gadd page rather than watching the videos opened my eyes (*ears*) as to how varied he is, and the two new videos enforce this. this shouldn't be an argument. we are supposed to understand each other and learn. thats what the forum is for i think.
 
Um, Stu....Please do not quote my question "Anyone else ever thought that the the 50 Ways beat just doesn't really fit the song" as a demonstation of a general 'misguidedness' and ignorance. I am an enormous fan of Gadd; I love his playing for all the reasons you have stated; I love countless grooves he's laid down, but I happen not to think that particular one fits that song - great pattern though it is!

However, I do agree with whoever expressed frustration at Gadd's endless repetition of his licks. There are obviously a hell of a lot of people who are happy to go to a Steve Gadd clinic, and watch him play his licks over and over again. Personally, I think it would be interesting to see the guy stretching his enormous talent, and continuing to innovate like he once did, rather than giving the crowds the quasi-drumming-pornography that Gadd playing his licks now is.
 
he must get asked about them a lot tho.

i think some folks, not you, but others form quick opinions about guys like Gadd from a few videos and an album or two. the guy has milesof studio tape with allsorts of stuff going on. there are reasons why he is a legend its just that some people only see the most popular stuff and think that's all there is .

stu is getting passionate perhaps for that reason. it is fustrating sometimes knowing something and then seeing people who have had less or limited access to the same info give an opinion. stu is sort of trying to help them think twice about their ideas. its just that some people don't like to be told stuff but rather discover it for themselves - if the can be bothered.
 
Womble said:
Um, Stu....Please do not quote my question "Anyone else ever thought that the the 50 Ways beat just doesn't really fit the song" as a demonstation of a general 'misguidedness' and ignorance. I am an enormous fan of Gadd; I love his playing for all the reasons you have stated; I love countless grooves he's laid down, but I happen not to think that particular one fits that song - great pattern though it is!

However, I do agree with whoever expressed frustration at Gadd's endless repetition of his licks. There are obviously a hell of a lot of people who are happy to go to a Steve Gadd clinic, and watch him play his licks over and over again. Personally, I think it would be interesting to see the guy stretching his enormous talent, and continuing to innovate like he once did, rather than giving the crowds the quasi-drumming-pornography that Gadd playing his licks now is.
but gadd does not just "play his licks." does he have licks? yes. does he play them? yes he does. but that is perhaps the least important part of what he has done as an innovator on the drum set.

gadd redefined playing our intsrument. he grew to fame during the 70s when having perfect time was not a primary concern, and he had perfect time. he was precise and clean in his playing when precision was not important. and he maintained that precision and perfection of time while also playing openly (both in style and more importantly in technique) which had never really been heard mastered, especially in the musical context where he did most of his work. his concept of musicality was both incredibly simple and highly complex, giving him the ability to play next to nothing and yet do it in a way no one else would ever think of, but always first and foremost in the service of the song.

it's all about his feel. no one has a feel like he does. no one can play so perfectly and so innovatvely and yet still be so relaxed. it's like he's breathing into it, as though he played saxophone instead of drums.

there's a reason he's done more session work than nearly anybody else. and as much as i love it, it's not because of that cool paradiddle lick with the hi-hat.
 
OceanDirt said:
but gadd does not just "play his licks." does he have licks? yes. does he play them? yes he does. but that is perhaps the least important part of what he has done as an innovator on the drum set.

Yes. You don't say anything I disagree with. In fact, it's precisely because I agree that Gadd's licks are not the most important part of his playing that I get frustated when I see clinic clips, and all he seems to do is roll out his licks, again....and again....and again. Now as Nutha suggests, and I hinted at, maybe that's because the audience is always full of people who want to hear those licks. Maybe it's because Steve has assumed that's what people want to hear. Who knows....I just think it would be fascinating to see him come out of his comfort zone, don't you?
 
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