Jeremy Bender
Platinum Member
Really nice tribute here...
So much Jeff I had never heard, this is awesome!
A master at work... ?Holy smokes
You might need somebody! Forgot that existed. Sublime!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.
Holy smokes
I def get that. Most of what I was familiar with Jeff playing on growing up I felt that way about.His playing is so confident...but that arrangement has that cold, overly-polished early-90s/late-80s feel that I just can’t relate to.
I def get that. Most of what I was familiar with Jeff playing on growing up I felt that way about.
Be sure to check out the new biography on Jeff Porcaro's life and career. "It's about Time " by Robyn Flans is really well written, informative, and a book that is hard to put down once you start reading it
His single handed 16ths on the hats are a work of art....such finesse and groove.
Fun fact. He was booked to do a big shuffle groove on a Steely Dan tune...cant remember which one. He was struggling in rehearsal so went outside, walked around the block came back and cut it in one take....amazing cause fast shuffles are a thing I fear the most too.