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Porcaro Lessons
Manipulating Beat Placement:
Part I
Perhaps the most important aspect of Jeff Porcaro's drumming was his patience. Jeff let songs and grooves evolve, knowing that a groove doesn't just happen; it is created through repetition and sincerity. Jeff was confident enough to be repetitious, and he never played an insincere note.
I could go on at length about the idea of playing sincerely. Like so many of Jeff’s abilities, they seem to stem inwardly. What he had isn’t what most music school spend much time teaching or what drummers sit around discussing.
To this day, I still struggle with incorporating the idea of ‘less is more’ into my playing. Jeff’s drumming philosophy seemed to be based on this.
So how did Jeff manipulate the beat placement?
Let’s look at a few TOTO cuts to see him at work:
On Toto's self-titled album (1978), which features the hits "Child's Anthem" and "Hold The Line", Jeff's hi-hat approach was evolving.
On "Georgy Porgy" and "I'll Supply The Love", his hi-hat is static, but he applies his trademark "silky" hi-hat on "You Are The Flower" and "Takin' It Back". Compare the in-the-pocket "Rockmaker" to the similar but edgier "I'll SupplyThe Love". Even this early (24 years old) it was apparent that Jeff was becoming a master at manipulating beat placement.
TOTO's Hydra finds Jeff's hi-hat work getting even smoother. Check out the title tune “Hydra” and "99" for Jeff's subtle hi-hat, and the often overlooked "Mama" for yet another variation of the great"Porcaro shuffle".
TOTO’s Turn Back has many highlights. "English Eyes" features some of Jeff's most aggressive drumming, but he doesn't let that affect the tune's laid-back time feel. It also contains one of the first examples of a Porcaro trademark. In the middle of this song, there is a break that he fills in a signature way: The tune has an 8th-note rock feel, but Jeff shifts gears and plays a half-time 16th-note groove as the fill. He did this much more (with other time feels) later in his career.
Manipulating Beat Placement:
Parts II
Jeff let songs and grooves evolve, knowing that a groove doesn't just happen; it is created through repetition and sincerity.
Jeff was confident enough to be repetitious, and he never played an insincere note. Listen to how he paces himself throughout "I Think I Could Stand You Forever" fromTOTO’s Turn Back. Jeff contributes to the song's momentum with his "larger than life" tom fills, but he doesn't complicate the groove. Instead, only his bass drum gets busier- but not until the end of the tune.TOTO IV is recognized as a classic, but it's much more than the legendary "Rosanna" and "Africa". Listen to how Jeff incorporates the parts of the song into his "Good For You" groove. This is more than just a beat; it is one of the greatest examples of orchestrating a drum part around the drumset ever recorded.
Compare "We Made It" to TOTO's earlier "I'll Supply The Love". The main groove is very similar, but notice how Jeff's pocket has developed over time. While closely listening to "We Made It" and "Waiting For Your Love" you'll hear that Jeff by then had mastered his silky hi-hat technique. And upon even closer examination, you'll find that there are many other grace notes (besides his hi-hats) within "Waiting For Your Love". The notes that aren't heard are the ones that can transform a drum beat into a groove. Notice how Jeff's perfectly orchestrated tom fills (yet another trademark) keep the ballad "I Won't Hold You Back" moving.
Jeff knew how to make an entrance. Be it on Boz Scaggs' "Lido Shuffle", TOTO's "Africa", "I Think I Could Stand You Forever", and "Could This Be Love", Michael Bolton's "When A Man Loves A Woman", or Robben Ford's "I Got Over It", Jeff's melodic fills were unpredictable yet precise, dramatic yet musical--and always instantly identifiable as Jeff Porcaro.
TOTO's Isolation was a different type of recording for TOTO and Jeff. The rhythmic lilt and the manipulation of the beat were absent. All of Jeff's drumming on this record was exactly in the middle of the beat. If you don't hear it at first, compare it toLarry Carlton's Friends , made just the previous year. However, "Lion" (from Isolation) proves that Jeff could make "dead center" groove more than anybody. Also note the big fills on "How Does It Feel", and the overdubbed hi-hat on "Endless".
On TOTO's Fahrenheit, Jeff really shines. "Can't Stand It Any Longer" is a perfect Porcaro cut: very aggressive, silky smooth hi-hat, and a deep pocket. The title track is made especially unusual by the second-line idea at the end of the song. "Without Your Love" is another difficult in-between tempo that Jeff holds perfectly. And "Somewhere Tonight" adds one more chapter to the "Porcaro Encyclopedia Of Shuffles", this time with a strong reggae influence.
From The Seventh One, "Mushanga" is a unique and creative groove. "These Chains" is yet another amazing shuffle, and "A Thousand Years" is yet one more difficult tempo made easy by Mr. Porcaro.