Chad Smith On Drums
Friday is fun, because it’s about music. So there’s always links, and clips, and at least one playlist. Today, I just wanted to celebrate one of my favourite living drummers.
A friend sent me this clip yesterday, Chad Smith — of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Will Ferrell Lookalikes Club — playing along to the Dua Lipa song, Break My Heart. She was surprised when I texted back that not only had I seen this (a bunch) but I loved it, and it had inspired me to play along to some Dua Lipa songs on the drums myself. Obviously, I cannot play them like Chad Smith does — no one plays like Chad. No one. But yeah, I’ve seen this heaps, because I love the DRUMEO channel, and I watch most of the clips on there, perfect drum-nerd stuff. But also Chad Smith is great (that’s him actually playing on the original by the way, he knew the producer and jumped in on the session as a favour, basically). And it’s a damn fine song by the way.
But I’d listen to anything Chad Smith plays on. Which is why I listened to both albums by the “supergroup” Chickenfoot.
Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony of Van Halen Mark II (aka Van Hagar), along with Joe Satriani would not get me listening. Hey, now, I liked some Joe Satriani back in the day, and I even talked with him on the blower when the first Chickenfoot album came out, and I’m not mad that I did. But really, the thing that had me interested in Chickenfoot was only ever Chad Smith. Here above they have their way with the Deep Purple classic, Highway Star. And, sure, Satch is a big fan of the band, and must have loved Richie Blackmore’s playing, I can see Anthony being a Roger Glover guy (strong bassist with backing vocals and some compositional chops) and certainly being a Glenn Hughes fan (those high backing vocals from behind the bass), and I’d even guess that Hagar was a Coverdale fan, if not an Ian Gillan fan, but you just know that Chad loves Ian Paice. And look at him go!
Perhaps you don’t know this, but Chad Smith plays on some Dixie Chicks tracks, aka The Chicks (now). He’s on a couple of Ozzy Osbourne albums (less surprising). He joined Satriani for a return-to-form straight-ahead rock-guitar record (after their Chickenfoot association), and it’s not just Dua Lipa that captured his pop heart, he’s on records by Charli XCX, Halsey, and Lana del Rey.
Here are some more songs that feature Chad Smith on the drums:
And, look, that’s just getting started, really.
Now, do I love every one of those songs? No. Or all of the artists? No. But Chad Smith’s playing got me to listen to them. He’s also on the movie soundtracks for Grace of my Heart, Private Parts, and Top Gun: Maverick. He’s on dozens of other albums.
But most famously he’s been in The Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. He played in a bunch of rock and funk bands before that, so he was perfect to replace Jack Irons in the Chilis for Mother’s Milk. That’s him on their Stevie Wonder cover, Higher Ground. That’s him driving Knock Me Down.
And so many of the other songs on that album.
Now, I do not consider myself a Chili Peppers fan at all. (These days). I was a fan. As a teenager, their early records hit the spot. For a bit. And their crowning glory for me, for many, was (and is) Blood Sugar Sex Magik.
These days I can listen to the album once a year or so. I own it on CD, and vinyl. And I do love the guitar playing of John Frusciante. He joined the band around the same time as Smith. And they play together in a way that is completely different, but has the same level of understanding and engine-driving as the way Keith Richards and Charlie Watts were the soul and motor of the The Rolling Stones. Frusciante and Smith are the heart and brain of the band, they are limbs for one another.
This is my “Survival Kit”. It might look different to the one under your kitchen sink, or in your bathroom, or by your back door. But these are the albums I’m taking with me when the shit does down. There’s room to rotate a few of course, but this is the essentials, if I had to boil it right down to an essential few. (Plus a double set of armfuls on top of the “essentials”, I guess). I shared a bird’s eye pic of it recently and someone was outraged to see Blood Sugar Sex Magik in there. But fuck it, it’s there because of Chad Smith. It’s there for the way he plays. I have listened to that album so many times. And I can even — now — ignore the stupidity of Anthony Kid-is(-his-girlfriend). And Flea is, I dunno, fine. Good guy, interesting, and the right bassist for the band at the right time. But it’s all about Frusicante and Smith. And maybe, really, it’s all about Smith.
Frusciante doing his subverted Hendrix thing. Smith doing his subverted John Bonham thing. Compositional, agile, surprising, exciting. Correct.
I fucking love hearing Chad Smith On Drums.
If you want to read more about my favourite drummers, I usually put them in my column, Drummers You Just Can’t Beat, which is here on Substack, search it up under “Sounds Good!” Or there’s an e-book of the first 20 or so. It’ll cost you about a buck. When I’ve written a few more, I’ll make a second volume, due entirely eto underwhelming demand of course!
And it’s Friday, right, so we got a playlist. This one’s a bit funky, and a lot of fun, so I hope you like it:
THANKS, AS EVER, FOR LISTENING. AND FOR READING.
That was fun!😄