Chris Preston and New Aquarius Online

“I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription… is more cowbell!”

Quotes from the SNL sketch starring Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken have leaked mercilessly into popular culture, but I’d gather that few ever consider the degree of truth in them. Little percussion instruments can often add the polish that turns a recording of a song into a great record.

Since this is my 100th post on the New Aquarius blog, I thought I’d do something special. Let’s listen together, shall we? Here are some of my favorite recordings on which I feel that percussion really makes the record.

(Since they are used to demonstrate my points, I believe the clips I provide here represent “fair use.” So don’t be coming at me like a copyright spider monkey. I don’t have a player installed on this server, so I hope whatever program you have on your system to play mp3 files also plays these.)

“She’s Gone” by Daryl Hall and John Oates – The intro has eighth notes of wood block on beat one of each measure, doubling the bass figure. To me, it represents the ticking clock in the quiet empty hours experienced by the singer since the woman in the lyric has left him. There even appears to be a mistake in the pattern, which is wonderfully human.

“D’Yer Mak’er” by Led Zeppelin -  Afuche cabasa is used to accent the stilted rhythm. Once you notice it, you’ll never hear the record the same way again. Led Zeppelin can’t do reggae, but they know how to fill up a weak beat. It’s on the upbeat of 2 and 4.

“Day By Day” from the Godspell Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Though the effect of percussion is apparent to some extent on the cast album, the movie soundtrack version of this tune uses percussion wonderfully to build intensity and then provide catharsis. I’ve played the Godspell bass book a number of times. This piece repeats the chorus over and over, but with added percussion every time though. First it’s quarter notes on tambourine on beats 2 and 4, then with straight sixteenths twice through, followed by the entrance at the next cycle of the entire drum set. This development always has an amazing emotional effect on me. My heart leaps every time I hear it, even though I’ve heard it literally thousands of times. This clip is from the movie itself, as I don’t have a copy of the soundtrack album handy.

“Make Me Smile” by Chicago – On this cut from Chicago II, the horn segment before the guitar solo (on the album version, not the chopped up single version) uses a similar cyclical building of percussion every time through, only instead of changing the pattern like in “Day By Day,” another instrument is added first. Initially, it’s tambourine on the left in sixteenths. The next time through, it sounds like maracas added on the right in quarters, held in one hand or used as one percussion instrument in both hands. The recording always sounds to me like the maracas are plastic instead of wood, which I personally might not have chosen to use, but work very well here. Notice how the maracas accelerate to sixteenths with the guitar solo.

“Never Been To Spain” by Elvis Presley – This rather obscure reference is from the 1972 album Elvis As Recorded Live at Madison Square Garden. This song was a hit for Three Dog Night, which was probably good enough for Elvis, but I thought the subtle use of percussion here warranted mention. The songs starts with a vocal, followed by a very sparse pulse-like arrangement that works more like a question and answer. On this particular recording, the first appearance of a castanet part appears in measure two, on the upbeat of beat two. It’s a very subtle but highly effective musical enforcement of the Spanish idea in the lyric. Just a sixteenth note triplet followed by another sixteenth on beat three. This pattern repeats on every other measure and disappears almost as soon as it appeared. Less is more.

“Mono Is King” by me! – This was the title track off my first record. The instrument I used was a ratchet, which is this V-shaped object that places slats of wood against a cog  that you turn with a crank to get the sound. Use of this instrument was more instinctive than by design. I just thought those rim whacks on the snare drum at the top of that ascending figure needed something else. Maybe it was my way of evoking a scratchy vaudevillian flavor to which the bounciness of the tune lent itself. It’s still my favorite part of the arrangement because of how well the effect works.

“Superstition” by Stevie Wonder – Many people are aware that ol’ Stevland played drums on this, but you may not have noticed the overdubs. Stevie must have thought hi-hat needed to do more for the feel, so he added another one. This is a lot harder to hear, but in this clip, the original hi-hat is on the right with the rest of the drum kit. The open hi-hat overdub appears about halfway through on the left. Now try to think of this record without it. It’s not all clavinet, you know?

“Walking On The Moon” by the Police – This record featured the now legendary Stewart Copeland hi-hat overdubs.  They execute the ethereal nature of the production to a T. It could never be performed this way live, because Copeland has only two hands, but the extra hi-hats really help get the point of tune across. Toss in some delay and you get polyrhythms for days! Despite it’s improbability in the real world ensemble, it was an ingenious arrangement decision, I think.

“Born To Run” by Bruce Springsteen – The E Street Band is so huge that it’s difficult to play anything in that band that someone else isn’t already playing. To add an amazing sparkle to the top of the arrangement, key melodic figures played on piano or guitar could also appear simultaneously a few octaves higher on glockenspiel. Glockenspiel works well to cut through the cacophony of marching bands, so why not an equally huge rock band? (I’ve used the trick myself. I played the bell chime melody on glock on “It’s Christmas (Let It Touch You).”)  On “Born To Run” and many other tracks, such as “Hungry Heart” and “Something In The Night,” glockenspiel makes the music sound nothing short of majestic to my ear. Live, the late Danny Federici would often play these parts on celeste, a keyboard instrument in which the keys activate hammers that strike high-pitched metal disks. Here’s a sample of all three tunes.

“Nowhere To Run” by Martha & the Vandellas – Speaking of running… On this record, a chain is actually used as a percussion instrument. Where? Check the upbeat of 3. Clinking away, it sounds like it’s rhythmically being dropped from hand to hand. Awesome.

“Living In Sin” by Gene Simmons – This song appears on the 1978 solo album, Gene Simmons. The tune starts a low pitched drumbeat. You can hear the drums resonating and it’s very fat. But the real motion of the figure is handled by sandpaper blocks, rubbing together in an eighth note pattern on the left. After the whole band comes in, they’re still there if you listen closely. Without this bit of percussion tastiness, the recording would have been very different.

That’s all I have for now. Can you think of any others? Get out your headphones and lay them on me. Until then, remember that your record isn’t truly finished until the percussion toys come out!