Rock’n Me 28: Talking About Western Music - When a Drummer Changes, the World Changes - The Case of Simon Phillips

Hello. This is Joshua and I like to talk about Western music.
In this 28th issue, we will discuss the discovery that the world changes so much just by changing the drummer in a band! Let's experience this discovery through the drumming of Simon Phillips. Please note that I myself cannot play the drums at all, so please forgive me that this is just an amateur listener's point of view.

Simon Phillips, CC BY-SA 4.0Source: Wikipedia

Born in 1957, Simon has been an active drummer since the 1970s to the present. He was a member of TOTO for over 20 years, but he was also a member of other rock groups such as Mick Jagger and The Who, the Michael Schenker Group and Judas Priest. After leaving TOTO, he released four albums with the trio project with jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara and Anthony Jackson (b). He has also been playing with his own band, Protocol, for a long time and they released their fifth album, Protocol V last year.

Simon has been active as a session drummer since his teens and was 15 years old when he became established. He was just 19 years old when he joined Brian Eno's supergroup 801. This alone is amazing, but what is even more amazing is that his style has remained consistent from that time to the present. Strictly speaking, he consistently plays drum phrases that are instantly recognizable to Simon fans. No matter what genre he plays, he uses a huge set of two-bass drums and controls all volume and tone with his hands and feet alone, without muting. The tone is just as sharp without muting. And there are a number of characteristic fill-ins. Before the development of the song, the flamming of the snare after the thud of the two-bass on the six-note, the jam-packed percussion phrases using Octobans (aka cannon toms), which are long-bodied toms. And, the way his foot plays sixteenth notes and six-note hexameters on the two-bass at the climax of the song. Every Simon fan goes crazy when they hear this.

Simon is proud of his long career. Even if you want to listen to Simon's drumming, there are many different versions of the same song, with other drummers joining after Simon and vice versa. In this section, we will compare Simon's before and after performances, and also enjoy how amazing each drummer is.

Simon Phillips sitting on the drum set, CC BY-SA 3.0Source:Wikipedia

Simon vs. Vinnie Caliuta

First up is the number from Jeff Beck's “There and Back” (1980) that made Simon a household name: “Space Boogie,” a boogie shuffle in 7/8 time with a super-fast two-bass beat. I was blown away when I first heard it because of its fast development and superb technique.

Based on Simon's phrasing, Vinnie Chariuta played this song in Jeff Beck's band in the 2000s. Vinnie comes from Frank Zappa's band, but he can drum perfectly in any genre, from Sting to Megadeth and even Chick Corea. Steve Vai, a fellow Zappa era member, shared a superb episode of Vinny in an interview. Zappa had prepared a score with a complicated and bizarre irregular time signature. Vinnie played the score on his first try, and with one hand, he flipped through the score and fixed his glasses, which were falling off, and with his other hand, he picked up some sushi and ate it. Because it’s Vinny, he looks insanely cool even with all of the absurdity going on.

■ Jeff Beck “Space Boogie” (Drums: Simon Phillips)

■ Jeff Beck “Space Boogie” (Drummer: Vinnie Caliuta)

Simon vs. Cozy Powell

Guitarist Michael Schenker made his solo debut with “God (The Returning Flying Arrow)” (1980). Although it was under the name Michael Schenker Group (“MSG”), there was no band at the time, and Simon was used as a session drummer. Michael's guitar performance on the instrumental “Into the Arena” is a masterpiece, but Simon's drumming is just as good. At the beginning of the song, after hitting the two-bass, there is a snare flam, or to put it in words, a “doo-doo-pan. The bass solo in the middle part of the song is a promise for the climax of the song, a two-bass drumming contest. It is regrettable that the tone and volume are relatively subdued due to the production.

The first drummer to join MSG with their debut was Cozy Powell. Needless to say, he was a charismatic drummer who joined Rainbow after the Jeff Beck Group; he did not stay with MSG for long, and was known as a “migratory bird with sticks” because he went from one band to another after that. When he hits “Into the Arena,” it is loud and heavy, the opposite of Simon. The intro is not “bum-bum-bam” but “bum-pan,” and the bass solo is also a two-bass riff contest, but with a trailing post-narrowing groove. The other members are also so different, so it is difficult to make a simple comparison, but the difference in the drummers has a clear effect on the music.

■ Michael Schenker Group “Into the Arena” (Drums: Simon Phillips)

■ Michael Schenker Group “Into the Arena” (Drums: Cozy Powell)

Jeff Porcaro vs. Simon

Here is a case where Simon is presenting a song that has already been released....
First is TOTO, in which Simon was the second drummer. The original member was Jeff Porcaro. Jeff's best performance in TOTO is by far “Rosana” by many people. The halftime shuffle, which consisted of 16 beats, was called the “Porcaro Shuffle” or the “Lozana Shuffle,” and became a favorite of drummers.

Jeff passed away suddenly in 1992, leaving behind many great performances, and Simon was called upon to join the band just as TOTO was about to go on tour. He was originally touted as a replacement for the tour, but he joined the group and stayed for more than 20 years, helping to enhance Simon's reputation. Simon's approach to “Rosana” is more freewheeling. He plays the cymbals with his left hand, utilizing Simon's characteristic open-handed technique (hi-hat with the left hand, snare with the right). He also adds his trademark bass drum hits here and there, adding Simon's signature touch.

■ TOTO “Rosana” (Drums: Jeff Porcaro)

■ TOTO “Rosana” (Drummer: Simon Phillips)

Buddy Rich vs. Simon

Buddy Rich (1917-1987) was the master of big band jazz. He was a drummer of revolutionary wildness, superb technique, and precision in the jazz world of his day, as well as a “flamboyant” drummer who entertained audiences with his over-the-top performance. His influence on later generations has been enormous, and drummers not only in the jazz world but also in the rock world have spoken of Buddy's influence on them. Of course, Simon is one of them.

Let's compare Buddy's big band performance of “Dancing Men” with Simon's performance of the same song on a Buddy tribute album. In this song, there is a drum solo in the middle of the song (from video 3:26), and Buddy in his suit gradually develops quick snare strokes and crosses his hands with a flourish, drawing applause from the audience.

In contrast, Simon's version is also very listenable. Simon's drum set is his usual huge set, even if the genre is different. He performs a cymbal legato with both hands (not a ride but a China cymbal in the middle section!) ), and delicate snare playing in the beginning of the drum solo (from 4:08 in the video). The song gradually builds up to a climax of a two-bass barrage.

■ Buddy Rich Big Band “Dancing Men” (Drums: Buddy Rich)

■ Buddy Rich Big Band “Dancing Men” (Drums: Simon Phillips)

These are just a few of the great performances that we have been exposed to through Simon Phillips, not only by Simon but also by other great drummers. There are many more great performances by Simon: “East Of Asteroid” (1976) from 801 Live (801 Live), “Give Blood” (1985) from Pete Townsend's White City: A Novel, “One Way or the Other” (2004) from Derek Sherinian's One Way or the Other” (2004) from Derek Sherinian's Mythology, and a series of works with Hiromi Uehara.

The “sound & person” column is made up of contributions from you.
For details about contributing, click here.