Dave Grohl’s Top 10 Drum Performances
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The post Dave Grohl’s Top 10 Drum Performances appeared first on Consequence.
Foo Fighters Week continues here at Consequence with a list of Dave Grohl’s best turns on the kit. Keep it locked here throughout the week for more interviews, lists, editorials, and videos — it’s all things Foos, all the time. You can see everything in one convenient place here.
In most cases, drummers are the unsung heroes of rock and roll — besides keeping time, drummers can lift a track off its feet, aid heavily in the composition of songs, and add a component to music that’s both physical and visceral.
Then you get Dave Grohl, the frontman of Foo Fighters and drummer of Nirvana, Scream, Tenacious D, Them Crooked Vultures, and often, Queens of the Stone Age. There may not even be a drummer more prolific than Dave Grohl considering the sheer magnitude of projects he’s participated in, and the level of visibility Grohl has both as a drummer and an artist.
Grohl has always been a champion of a pure rock and roll ethos; he wants musicians new and old and new to form a garage band and explore music in a raw and primal way, not just because it’s the way he did it, but because that’s the way the form will live on. Needless to say, Grohl isn’t a huge fan of drum machines.
From his early drumming days in the D.C. punk scene, Grohl was undoubtedly a physical talent — and upon joining Scream in the late ‘80s, it was clear that he had a penchant for playing loud and fast. This punk-driven background was a huge influence on Nirvana’s sound when he joined the Seattle band, adding to Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic’s grunge with a raw and expressive attitude. Songs like “In Bloom” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” boast Grohl’s ‘70s influences behind the kit, and they wouldn’t be nearly the same without his contributions.
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As Grohl began to develop even more as both a drummer and an artist, he started Foo Fighters, playing drums on their first two records before they settled on Taylor Hawkins as a permanent replacement. In 1997, Foo Fighters released their sophomore LP, The Colour and the Shape (arguably their magnum opus, and certainly our No. 1 pick), and according to Grohl, he simply wasn’t done playing the drums yet. The resulting record includes some of Grohl’s most clever and specific drum parts to date — one listen to “Everlong,” and you can tell it was written with drums in mind.
Foo Fighters kept getting bigger and bigger, and Grohl’s status rose as well; eventually, Grohl recorded albums with Queens of the Stone Age, Tenacious D, and most recently, Them Crooked Vultures, a supergroup featuring Grohl on drums, Led Zepplin bassist John Paul Jones, and QotSA’s Josh Homme. About the future of Them Crooked Vultures, Grohl said, “That’s the band that I want to be the drummer of forever,” and it’s clear that Grohl’s work behind the kit on their self-titled debut was particularly inspired.
Grohl has been drumming consistently for nearly 40 years now, and throughout his storied career, he’s been behind the kit for some landmark performances and albums.
Here are Dave Grohl’s ten best drumming performances — either live or in the recording studio — ranked in order.
10. Nirvana – “In Bloom”
Dave Grohl wants his drums to sound huge, and no song represents this better than Nirvana’s “In Bloom.” Their legendary performance at England’s Reading Festival in 1992 brings his arena-sized drumming to the forefront, and his tom-heavy components on “In Bloom” is signature Dave Grohl.
09. Nirvana – “Territorial Pissings”
Grohl is full speed ahead throughout the Nevermind track “Territorial Pissings,” and it’s easy to see that his previous band was a hardcore punk outfit called Scream. This performance at Nirvana’s 1991 show in Seattle is a perfect example of Grohl’s unwavering, visceral punk drumming, and he doesn’t miss a beat.
08. Tenacious D – “The Metal”
Not only did Grohl record drums on nearly every song in Tenacious D’s discography, he joined the band behind the kit for their 2010 performance at BlizzCon. The highlight certainly comes in the band’s performance of “The Metal,” with Grohl showing everyone his metal roots.
07. Dave Grohl vs. Nandi Bushell – “Nandi”
After child drumming prodigy Nandi Bushell covered multiple Grohl tracks, the two met virtually for a fantastic drum-off — yet, it’s Dave Grohl’s response track that he wrote for Nandi, which is genuinely adorable, that makes the list. Not only is the song great, Grohl unleashes an inspiring and flooring drum solo in the bridge, and Nandi’s reaction throughout mirrors all of ours.
06. Foo Fighters – “Everlong”
“Everlong” is not only the quintessential Foo Fighters song, it’s the quintessential Dave Grohl drum performance: clearly written with the drum part in mind, Grohl integrates the frenetic, maximalist composition from behind the kit perfectly with the track. Whether it’s the skittering hi-hats throughout the verses, the deliberate cymbal change for the final “and I wonder,” or the blistering drum fills after each chorus refrain, “Everlong” is without a doubt Grohl’s most expressive drum performance.
05. Queens of the Stone Age – “My God Is The Sun”
Dave Grohl may not have contributed all of the drums to Queens of the Stone Age’s 2013 LP …Like Clockwork, but his outstanding performance on “My God Is The Sun” definitely makes up for it. His performance at the 2014 Grammys not only demonstrates how perfectly composed the drum part is, but how well Grohl can throttle forward without losing a single note. It’s one of those songs that seems to explode out of the band, and Grohl’s the one with the dynamite.
04. Queens of the Stone Age – “Songs For The Dead”
This performance of Queens of the Stone Age at Rock Werchter in 2002 performing “Song For The Dead” not only features a brilliant and affecting vocal performance from the late Mark Lanegan (RIP), it features one of Grohl’s best ever live performances behind the kit. The way Grohl constantly starts and stops creates a mountain of momentum, and each time, he delivers with ferocity and volume.
Grohl balances the drum part with moments of extreme quickness and moments of gigantic, pot-hole sized hits. The final two minutes of the performance feature some remarkable speed metal from Grohl and the band, and it’s clear that he can create brilliance in truly any genre.
03. Nirvana – “Smells Like Teens Spirit”
Grohl’s opening snare hits to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” are almost as iconic as Cobain’s power chords. Grohl confessed last year that he borrowed the flam technique from ‘70s funk outfits like The Gap Band, and he absolutely achieves the power he’s looking for throughout the track. It’s one of the most legendary songs ever, and Grohl’s combination of punk energy and funk technique influenced the sound of rock drumming for years to come.
02. Them Crooked Vultures – “Elephants”
“Elephants” is an odyssey, a sprawling, 7 minute romp from Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, and John Paul Jones. Them Crooked Vultures’ excellent rendition at Rock Am Ring 2010 demonstrates the absurd amount of energy that Grohl can bring to a drum part, and when the song begins to break apart around the 5 minute mark, Grohl truly unleashes.
01. Queens of the Stone Age – “No One Knows”
Grohl’s drumming on Queens of the Stone Age’s sophomore LP Songs For the Deaf is all around fantastic, but perhaps the most dynamic performance is on the band’s biggest hit, “No One Knows.” Grohl evolves a tightly-wound trot to an all-out thrash, carefully turning up the dial as the tension in the song builds and collapses.
The most signature and impressive moment certainly comes in the chorus, where Grohl unleashes multiple triplet fills with incredible speed and precision. And not only that, you can tell that Grohl is having a great deal of fun while playing this part.
Dave Grohl’s Top 10 Drum Performances
Paolo Ragusa
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