Three obversations. One, that opening groove is so sick I can't get it out of my head. Second, that open bass drum is just fabulous makes one reconsider muffling. Three, Steve Smith is a master of drum solo construction.
Today, he's developed into a master drummer. In the jazz setting, Steve is the closest cat to Buddy Rich that you'll ever see. Steve is one of my all time favorites and influences. Great to see him back with Journey.
When Steve crossed over from Jazz to Rock, He was pretty much was on cruise control during his tenure with Journey back then, He pretty much conserved some of his energy & just filled the holes from Schon & Cain, Truly there wasn't enough room in Journey for Steve's tremendous talent, Today! He's got a 2nd wind & gone back to his roots & plays Jazz....
Holy FUCK! Steve I so wished I paid more attention to you earlier. You slipped through the cracks. You deserved so much more credit as one of the greatest drummers.
He’s always been great!! His style was fully developed back then because you hear the same things in his playing today. Only he’s far more refined and able to conceptualize more than most other drummers. He’s also learned to play more melodically on his kit rather than just beat the crap out of his drums. He has become a true master
I was there. The place went nuts for him. I got to ask him a question during the q and a. This was in May of 1983. Larry Londin followed and he began with some thing like."Well Steve Smith came in here and it was like a HURICANE!" He went on, "Well, I'm just a country drummer." Few of us has ever heard of him. He then went on to freaking shred a solo that was really impressive. We all knew Larry after that! Journey was playing one or two nights in Chicago during this event and is how Steve was able to do this back in the day. There 6 semi trailers lined up at the arena on the way to this theater. That was impressive and got us all hyped up. Though he's not wearing red Chucks, but similar, I went out and ordered red Chucks to be like my hero. or as close as I could get. Still trying!
Beautiful sounding drums played exquisitely. Steve's finesse and apparent effortless playing style make him one the drumming greats. Always looks like he's having a lot of fun too.
@@macadoo2530 Ha. True. He is still amazing as ever. 4+ decades of never missing the beat...nothing but net. The prime never ended for this guy. Cheers!
Journey's music had no room for this kind of master drumming, and Smith knew that and laid low ''like a pro'' ... NEVER overplayed so i hope he rips it up here!
So true Jerome, I had the distinct privilege & saw Steve live '77 with Jean Luc Pontys Fusion Jazz Band, It was incredible evening of performance to say the least! But not for casual ears! Steve is special & truly a tremendous talent, It's very unusual & difficult for any Musician to cross over to another genre of art or Music to another, During his tenure with Journey, He was on cruise control pretty much conserving some energy just filling in the holes from Band mates Schon & Cain, Today, he gone back to his true roots of Jazz & is just having a great time & ripping it up & laying down the groove,
Beg to differ Jerome. Journeys music had room for a masterful drummer, who came up with masterful drum parts. Check THIS out. ua-cam.com/video/uf9R6u1IMIQ/v-deo.html
@@rolandedrummer9723 the letting go of Steve Smith and Ross Valory was one of most WTF moments in rock music history. Even the tracks they kept for ROR sessions - with Smith playing were still good. (Positive touch) Nothing against Larry London - but they should have just saved the bulk of ROR for another Steve Perry project
Hilarious - black dot on the thickest snare you've ever seen. Huge power toms and two kicks all tuned way up. You gotta love this. He has the loosest, hippest feel of all time! He says more with a big crash than a lot of drummer do with a million licks. But he can do all that too.
Steve can do it all! A True professional! Learned & cut his teeth playing Jazz, '76 icon's Jean Luc Ponty & Allan Holdsworth, Playing in Journey he knew what it takes fill the holes & stay under the radar & not show up Neal & it's has worked for over 35 years..........
He was a young man then Brian, he and Vinnie used to use Chock full o'nuts coffee cans for drum thrones back in the day, lol !! Just kidding, but not too far off !... Both are Legendary and Both sit like humans now.
you know of course that EVERY SINGLE COMMENT on this page is completely true (100%) Journey was lucky to get a phenomenal drummer who never overplayed ... just kept it low-key and it worked beautifully! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
I never paid too much attention to Mr. Smith until my drumming buddy told me that I should...so I took his advice and realized that I had overlooked his talent. For Shame!
MR.STEVE SMITH ,,, I TALKED WITH. THIS BADASS ,, CATT🐱🥁 AFEW TIMES @ GUITAR CENTER DRUM CELTIC S ,,,ANYWAY THIS PARTICULAR DRUM SOLO ,,, JUST TOTALLY PUTS ME IN CHECK ! WOW ...THAX"S."" STEVE MACHINE GUN SMITH "" ALSO : LOVED ALL YOUR BRAND OF DRUMMING IN. THE ICONIC ROCK BAND ( JOURNEY ) ONE LAST THING WAS THAT U IN MONTROSE " OPEN FIRE ALBUM ...TAKE CARE BRO .🎼🎟🇺🇸🤔📀.🥁
Steve is jazz fusion drummer who took a rock gig to try something different with Ronnie Montrose who was on tour w/Journey...Ansley left because of the Perry direction and they asked Steve to join...he is not a rock drummer who morphed and composed parts to let you know his talent. my buddy grew up with steve and had one of his sonor kits from the 80's...he set it up once in his house...very cool to know this was a kit that toured the world!
Listen to what a drummer like this can do to AOR..."Where Were You" by Journey. Phenomenal groove - listen we something where you can hear the kick drum.
I agree, it's just crazy how low he sat back in the day. I knew he sat somewhat low ala Vinnie but back in the early 80's when I got into Steve all we had to check him out were at concerts or the very rare TV performance. Now with UA-cam and the Internet we can see close up how he played. Now he sits so level and his drums set fairly flat. great video. Does anyone know what Sonor series he played in this video?
He was a monster, even pre Freddie Gruber. He has the musical phrasing I’ve ever heard. Trivia: Someone in that audience was a young future monster drummer to be, Todd Sucherman.
Many folks didn't or don't realize that he is VERY WELL VERSED in the jazz genre of drumming. In fact, he was 1st a jazz drummer before he was ever a famous rock drummer.
Wow, perfect groove with every hit :D If I'd have to take one drum solo with me and leave, then this would most likely be the one. No offense to great Chris Coleman, Ronald Bruner etc.... The drum sound is phenomenal, even the bass drums resonate! I used to have Phonic Pluses that time, too. Remember the unimitable sound and difficulties with placing the deep toms :P
Sorry but "rudiments" to the drums are like chromatic scales to musicians. You learn about them, learn to play them, but in the end, it's all about being a musician and NOT a technician.
I love it...This pure drumming...He can play any idiom of music with hos kit and his drumming...Go Steve!...You put Weckl behind this kit and he could not get the Weckl sound out of it...Steve can play any kit!
I just love how the bass drums resonate here. Nowadays, the bass drums are damped to sound like trggered cardboard boxes... you can't even tell the size of the drum by the sound
Este es uno de los bateristas que tocando musica comercial con journey podía ganar el Triple y decidió ganar menos tocando jazz, que irónicamente es mas difícil de tocar.
I love Steve's fluid, loose rock/jazz style here - just as how he played in his initial tenure with Journey. Today, his style has drastically changed. He sits very upright and plays in a much more calculated, controlled trad jazz style. For me, I don't think his current style fits with what Journey does. As he spent many years in the 90s with Vital Information and going back to the roots, he seems to have lost that natural, loose rock/jazz flow that's displayed here.
Pre-Freddie days...WOW...did he really change his whole approach...it must make him CRINGE watching this! his argument would be it worked but it would not last...rock drummers and their technique didnt last...most rock drummers play about a 10 year career and are gone IF they were that fortunate...but Steve, Weckl, and all the others are still playing strong post 60 because of good technique. Steve is almost 70 and still plays like he is 40 because of ergonomics...will never play a Journey gig like he did in 1981, but that was then...
![Steve Smith on sound and volume - drumtalk [single strokes 17]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nAMEKlGCTGE/mqdefault.jpg)
![Steve Smith on sound and volume - drumtalk [single strokes 17]](/img/tr.png)
Three obversations. One, that opening groove is so sick I can't get it out of my head. Second, that open bass drum is just fabulous makes one reconsider muffling. Three, Steve Smith is a master of drum solo construction.
Agreed on that opening groove. Loved it so much I used to play it when doing the drum sound check before shows.
This cat was one of the best fucking drummers back in the day...and the crazy thing is, he has only gotten better with age. Legend!
Today, he's developed into a master drummer. In the jazz setting, Steve is the closest cat to Buddy Rich that you'll ever see. Steve is one of my all time favorites and influences. Great to see him back with Journey.
When Steve crossed over from Jazz to Rock, He was pretty much was on cruise control during his tenure with Journey back then, He pretty much conserved some of his energy & just filled the holes from Schon & Cain, Truly there wasn't enough room in Journey for Steve's tremendous talent, Today! He's got a 2nd wind & gone back to his roots & plays Jazz....
AllenSJ5 Yes I think Steve Smith is my favorite drummer
What do you mean “was”? He’s still at it!
Did you read his whole sentence? It might help the read the whole thing before commenting.
Holy FUCK! Steve I so wished I paid more attention to you earlier. You slipped through the cracks. You deserved so much more credit as one of the greatest drummers.
Bob check out the album Enigmatic Ocean by Jean Luc Ponty... Wear a seat belt..
and a helmet, lol.
I miss the era of monster kits. Toms were 5 gallon buckets and floor toms were pickle barrels. So cool...
And he and Vinnie used Chock Full O' Nuts cans for drum thrones lol.
Groovy melodic musical confident exciting fun dynamic. He’s got all that here!! Total badass!!
Man I just love the sound of the kit... the playing, the cymbals, the toms, the kick, the snare. Straight up booming tone...
Steve Smith is simply amazing!! The guy is great.
I had no idea he was this great, way back then!!!!! You can hear some Tony Williams big time in this solo!!!!!
He was a force. A lot different player then. Not as refined ,but musically muscular.
Watch his live solos from back in the Journey days. That’s why he was nick named Machine gun Smith.
@@drummer626v
He’s always been great!! His style was fully developed back then because you hear the same things in his playing today. Only he’s far more refined and able to conceptualize more than most other drummers. He’s also learned to play more melodically on his kit rather than just beat the crap out of his drums. He has become a true master
I looked for this video everywhere and only found without the sound. It is one of the best videos of Steve Smith for me!
Yeahh, enjoy!
Have you ever checked out JOURNEY: FRONTIERS AND BEYOND?
He's unbelievable!!! one of my fav. solos for sure.
I found Steve Smith hard to love. But now I have seen this. XxxxX
I was there. The place went nuts for him. I got to ask him a question during the q and a. This was in May of 1983. Larry Londin followed and he began with some thing like."Well Steve Smith came in here and it was like a HURICANE!" He went on, "Well, I'm just a country drummer." Few of us has ever heard of him. He then went on to freaking shred a solo that was really impressive. We all knew Larry after that!
Journey was playing one or two nights in Chicago during this event and is how Steve was able to do this back in the day. There 6 semi trailers lined up at the arena on the way to this theater. That was impressive and got us all hyped up.
Though he's not wearing red Chucks, but similar, I went out and ordered red Chucks to be like my hero. or as close as I could get. Still trying!
Truly, he slipped through the cracks. He KNOWS what he's doing. I thought I'd seen them all, sorry I missed this man.
I wish he still played with this fire and tenacity!!! don't get me wrong. he still has all his skills but, there was a rawness to him back then
THANK YOU Alexandre !! Old School Steve at his Best !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Beautiful sounding drums played exquisitely. Steve's finesse and apparent effortless playing style make him one the drumming greats. Always looks like he's having a lot of fun too.
So awesome. Definition of "in the pocket".
For anyone watching this all the way through, it is Steve Smith in his absolute prime. Really amazing clip.
Today is his prime my friend.
@@macadoo2530 Ha. True. He is still amazing as ever. 4+ decades of never missing the beat...nothing but net. The prime never ended for this guy. Cheers!
Jesus man, feeling the full force of the drum gods here! That solo was one of the better I've seen in a long time!
Holy 80's power toms Batman!
Journey's music had no room for this kind of master drumming, and Smith knew that and laid low ''like a pro'' ... NEVER overplayed so i hope he rips it up here!
So true! Steve's a Beast, A Lobo in sheep's clothing, I fist took note of him in Concert with Jean Luc Ponty 1977
So true Jerome, I had the distinct privilege & saw Steve live '77 with Jean Luc Pontys Fusion Jazz Band, It was incredible evening of performance to say the least! But not for casual ears! Steve is special & truly a tremendous talent, It's very unusual & difficult for any Musician to cross over to another genre of art or Music to another, During his tenure with Journey, He was on cruise control pretty much conserving some energy just filling in the holes from Band mates Schon & Cain, Today, he gone back to his true roots of Jazz & is just having a great time & ripping it up & laying down the groove,
Beg to differ Jerome.
Journeys music had room for a masterful drummer, who came up with masterful drum parts.
Check THIS out.
ua-cam.com/video/uf9R6u1IMIQ/v-deo.html
He was a fusion drummer. They wanted a metronomic drum machine by the mid 80s. The Perry effect.
@@rolandedrummer9723 the letting go of Steve Smith and Ross Valory was one of most WTF moments in rock music history. Even the tracks they kept for ROR sessions - with Smith playing were still good. (Positive touch) Nothing against Larry London - but they should have just saved the bulk of ROR for another Steve Perry project
So swingin' and such a great counterpart to his friend Vinnie Colaiuta. Their setups were very similar at this time.
Hilarious - black dot on the thickest snare you've ever seen. Huge power toms and two kicks all tuned way up. You gotta love this. He has the loosest, hippest feel of all time! He says more with a big crash than a lot of drummer do with a million licks. But he can do all that too.
Ironically, his current SQ2 kit is not that far off, but uses more traditional sizes. but he still manages to get that great "thump" out of his kicks.
He reinvents time every time he plays ffs 😎✊️
This is a GEM! Love the sound of those Phonic Pluses. Thanks for posting!
Journey dripped with talent big time!!!!
My favorite solo. Period
With drum beats he came up with in Journey and a solo from an album I knew he was something else. This is a great video.
Steve can do it all! A True professional! Learned & cut his teeth playing Jazz, '76 icon's Jean Luc Ponty & Allan Holdsworth, Playing in Journey he knew what it takes fill the holes & stay under the radar & not show up Neal & it's has worked for over 35 years..........
Perhaps the most underrated?
I love how high the ride is. Classic. Also, Steve and Vinnie used to sit so low back then.
Man Dan Weiss hasn't aged a day since '83
Ok. Glad I wasn't the only one.
Machine Gun Smith. My favorite drummer of all time.
My back hurts just looking at how he's sitting
He was a young man then Brian, he and Vinnie used to use Chock full o'nuts coffee cans for drum thrones back in the day, lol !! Just kidding, but not too far off !... Both are Legendary and Both sit like humans now.
That's what getting old and constant touring does to a drummer, even Vinnie Colaiuta changed his ergonomic set up over the decades
you know of course that EVERY SINGLE COMMENT on this page is completely true (100%)
Journey was lucky to get a phenomenal drummer who never overplayed ... just kept it low-key and it worked beautifully! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
awesome groove, and wow those toms are tensioned!
If I had just HALF of that skill, I would never be out of work.
now I know where the terms ''underrated'' and ''holy shit!'' came from
I love snare drum sound
I never paid too much attention to Mr. Smith until my drumming buddy told me that I should...so I took his advice and realized that I had overlooked his talent. For Shame!
How low he's sitting. WOW!
this is just so freakin' awesome
So sick and crazy good..
MR.STEVE SMITH ,,, I TALKED WITH. THIS BADASS ,, CATT🐱🥁 AFEW TIMES @ GUITAR CENTER DRUM CELTIC S ,,,ANYWAY THIS PARTICULAR DRUM SOLO ,,, JUST TOTALLY PUTS ME IN CHECK ! WOW ...THAX"S."" STEVE MACHINE GUN SMITH "" ALSO : LOVED ALL YOUR BRAND OF DRUMMING IN. THE ICONIC ROCK BAND ( JOURNEY ) ONE LAST THING WAS THAT U IN MONTROSE " OPEN FIRE ALBUM ...TAKE CARE BRO .🎼🎟🇺🇸🤔📀.🥁
Journey picked the best.Drummer singers keyboards arrangement.
Fantastic solo. 👍🥁
This is a gem! Love the way those Phonic Pluses (or Signatures?) sound. The Radio King is killin', too.
Steve is jazz fusion drummer who took a rock gig to try something different with Ronnie Montrose who was on tour w/Journey...Ansley left because of the Perry direction and they asked Steve to join...he is not a rock drummer who morphed and composed parts to let you know his talent. my buddy grew up with steve and had one of his sonor kits from the 80's...he set it up once in his house...very cool to know this was a kit that toured the world!
Self Acclaimed Drum Bum Extraordinaire, Studied & learned Jazz 1st, Saw his $ opportunity in Rock & Journey back in '78
As good as this is he did get better with age.
A true Master !!!!
Hans Gruber played drums back in the day!
Listen to what a drummer like this can do to AOR..."Where Were You" by Journey. Phenomenal groove - listen we something where you can hear the kick drum.
The best drummer
I agree, it's just crazy how low he sat back in the day. I knew he sat somewhat low ala Vinnie but back in the early 80's when I got into Steve all we had to check him out were at concerts or the very rare TV performance. Now with UA-cam and the Internet we can see close up how he played. Now he sits so level and his drums set fairly flat. great video. Does anyone know what Sonor series he played in this video?
Sonor Phonic Plus
The master
IMPRESSIONANTE
Know one Does it BETTER!!!!!!❤😊
He's holding his left stick so far back, very different to how he plays now. Did Freddie Gruber reinvent him?
Yes, Freddie was again the catalyst for change.
great drummer.
what a groove
no muffling in bass drum?
So Fkn good
He was a monster, even pre Freddie Gruber. He has the musical phrasing I’ve ever heard. Trivia: Someone in that audience was a young future monster drummer to be, Todd Sucherman.
Steve machine gun Smith. Enough said.
8.31 snare to feet.... Wow!
How happy would you be to have that old Sonor kit?
Many folks didn't or don't realize that he is VERY WELL VERSED in the jazz genre of drumming.
In fact, he was 1st a jazz drummer before he was ever a famous rock drummer.
They must definitely do
Wow, perfect groove with every hit :D If I'd have to take one drum solo with me and leave, then this would most likely be the one. No offense to great Chris Coleman, Ronald Bruner etc.... The drum sound is phenomenal, even the bass drums resonate! I used to have Phonic Pluses that time, too. Remember the unimitable sound and difficulties with placing the deep toms :P
Practice your rudiments much? Dexterity and technique at it's finest. Steve Smith is one of the greatest ever.
Sorry but "rudiments" to the drums are like chromatic scales to musicians.
You learn about them, learn to play them, but in the end, it's all about being a musician and NOT a technician.
@@a.barnard3205 ok guy whatever you say
top 5
wow.
dang!
MASTER
I love it...This pure drumming...He can play any idiom of music with hos kit and his drumming...Go Steve!...You put Weckl behind this kit and he could not get the Weckl sound out of it...Steve can play any kit!
😮😮😮👏👏👏👏👏👏
Great chops, ok, but also great depth of drumming (I should say "playing").
Wooo!!! What?!?!
Any questions!!??🙏😇
Why are there no more uploads?
What China is he playing?
Is that a sonor phonic d518? Mahogany over beech?
the drums and cymbals sound amazing and the bass drum compliments the sound of the drums even though the bass drum is not tight enough its not bad
I just love how the bass drums resonate here. Nowadays, the bass drums are damped to sound like trggered cardboard boxes... you can't even tell the size of the drum by the sound
Love it when he bashes it out...
Steve "Machine Gun" Smith😎👍
My favorite part of this is the shirt.
Oh yeah...his playing too..mmmm ...Zildjian t shirt with the sleeves cut off....mmmmm..
His left hand ghost notes carry half of his solo....
That China attack from about 1:58 very nice
every time the word zildjian is on screen take a shot
Jeez
He is. So F,can good
Was? still is
5:30
He'll yeah, not even breathing hard....
Este es uno de los bateristas que tocando musica comercial con journey podía ganar el Triple y decidió ganar menos tocando jazz, que irónicamente es mas difícil de tocar.
I love Steve's fluid, loose rock/jazz style here - just as how he played in his initial tenure with Journey. Today, his style has drastically changed. He sits very upright and plays in a much more calculated, controlled trad jazz style. For me, I don't think his current style fits with what Journey does. As he spent many years in the 90s with Vital Information and going back to the roots, he seems to have lost that natural, loose rock/jazz flow that's displayed here.
You need to catch him live in a club.
Steve Smith Mullet Day Chicago 1983 lol
He sits crazy low , amazing solo though
80's set ups are an ergonomic nightmare. I'm glad we ditched power toms 5' high ride cymbals. Yet.
Pre-Freddie days...WOW...did he really change his whole approach...it must make him CRINGE watching this! his argument would be it worked but it would not last...rock drummers and their technique didnt last...most rock drummers play about a 10 year career and are gone IF they were that fortunate...but Steve, Weckl, and all the others are still playing strong post 60 because of good technique. Steve is almost 70 and still plays like he is 40 because of ergonomics...will never play a Journey gig like he did in 1981, but that was then...
Hmmmm...
TOMMY ALDRIDGE LAUGHS at 70