Home at last

The first time the Purdie Shuffle was splained to me was about ten years ago by the man himself. Well, not directly but when the focus of the Classic Albums special on "Aja" shifted towards his contributions I was easily drawn in.

If you're not familiar with the drummer skip ahead to the 2:25 mark of this video. You'll get a bit of his background from the person who loves talking about him the most. Himself. Don't be put off, though, as the man has earned his right to brag.

COME ON. How could anyone resist that man?! For a more isolated breakdown check out the next video and try not get too hypnotized by his shoulder movements. You'd be hard pressed to find another drummer who lays down a more solid, ghost-noted, confident groove.

Due to the beat being so unique it really jumps out if I hear someone else interpret it. One example is Toto's Jeff Porcarro who used it for the song "Rosana". He explains his method in the next video:

I'm not about to pretend that I'm a Toto aficionado and my knowledge of them goes no further than listening to the cut Africa from their record "IV", which my parent's owned on cassette. However what really gives me a jolt is when I notice the Purdie Shuffle in metal songs.

Check out Martin Axenrot's use of the pattern in the Opeth song Hessian Peel. He introduces it at the 2:12 mark so don't be a lazy bimbo and just start the video from the beginning, instead of skipping ahead.

Pretty great, oui?

I wish I had a bunch of examples of the shuffle in metal but I only have two and the next one is the reason I bothered writing this post, because it's a new song. Abe Cunningham of the Deftones uses the beat pretty sparingly in the first single Rocket Skates from their new record but it's in there enough to have caught my attention.

Give it up for Mr Purdie.