Hear Chad Smith’s isolated drums for Red Hot Chili Peppers song ‘Give It Away’
For all the trends that come and go in rock music, Red Hot Chili Peppers have never been considered out of style. Even though a handful of their records might not hold up as well as others, the appeal of the funk-rockers has thrived on songs about basking in the sun and the afterglow that comes with living in Hollywood. Although half of their discography can get by on the pure vibe of their music, their brand of funk always comes down to the backbeat.
While Flea has been with the band from day one with his massive low-ending, the drummer’s stool seemed to fluctuate initially. In the group’s original incarnation, Jack Irons locked into a solid groove with Flea, only to leave when his other band, What Is This?, secured a record deal.
Although Irons would return for the album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, the sudden passing of Hillel Slovak left him too emotionally distraught to carry on with his old friends. While Red Hot Chili Peppers would also work with punk rock drummers like DH Peligro, it wasn’t until Chad Smith got behind the kit that things began to fall into place.
Coming from the era of hair metal, Smith’s hard-hitting approach almost became a point of contention in the band, thinking that his style didn’t gel with their unique brand of funk-rock. Once he locked in with Flea on a groove, Kiedis automatically knew they had found their guy, recalling in his book Scar Tissue: “It was a big eruption of sound and energy, and all I could do was laugh hysterically, thinking how funny it was that the goofiest guy we’d ever seen blew all of us away right in our rehearsal studio”.
After laying down the foundation on Mother’s Milk, the band didn’t gel into songwriters until working with Rick Rubin on Blood Sugar Sex Magik. While Smith could knock out phenomenal drum tracks like no one else, his approach to ‘Give It Away’ is one of the few highlights of his career.
Listening to the isolated drum audio, the massive crack of Smith’s snare fills the sound stage. Operating in the cavernous mansion Rick Rubin had turned into his home studio, the drums have a natural echo behind them that works great alongside the rest of the instruments.
Compared to the soundstage Smith was working with, Flea and John Frusciante go the opposite way with their guitar tracks. Since Smith has a lot of natural reverb to work with, the guitars and bass are incredibly tight, keeping those swinging cymbals and massive drum hits close to the ground and grooving.
Although ‘Give It Away’ thrives on its insistent groove, Smith’s drums have made it an essential part of the setlist whenever the group have played their stadium gigs. Even though Red Hot Chili Peppers have thrived off the brotherly bond between Anthony Kiedis and Flea, what Chad Smith brings to the backbeat has been carrying the band through 30 years of funk-rock bliss.
