“In the beginning was noise. And noise begat rhythm. And rhythm begat everything else.” – from Mickey Hart’s Drumming at the Edge of Music
Mickey Hart is best known as one of two drummers for the rock band The Grateful Dead but he has, for nearly 30 years, been pursuing his own path both within and without The Dead. For Hart, playing percussion is not merely his profession – it is his passion.
He joined The Grateful Dead in 1967, creating a dual-drum attack with Bill Kreutzman. As the 1960s became the 1970s, The Dead’s studio sound moved from the psychedelic to one that was more mellow and folk-inflected. (Their lives performances retained their trademark improvisation and lengthy jams.) In 1971, Hart took a hiatus from the band because their manager was found to be stealing money and their manager was also Hart’s father.
The air cleared after three years and Hart rejoined the band in 1974. During the interim, he developed an interest in percussion outside of the usual drum kit of snare, bass, tom toms, and cymbals. This was reflected in The Dead’s live performances as Hart and Kreutzman were given time for a drum duet which is generally called “drumz”. This drum interlude really began in earnest in 1976 and it eventually took on a life of its own. It became more complex and new percussion instruments sounds were incorporated with each tour.
Hart began to record music outside of The Grateful Dead including pieces for the soundtrack of Francis Ford Coppola’s epic film Apocalypse Now. During the 1980’s, he began to dig into the lore of percussion which led him to shamanism and the alteration of consciousness. He wrote two books which explored this aspect of his passion: Drumming at the Edge of Music and Planet Drum. In 1991, he appeared before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and testified to the healing power of music and recommended drum playing as a form of music therapy.
As one can see, Mickey Hart sees music and especially rhythm as very potent forces and he has schooled himself extensively in the history and performance of percussion. (The only other rock drummer I can of think of who has pursued a similar path is Rush’s Neil Peart.) This perspective is integral to his music, as we shall see.
The album is a best of collection and provides a good, if cursory, overview of Hart’s pursuit of his passion. The tracks span the period of 1976 through 1998 which is where it begins with the song “Angola” from the Supralingua album. It is a wonderfully upbeat song which he co-wrote with some of the other performers on the album including Giovanni Hidalgo and Zakir Hussain. It moves along at a brisk pace with the trap kit providing a solid foundation for various other rhythms to play off of as washes of keyboards add tonal color. It is mostly instrumental but voices weave in an out reminding us of the first instrument to give us music.
One of the great things about this song is the seamless blending of instrumentation from diverse cultures. Caribbean and Middle Eastern flavors are absorbed and blended. Although the song also mixes acoustic instruments with triggered samples of various drums and percussive devices, it does not have an overly “processed” sound and has a lot of warmth.
A pair of songs from the Mystery Box album follow: “Where Love Goes (Sito)” and “Down the Road.” The album features a host of percussionists but also the women of the English a capella group The Mint Juleps on vocals. The first song is a mid-tempo slice of thoroughly modern R&B with a very tangible world beat feel to it. Although the music is a wonderful sonic confluence of styles, I didn’t find the melody or the beat to be particularly inviting. It has a rather generic feel to it. I did, however, enjoy “Down the Road.” With the addition of Bruce Hornsby’s accordion and the relative paucity of non-Western drums, the world beat element has been greatly downplayed. It lilts along with Hart himself providing an almost spoken word set of vocals. While it isn’t a bad song, there’s nothing special about it either.
The oldest piece comes next – “Sweet Sixteen” from 1976’s Diga album – and gets things back on track. It’s a very spirited jam that begins with a marimba melody that is joined by tabla, bongos, and, eventually, by Hart’s traps kit. When the song kicks into high gear, it floats like a sprinter in at full speed that seems to hover just above the ground. Although the instrumentation is sparse compared to the previous songs, there is enough variation to make its eight minute length seem short and leave the listener wanting more.
“The Eliminators” from 1990’s At the Edge is kind of a let down. This is more than likely a sequencing problem because the song itself is a good one. Despite having a bit of an electronic sound to it, the stuttering rhythm kind of keeps the listener second guessing where it’s going to go next. On top of it is some very ethereal synthesizer that creates an enchanting mood.
1991’s Planet Drum album is represented by the two songs “Udo Chant” and “Temple Caves.” The polyrhythm of “Udo Chant” is intriguing. Marimba and drums of all sorts provide a steady beat while woodwinds and synthesizers add color and the barest hint of a melody. Voices periodically weave in and out of the wash of sound. “Temple Caves” is darker, more mysterious. Drum rhythms slowly emerge from a dense wall of keyboards and tension is evoked through minimal playing. A great song.
Sandwiched between the tunes above is “Compound”. It was written for the Apocalypse Now soundtrack but didn’t see the light of day till 1989. It has an alluring rhythm with lots of other instruments layered on top. It does a good job of evoking the Cambodian jungle and giving off a slightly sinister air as the compound in the film was not a happy place.
The final track is “Call to All Nations,” which was part of the opening ceremonies at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The synthesizers that open the song seem to bubble underneath the surface, as if there were something waiting to be released. Voices of men and women from various nations chime in. After a couple minutes, a propulsive tabla beat kicks up and the song gets going. Other varieties of drums take their turns in hammering out the rhythm and the voices return near the end in chorus.
This album is quite good and I do recommend it despite a couple weak inclusions. It gives a glimpse at Hart’s passion for percussion as well as a good overview of his repertoire for anyone looking to delve into his work further. Heck, you might find yourself wanting to do so after hearing this disc. If nothing else, there is plainly some great music to be had. And much of it is just good ol’ ass-shaking music. It is music which invites you to get lost inside a rhythm and inside yourself.
(This was originally published at The Green Man Review back in 2003-08.)
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