This works a lot…
It’s late in the session, the drummer has done seven or eight or twelve takes of the song.
There’s good stuff happening. Good timing, good groove. But there’s still room for more.
So after all those takes the producer gets on the talk-back and says, “We’ve got a bunch of good stuff. Go crazy on this one.”
And that ends up being the take!
You need the backdrop of the first ten or twelve takes to set up the crazy one.
Before ‘go crazy on this one’ there’s often an elevated sense of trying to get it right. ‘Go crazy on this one’ alleviates that thought. There’s no sense in trying to get it right because the drummer can blame any mistakes on the fact that they were instructed to go crazy. Truly a win win.
***These days drums often get programmed instead of played. Which is great too. But ‘go crazy one this one’ is a phenomenon that sadly gets lost in the digital shuffle.
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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com