Questlove is one of the most prolific figures in music over the last 30 years, and for good reason. His work as a drummer, producer, and personality are well-respected. Even when zooming in to analyze him as just a drummer, there are countless great albums to choose from. I chose to look at “Game Theory” because of the way Questlove carries the record, and because of its importance to my development as a drummer.
One of the things that strikes me most about this album is its fluidity. It has fantastic flow - including songs that often meld endings and beginnings - yet despite the strong connection of songs, each one is individually still a memorable and unique idea. Questlove’s phrasing, control of tones, and the way he manipulates sound has much to do with this, as well as Black Thought’s vocals seemingly matched in lock-step with intensity, grit, and versatility.
“Game Theory” starts with swirling dreamscapes and opens into False Media, whose opening fully-harmonic beat has prevalent non-backbeat snare usage paired with hi-hat accents. As it continues, the drums break down to having no high frequency in verse 1, including amazing usage of creative sounds to give the listener an erratic sense of bombardment before settling in with a head-bopping beat that incorporates a rolling pattern of mixed meter (4/4 and 5/4). The song Game Theory starts stripped down. Questlove matches that by limiting himself to mid and low drum set frequencies (no cymbals or hi-hat), using a great pattern in the intro and then moving on to a groove that is both cranking and fat while filling all frequencies. This song is great for showing how the beats can go from head-bopping to head-turning. Great use of space and use (or intentional not use) of tones around the drums, culminating in the 3rd verse pattern which is an explosive and thoughtful linear pattern around the drums.
The use of frequency deletion and erratic/explosive playing in the first two songs makes the transition here feel relaxing and centering despite the fact that it’s literally setting up a song called Don’t Feel Right, which is classic Questlove. Relaxed and powerful with a great backbeat (timing and emphasis) to propel the song forward. In The Music (another example of great record flow from the song before) builds a great rhythmic phrase from the start, almost deceiving the listener with handclaps before turning dark and gritty. Parts of the rhythmic phrase remind me of drumming on lunch tables with pencils, fists, and handclaps. Every backbeat has a great response tone on the upbeat that follow it. There’s a certain rawness in the entire production and the song sends a unified message across the board. I really like the use of cymbals in the song Take It There, the repeated sizzling cymbal hits in a crescendo towards the ends of the phrases is a really nice touch to this beat. Transformation in this song allows for a very engaging rhythmic and lyrical intensity shift, fitting of the title Take It There. Baby has a nice use of toms and allowing the tambourine to fill the high frequency spot makes the crashes have a larger/more noticeable impact, a fantastic way of using a mostly-linear beat that moves around the drums to reinforce the harmonic and melodic movement of the song.
Here I Come starts with a jarring fill that feels like waking up in a panic then nails down a classic powerful Quest beat with an open hi-hat to emphasize each 2 of the measure. Questlove also uses this technique to shift/add to that accent (mostly on the “and” of 3) as a way of filling inside the beat. Long Time is an absolute clinic on funk drumming. Excellent use of ghost notes, flams, drags, and single-stroke presses. A beautiful, clean hi-hat and an energetic, tight pocket. I love the way he uses the hi-hat to differentiate the verse and chorus: in the verse the open hits are mostly on “e”s whereas in the chorus they tend to be right with backbeats. Absolutely beautiful playing and shows his time interpretation versatility: ability to internalize the beat slightly ahead, behind, or dead on. Livin’ In A New World uses great sounds to highlight aspects of the 16th note feel while maintaining a head-bopping quarter note feel.
The song Clock With No Hands will always be memorable for me. As I learned this whole record front to back (as best as I could) around the time it came out, I remember having so much trouble trying to play this beat correctly. It’s really tough to get all the parts to interlock with the correct groove, this is not an easy beat. I ended up playing the snare and ride pattern with the right hand and playing the hi-hat with the left hand. It was the first time I thought of using a hi-hat pattern with a left hand lead (much less ONLY left hand), so thanks Quest! Also the outro on this one is straight fire. Atonement is a reflective and dark song that still makes your head bop. Nice use of of varying ghost notes and hi-hat patterns here. Reminds me of Tip The Scale on “Undun.” The final cut on “Game Theory” is a J-Dilla tribute that is an expansion/extension of his song “Time: The Donut of the Heart,” which clearly indicates how much Dilla has meant to Quest, The Roots, and music. Can’t Stop It includes a large crescendo after the main part of the song with upbeats for the main snare hits underneath words spoken about J-Dilla by many people including referring to him as “the Muhammad Ali of beats,” and proclaiming “Dilla lives forever.”
From top to bottom this is a unified, well-organized album that showcases great musicality, talent, and awareness from all members of The Roots crew. Questlove’s playing on it is an inspiration to me as a drummer and I will always enjoy a listen through “Game Theory.”
Note: My record did not include Bread and Butter, a bonus track included in Japan and the UK and later released in the US.