Planet Drum

Planet Drum
Planet Drum
Studio album by Mickey Hart
Released	September 24, 1991
Genre	World music
Length	50:01
Label	Rykodisc
Producer	Mickey Hart
Mickey Hart chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

Planet Drum is a world music album by Mickey Hart, a musician and musicologist who was a member of the rock band the Grateful Dead.

Hart's concept for Planet Drum was to play drum music with percussionists from around the world, and incorporate their different musical styles and traditions into a new global sound. The musicians on the Planet Drum album were from the continental United States (Hart), Puerto Rico (Giovanni Hidalgo and Frank Colón), India (Zakir Hussain and T.H. "Vikku" Vinayakram), Nigeria (Sikiru Adepoju and Babatunde Olatunji), and Brazil (Airto Moreira and his wife, vocalist Flora Purim).

Planet Drum won the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album of 1991, the first year in which the award was given.^[2] It reached number 1 on the Billboard chart for Top World Music Albums.^[3]

Planet Drum, the book

Hart also wrote a book called Planet Drum: A Celebration of Percussion and Rhythm, co-written by Fredric Lieberman and D.A. Sonneborn. The book explores the role of drumming in the musical, cultural, and spiritual traditions of different cultures. It was first published in 1991, the same year that the Planet Drum album was released, and has the same cover illustration by Nancy Nimoy.

Planet Drum, the band

Since Planet Drum was released, Mickey Hart has sometimes toured with many of the same musicians who played on the album, performing live concerts. This ensemble is also called Planet Drum.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Track listing

"Udu Chant" (Sikiru Adepoju, Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Airto Moreira) – 3:40
"Island Groove" (Adepoju, Hart, Hussain, Moreira, Babatunde Olatunji) – 5:43
"Light Over Shadow" (Moreira, Olatunji, Flora Purim) – 3:51
"Dance of the Hunter's Fire" (Adepoju, Moreira, Olatunji, Colón, Purim, Hidalgo, T.H. "Vikku" Vinayakram) – 2:59
"Jewe (You are the One)" (Olatunji) – 4:06
"The Hunt" (Adepoju, Hart, Hussain, Moreira, Olatunji, Vinayakram) – 3:51
"Temple Caves" (Adepoju, Hart, Hussain, Moreira, Olatunji) – 3:13
"The Dancing Sorcerer" (Hussain, Moreira) – 2:57
"Bones" (Hart, Hussain, Olatunji, Purim) – 4:10
"Lost River" (Adepoju, Hart, Hussain, Moreira, Olatunji, Purim) – 2:58
"Evening Samba" (Adepoju, Hart, Hussain, Moreira, Olatunji, Vinayakram) – 4:30
"Iyanu (Surprises)" (Olatunji) – 2:02
"Mysterious Island" (Hart, Moreira, Purim, Jeff Sterling) – 5:49

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Producer – Mickey Hart
Co-producers – Sikiru Adepoju, Zakir Hussain, Airto Moreira, Babatunde Olatunji, Flora Purim, T.H. "Vikku" Vinayakram
Recording and mixdown engineers – Tom Flye, Jeff Sterling
Production manager – Howard Cohen
Equipment managers – Ram Rod, Rudson Shurtliff
Technical support – Jack Crymes
Digital mastering – Paul Stubblebine
Cover illustration – Nancy Nimoy

Notes

External links

[1] Anderson, Rick. Planet Drum at AllMusic

[2] "The Grammy Winners", New York Times, February 27, 1992

[BillboardCharts-3] Mickey Hart Billboard Albums at AllMusic

[4] St. Leger, Marie Elsie. "Mickey Hart's Planet Drum and Olu Dara", Rolling Stone, October 28, 1998^{[dead link‍]}

[5] Dansby, Andrew. "Mickey Hart Lives to the Beat of a Different Drum", Rolling Stone, November 18, 1999^{[dead link‍]}

[6] Foster-Patton, Kathy. "Mickey Hart's Planet Drum Returns", JamBase, September 20, 2006

[7] Richardson, Derk. "Mickey Hart reunites landmark world musicians for 'Global Drum Project'", San Francisco Chronicle, September 27, 2007

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