Michael McDonald - ...featuring (2022)

Time for another post from Mike S, and this time he's been trawling his record collection for recordings that feature one particular vocalist, so over to Mike...

Michael Solof back with you for another round of fun tunes. I was inspired this time by pj's wonderful '...and on guitar' series. I was listening to an old Steely Dan album the other day and I followed it with Christopher Cross’s first album and realized that Michael McDonald was on both albums singing background vocals (and almost co-lead at times) and that got me thinking about how many songs I loved that he'd contributed to over the years. McDonald is known for his distinctive, soulful voice and was a member of two of the biggest bands of the 70's/80's, with stints in the Doobie Brothers from 1975–1982, and Steely Dan during 1973 and 1974. He wrote and sang several hit singles with the Doobie Brothers, including 'What A Fool Believes', 'Minute By Minute', and 'Takin' It To The Streets', and his solo career consists of nine studio albums and a number of singles, including the 1982 hit 'I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)'. However, it's his session work that we're looking at here, as during his long career he's collaborated with a huge number of other artists, including James Ingram, David Cassidy, Van Halen, Patti LaBelle, Lee Ritenour, the Winans, Aretha Franklin, Toto, Grizzly Bear, Joni Mitchell, and Thundercat, and unlike almost all other background vocalists who literally do "disappear into the background", McDonald's voice always broke through that haze and became a unique, distinctive and very important part of each song he contributed to. His beautiful tone just added a lushness to the harmonies that you couldn’t help but notice. I therefore started going through his entire musical catalog and pulling out two different ways that he'd helped many wonderful fellow musicians throughout the years. One way was just as a background vocalist and the other was as a co-lead or guest vocalist (and often times songwriter), and then I broke up the collection accordingly. The first volume is his guest vocals on other artist's songs, while the other two volumes feature his backing vocals for a wide variety of artists over an extra-ordinary 46-year career. 

Track listing

Volume 1
01 Let Me Go, Love (from 'In The Nick Of Time' by Nicolette Larson 1979)
02 I've Got My Mind Made Up (from 'Together?' soundtrack with Jackie DeShannon 1979)
03 Heart To Heart (from 'Heart To Heart' by Kenny Loggins 1982)
04 Arcade (from 'Swing Street' by Patrick Simmons 1983)
05 Let's Stay Together (from 'Tribute To Jeff Porcaro' by Paulette Brown & David Pack 1997)
06 Moondance (from 'Nathan East' by Nathan East 2014)
07 Long Haul (from 'Unfinished Business' by Robben Ford 2014)
08 Night Of Our Own (from 'Someday, Somehow' by Steve Porcaro 2016)
09 Love In The World (from '2' by CWF 2020)
10 Higher Ground (mixed by Tomey Maguarfield, feat. McDonald/Red Hot Chilli Peppers 2022)

Volume 2
01 Any World (That I'm Welcome To) (from 'Katy Lied' by Steely Dan 1975)  
02 See What You Done (from 'Chunky, Novi And Ernie' by Chunky, Novi And Ernie 1977)
03 Strengthen My Love (from 'White Shadows' by Tim Moore 1977)
04 Red Streamliner ('Waiting For Columbus' out-take by Little Feat 1978) 
05 Losing Myself In You (from 'Bish' by Steven Bishop 1978)
06 I Really Don't Know Anymore (from 'Christopher Cross' by Christopher Cross 1979)
07 This Is It (from 'Keep The Fire' by Kenny Loggins 1979)
08 Please Don't Leave (from 'Lauren Wood' by Lauren Wood 1979)
09 Young Blood (from 'Rickie Lee Jones' by Ricky Lee Jones 1979)
10 One Fine Day (from 'Satisfied' by Rita Coolidge 1979)
11 Steal Away (from 'Robbie Dupree' by Robbie Dupree 1980)

Volume 3
01 Why You Givin' Up (from 'Arcade' by Patrick Simmons 1983)
02 I Just Can't Let Go (from 'Anywhere You Go' by David Pack 1985)
03 I'll Be Over You (from 'Fahrenheit' by Toto 1986)
04 A Fool And His Money (from 'Mosaic' by Wang Chung 1986)
05 Never Give Up (from 'Outrageous Temptations' by Tim Weisberg 1989)
06 Same World (from 'Same World' by Henry Kapono 1991)
07 Where Words End (from 'Just Across The River' by Jimmy Webb 2010) 
08 Some Children (from 'Holy Ghost!' by Holy Ghost! 2011)
09 The Best Of Me (from 'Starting Now' by Toad The Wet Sprocket 2021)

McDonald has one of the finest, smoothest, most mellow voices in All of Music. It’s the reason he is still in such high demand over 40 years after his debut.

I hope you like this collection as much as I do.

Mike S

For MAC users

Press command+shift+period (to show hidden files) and a grayed out folder '...and on guitar" will appear and the mp3s will be inside. Either drag those to another folder OR rename the folder without any periods at the beginning. Press command+shift+period to once again hide the hidden files.

Ry Cooder - ...and on guitar (1971)

Ryland Peter Cooder was born on 15 March 1947 in Los Angeles, California, growing up in Santa Monica, California, and graduating from Santa Monica High School in 1964. He began playing the guitar when he was three years old, and a year later he accidentally stuck a knife in his left eye and has had to wear a glass eye ever since. As a youngster he performed as part of a pickup trio with Bill Monroe and Doc Watson, in which he played banjo, but although the band was not a success, it did inspire him to apply banjo tunings and the three-finger roll to guitar instead. He first attracted attention playing with Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, notably on the 1967 album 'Safe As Milk', after previously having worked with Taj Mahal and Ed Cassidy in the Rising Sons. At a warm-up gig shortly before the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, Don Van Vliet froze, straightened his tie, then walked off the 10 ft stage and landed on manager Bob Krasnow, later claiming he had seen a girl in the audience turn into a fish, with bubbles coming from her mouth. Cooder decided that this unprofessionalism was the final straw in an already strained relationship, and that he could no longer work with Van Vliet, effectively starting his career as a session musician. In 1968 he played with Randy Newman on his '12 Songs' album, as well recording sessions with The Rolling Stones in 1968 and 1969, with his contribution on mandolin appearing on 'Let It Bleed' and his slide guitar on 'Sticky Fingers', and later teaming up with Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, and longtime Rolling Stones sideman Nicky Hopkins to record the 'Jamming with Edward!' album. Cooder also played bottleneck guitar on the original version of Little Feat's 'Willin'', and contributed slide and bottleneck guitar to a vast array of US singer/songwriters in the early 70's, including Marc Benno, Arlo Guthrie, Scott McKenzie, Ron Elliott, Mark LeVine and Gordon Lightfoot, and in particular on the truly stunning version of the Dionne Warwick/Cilla Black classic 'Anyone Who Had A Heart' by Eve. Throughout the 70's, Cooder released a series of albums that showcased his guitar work, starting with his eponymous debut in 1970, and releasing an album every year until the late 80's. These records explored bygone musical genres and found old-time recordings which he then personalized and updated, and on his breakthrough album 'Into The Purple Valley' he chose unusual instrumentations and arrangements of blues, gospel, calypso, and country songs. During the 80's he moved into film soundtracks, and his contribution to Wim Wnders' 'Paris, Texas' is regarded as some of his best work, but for this collection we're just looking at his session-work on albums from other artists in the early 70's. As Cooder is recognised as one of the foremost exponents of the slide and bottleneck guitar, I've chosen just tracks which feature those instruments, and have still managed to fill two volumes from just four years of recordings..

Track listing

Disc One
01 Sure 'Nuff 'N' Yes I Do (from 'Safe As Milk' by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1967)
02 Richard Lee (from 'Pilgrim's Progress' by Mark LeVine 1968)
03 Heavy On My Mind (from 'LA, Memphis & Tyler, Texas' by Dale Hawkins 1968)
04 Don't Talk Now (from 'Longbranch/Pennywhistle' by Longbranch/Pennywhistle 1968)
05 Smokey Joe's Cafe (from 'The Anders & Poncia Album' by Anders & Poncia 1968)
06 Struttin' Down Main Street (from 'Border Town' by Fusion 1969) 
07 Something Better (single by Marianne Faithfull 1969)
08 Soft Soundin' Music (from 'Harpers Bizarre 4' by Harpers Bizarre 1969)
09 Teach It To The Children (from 'Marc Benno' by Marc Benno 1970)
10 Natural Magic (from the soundtrack of the film 'Performance' 1970)
11 Look In The Mirror (from 'Stained Glass Morning' by Scott McKenzie 1970)
12 Deep River Runs Blue (from 'The Candlestickmaker' by Ron Elliott 1970)
13 Go Back Upstairs (from 'Salty' by Alex Richman 1970)

Disc Two
01 Let's Burn Down The Cornfield (from '12 Songs' by Randy Newman 1970)
02 Me And Bobby McGee (from 'If You Could Read My Mind' by Gordon Lightfoot 1970)
03 Anyone Who Had A Heart (from 'Take It And Smile' by Eve 1970)
04 Willin' (from 'Little Feat' by Little Feat 1970)
05 Fence Post Blues (from 'Washington County' by Arlo Guthrie 1970
06 Don't Drink The Water (from 'Don Everly' by Don Everly 1970)
07 Song For Judith (from 'Living' by Judy Collins 1971)
08 The Blues (All Night Long) (from 'Stories' by David Blue 1971)
09 Mr. Money (from 'Possum' by Possum 1971)
10 Born Under A Bad Sign (from 'Rita Coolidge' by Rita Coolidge 1971)

11 Sister Morphine (from 'Sticky Fingers' by The Rolling Stones 1971)
12 Dirty, Dirty (from 'Crazy Horse' by Crazy Horse 1971)

Thanks to whoever it as who suggested Ry Cooder (sorry I can't find your name) but it's a great addition to the series. 

search cooder aiwe

For MAC users

Press command+shift+period (to show hidden files) and a grayed out folder '...and on guitar" will appear and the mp3s will be inside. Either drag those to another folder OR rename the folder without any periods at the beginning. Press command+shift+period to once again hide the hidden files.

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter - ...and on guitar (1978)

Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter was born on December 13, 1948, and joined his first band at age 11. While still a high school student, he worked at Manny's Music Shop in Manhattan in 1966, and it was there that he met Jimi Hendrix, who was just beginning his career as a frontman. For a short period during that year, Baxter was the bassist in a Hendrix-led band called Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, along with fellow Manny's employee Randy California. He first reached a wide rock audience in 1968 as a member of the psychedelic rock band Ultimate Spinach, joining them for the third and final album 'Ultimate Spinach III'. After leaving the band, he played with the Holy Modal Rounders, and also backed singer Buzzy Linhart, and it was around this time that he started to use the nickname "Skunk," although its origins are shrouded in mystery to this day. Relocating to Los Angeles, he found work as a session guitarist, playing on Carly Simon's first album among many others, and in 1972 he became a founding member of Steely Dan, along with guitarist Denny Dias, guitarist-bassist Walter Becker, keyboardist-vocalist Donald Fagen, drummer Jim Hodder and vocalist David Palmer. Baxter appeared with Steely Dan on their first three albums, 'Can't Buy a Thrill' in 1972, 'Countdown To Ecstasy' in 1973, and 'Pretzel Logic' in 1974, and contributed the classic guitar solo on their highest charting hit 'Rikki Don’t Lose That Number'. While finishing work on 'Pretzel Logic', he became aware of Becker and Fagen's intentions to retire Steely Dan from touring, and to work almost exclusively with session players, and so with that in mind he left the band in 1974 to join The Doobie Brothers. As a session man, he had contributed pedal steel guitar on the band's fourth album 'What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits', so he fitted in straight away, and is much in evidence on 1975's 'Stampede'. While preparing to tour in support of 'Stampede', Tom Johnston was hospitalized with a stomach ailment, and so to fill in for him on vocals, Baxter suggested bringing in singer-keyboardist Michael McDonald, with whom Baxter had worked in Steely Dan. With Johnston still convalescing, McDonald was invited to join the band full-time, and his songwriting contributions, as well as Baxter's jazzier guitar style, marked a new direction for the band, but after three more albums Baxter left the band. He continued to work as a session guitarist for a diverse group of artists, including Willy DeVille, Bryan Adams, Hoyt Axton, Eric Clapton, Gene Clark, Sheryl Crow, Freddie Hubbard, Ricky Nelson, Dolly Parton, Ringo Starr, Gene Simmons, Rod Stewart, Burton Cummings, Barbra Streisand, and Donna Summer. 
He continues to do studio work, most recently on tribute albums to Pink Floyd and Aerosmith, and occasionally plays in The Coalition Of The Willing, a band comprising Andras Simonyi, Hungarian Ambassador to the United States; Alexander Vershbow, US Ambassador to South Korea; Daniel Poneman, formerly of the United States National Security Council and later the Obama Administration's Deputy Secretary of Energy; and Lincoln Bloomfield, former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs. This is linked to a second profession that he fell into almost by accident when, in the mid-80s, his interest in music recording technology led him to wonder about hardware and software originally developed for military use, specifically data compression algorithms and large-capacity storage devices, and after extensive research he wrote a paper on missile defence systems, which he gave to California Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, and his career as a defense consultant began. However, we're more interested in the music here, so this double disc set collects some of those pre-Dan sessions from Carly Simon, Cashman & West, Buzzy Linhart, and Paul Pena, and a few post-Dan recordings from Bob Neuwirth, Wayne Berry, and Tom Rush. The second disc all takes place while he was a member of The Doobie Brothers, and features Cher, Richie Havens, Little Feat, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and John Sebastian. Outside of the timeframe of these two discs he also played on records by Leo Sayer, Judy Collins, Cerrone, Roger Miller, and Nazareth, but the decade from 1970 to 1978 contains arguably his best work, so that's what we have here. 

Track listing

Disc One
01 Once In The Morning (from 'P. J. Colt' by P. J. Colt 1970)
02 The Best Thing (from 'Carly Simon' by Carly Simon 1971)
03 We Let Love Slip Away (from 'A Song Or Two' by Cashman & West 1972)
04 One For The Lonely (from 'Paul Pena' by Paul Pena 1972)
05 Danny's Song (from 'Reunion' by John Henry Kurtz 1972)
06 Tell Me True (from 'Buzzy' by Buzzy Linhart 1972)
07 Come Home Woman (from 'Out Of The Nest' by Swallow 1972)
08 Ole Slew-Foot (from 'Rootin'' by Navasota 1972)
09 Thanks For Nothing (from 'Thomas Jefferson Kaye' by Thomas Jefferson Kaye 1973)
10 We Had It All (from 'Bob Neuwirth' by Bob Neuwirth 1974)
11 Claim On Me (from 'Ladies Love Outlaws' by Tom Rush 1974)
12 All I Needed (from 'Home At Last' by Wayne Berry 1974)

Disc Two
01 Down The Backstairs Of My Life (from 'Eric Mercury' by Eric Mercury 1975)
02 These Days (from 'Stars' by Cher 1975)
03 Hot (from 'Moving Targets' by Flo & Eddie 1976)
04 Dreaming As One (from 'The End Of The Beginning' by Richie Havens 1976)
05 In France They Kiss On Main Street (from 'The Hissing Of Summer Lawns' by 

                                                                                                                      Joni Mitchell 1975)

06 A Song A Day In Nashville (from 'Welcome Back' by John Sebastian 1976)
07 Highly Prized Possession (from 'Word Called Love' by Brian & Brenda Russell 1976)
08 Missin' You (from 'Time Loves A Hero' by Little Feat 1977)
09 A Heartfelt Line Or Two (from 'Blowin' Away' by Joan Baez 1977)
10 Guns Guns Guns (from 'Dream Of A Child' by Burton Cummings 1978)
11 Cry Baby Cry (from 'Flying Dreams' by Commander Cody 1978)
12 He Lives On (Story About The Last Journey Of A Warrior) (from 'Modern Man' by 

                                                                                                                  Stanley Clarke 1978)

Mick Taylor - ...and on guitar (1988)

Michael Kevin Taylor was born on 17 January 1949 in Welwyn Garden City, but was raised in Hatfield, and began playing guitar at age nine, learning to play from his uncle. As a teenager, he formed bands with schoolmates and started performing concerts under names such as The Juniors and the Strangers, who also appeared on television and put out a single. At aged 16 he went to see a John Mayall's Bluesbreakers performance at The Woodhall Community Centre, where the band performed their first set without a guitarist. It became clear that for some reason Eric Clapton was not going to show up, and seeing that his guitar had already been set up on the stage, Taylor approached Mayall during the interval to ask if he could play with them. He mentioned that he was familiar with the band's repertoire, and after a moment of deliberation, Mayall agreed. After playing the second set, and garnering Mayall's respect in the process, Taylor left the stage, joined his friends and left the venue before Mayall had the chance to speak with him. This encounter would prove to be pivotal in Taylor's career when Mayall needed someone to fill Peter Green's vacancy the following year, when Green quit to form Fleetwood Mac. Mayall placed a 'Guitarist Wanted' advert in the weekly Melody Maker music paper, and much to his relief immediately got a response from Taylor, whom he readily invited to join. 
From 1966 to 1969, Taylor developed a guitar style that is blues-based with Latin and jazz influences, and appeared on the albums 'Diary Of A Band', 'Bare Wires', and 'Blues From Laurel Canyon'. After Brian Jones was removed from The Rolling Stones in June 1969, Mayall recommended Taylor to Mick Jagger, and following a rehearsal session an impressed Jagger and Keith Richards invited Taylor back the following day to continue rehearsing and recording with the band, where he overdubbed guitar on 'Country Honk' and 'Live With Me' for the album 'Let It Bleed', and on the single 'Honky Tonk Women'. After the 1973 European tour, Richards' drug problems had worsened and begun to compromise the band's ability to function, with the band members living in various countries, and between recording sessions Taylor appeared on Herbie Mann's 'London Underground' album (appropriately enough on a cover of his own band's 'Bitch'), and also contributed guitar to 'Dolly' from Nicky Hopkins' 'The Tin Man Was A Dreamer'. In 1974 recording started on the Rolling Stones' 'It's Only Rock 'n' Roll' album, but he found it difficult to get along with Richards, and so not long after those sessions, Taylor went on a six-week expedition to Brazil, to travel down the Amazon River in a boat and explore Latin music. In December 1974 Taylor announced he was leaving the Rolling Stones, with his decision coming as a shock to fans, and especially the Stones, who were reportedly angry at Taylor for leaving at such short notice. 
In 1975 he formed a band with Jack Bruce and Carla Bley, but after a short European tour they disbanded the following year. In 1977 he attended London-based sessions for the John Phillips album 'Pay Pack & Follow', appearing on several tracks alongside Jagger, Richards and Wood, and the same year he also played guitar on sessions by Alan Merrill and Elliott Murphy. Taylor appeared as a special guest of Little Feat at the Rainbow Theatre in London in early 1977, sharing slide guitar with frontman Lowell George on 'A Apolitical Blues', and that summer he collaborated with Pierre Moerlen's Gong for their 1978 album 'Expresso II', helping out the following year on their 'Downwind' release. The early 80's were spent touring, firstly with Alvin Lee in 1981, then on a John Mayall's Bluesbeakers reunion tour from 1982-1983, and in 1984 he was part of Bob Dylan's touring band. In 1988 he played some great blues guitar on Speedo Jones' 'Have Blues Will Travel' album, and he also performed the lead guitar solo on Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' top-10 single 'I Hate Myself for Loving You'. During his time with the Stones he was always considered their most fluid and melodic guitar player, and this collection shows that skill superbly in a variety of different settings. 

Track listing

01 Bitch (from 'London Underground' by Herbie Mann 1973)
02 Dolly (from 'The Tin Man Was A Dreamer' by Nicky Hopkins 1973)
03 Always Another Train (from 'Alan Merrill' by Alan Merrill 1977, released 1985)
04 Oh Virginia (from 'Pay Pack & Follow' by John Phillips 1977, released 2001)
05 Rock Ballad (from 'Just A Story From America' by Elliott Murphy 1977) 
06 Heavy Tune (from 'Expresso II' by Gong 1978)
07 A Apolitical Blues (from 'Waiting For Columbus' by  Little Feat 1978)
08 What You Know (from 'Downwind' by Pierre Moerlen's Gong 1979)
09 Break Your Broom (from 'Have Blues Will Travel' by Speedo Jones 1988)
10 I Hate Myself For Loving You (from 'Up Your Alley' by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts 1988)

Little Feat - Brickyard Blues (1975)

Little Feat have always been a favourite band of mine, from their first album in 1971 right through to 'Time Loves A Hero' in 1977. Lowell George had been in a few bands in the late 60's, including The Factory and Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention, and while a member of the Mothers he wrote 'Willin''. On hearing the song Zappa reportedly fired him from the band, either because he felt that George was too talented to be a guitar for hire and should form his own group, or that 'Willin'' contained drug references. I favour the first option, as Zappa was instrumental in getting the newly formed Little Feat their Warner Brothers record deal, which he wouldn't have done had there been an acrimony between them. During the recording sessions for their debut album, George injured his hand and couldn't play guitar on 'Willin'', so Ry Cooder filled in for him, but the song was recorded a second time for the next album, this time with George playing guitar. During their too-short career they wrote and recorded many songs that have since gone on to become standards (Willin'', 'Dixie Chicken', 'Teenage Nervous Breakdown' etc), and as well as the tracks that did eventually appear on their albums, some songs fell by the wayside and have remained unheard for nearly 30 years. The 'Hotcakes and Outtakes' collection of 2000 did a fine job in unearthing a number of these, but being a career retrospective meant that they were slotted in amongst more well-known album tracks in a 4CD box set, whereas the hardcore fans just wanted to hear the newly discovered stuff, so for them, and for me, this album consists of just the songs recorded for their albums which didn't make the cut. It's no surprise, considering the quality of the band's output, that these offcuts are often as good as anything else they released, but a few of them overtly show the jazz and soul influences they tended to keep buried in order to maintain the rock feel of the songs. 'All That You Dream' eventually appeared on 'The Last Record Album' and 'Hi Roller' was on 'Time Loves a Hero', but these versions were recorded during much earlier sessions. 

Track listing

01 Doglines (from the 'Little Feat' sessions)
02 Rat Faced Dog (from the 'Little Feat' sessions)
03 Wait Till The Shit Hits The Fan (from the 'Little Feat' sessions)
04 Doriville (from the 'Sailin' Shoes' sessions)
05 Roto/Tone (from the 'Sailin' Shoes' sessions)
06 Ace In The Hole (Hi Roller) (from the 'Dixie Chicken' sessions)
07 Eldorado Slim (from the 'Dixie Chicken' sessions)
08 Boogie Wigwam (Short Jazz Piece) (demo)
09 Brickyard Blues (Play Something Sweet) (from the 'Feats Don't Fail Me Now' sessions)
10 All That You Dream (from the 'Feats Don't Fail Me Now' sessions)
11 Front Page News (from 'The Last Record Album' sessions)
12 Jazz Thing In 10 (from the 'Little Feat' sessions)
13 Rockin' Shoes I & II (Lowell George demo)