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.

Ronnie Montrose - ...and on guitar (1989)

Ronald Douglas Montrose was born on 29 November 1947 in San Francisco, and when he was a toddler his parents moved back to his mother's home state of Colorado, where he spent most of his younger years in Denver. When he was about 16 years old he ran away from home to pursue his musical career, but he wouldn't join his first real band for another six years, when in 1969 he joined Sawbuck, with Mojo Collins (lead vocals, guitar), Starr Donaldson (guitar, vocals), Chuck Ruff (drums) and Bill Church (bass). They were signed to Fillmore Records, co-owned by producer David Rubinson and promoter Bill Graham, and they toured and opened for major acts, before recoding their only album at the beginning of 1971, and it was during this time that Rubinson arranged an audition for Montrose with Van Morrison. Morrison, having recently moved from New York to California, needed a new band to record his next album 'Tupelo Honey', and so both Montrose and Church left Sawbuck to join Morrison before the sessions had finished for the 'Sawbuck' album, and so they only appeared on two songs on the 1972 album from the band. As well as songs from 'Tupelo Honey', Montrose and Church also played on the song 'Listen To The Lion', which was recorded at the same time but not released until the following year, when it appeared on 1972's 'Saint. Dominic's Preview'. After that, Montrose played briefly with Boz Scaggs, and then added guitar to an unreleased album by Kendell Kardt, where he was so taken with Kardt's song 'Black Train' that he covered it on one of his later albums. In 1972 he joined The Edgar Winter Group, and when he recruited Chuck Ruff to join him it essentially spelled the end of Sawbuck. After playing electric guitar, 12 string acoustic and mandolin on Winter's third album 'They Only Come Out at Night', he left to form his own band, the eponymously named Montrose, in 1973. 

Featuring Sammy Hagar on vocals, they released two albums on Warner Bros. Records, 'Montrose' in 1973, and 'Paper Money' the following year, before Hagar left to pursue a solo career. With his work on Morrison's album having been noticed, he was asked to add his guitar work to 'Power Of Love' from former Spooky Tooth member Gary Wright's 1975 solo album 'The Dream Weaver', which kick-started a parallel career in session work, playing with Dan Hartman, The Beau Brummels, The Hoodoo Rhythm Devils, Tony Williams and Nicolette Larson over the next few years. With Bob James replacing Hagar on vocals and Jim Alcivar added on keyboards, two more Montrose albums were released, with 'Warner Bros. Presents Montrose!' coming out in 1975 and 'Jump On It' in 1976. Montrose then shifted direction and released a solo album, the all-instrumental 'Open Fire' in 1978, produced by former band-mate Edgar Winter. In 1979 he formed Gamma with vocalist Davey Pattison, bringing Jim Alcivar with him, and recruiting Alan Fitzgerald on bass and Skip Gillette on drums. Gamma had more of a progressive rock edge compared to the hard rock of Montrose, and produced three consecutively titled albums before splitting up. In 1983 Montrose played lead guitar on '(She Is A) Telepath' from Paul Kantner's album 'Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra', and a couple of years later he joined Seattle's Rail (winners of MTV's first Basement Tapes video competition), as he was looking for a new band and one of Rail's guitarists, Rick Knotts, had recently left. For the few months that he was with them, they were billed as 'Rail featuring Montrose' or 'Ronnie & Rail', and they played a set of half Rail favorites and half Montrose songs, before splitting amicably at the end of their tour. He continued to record through the 1980's and 1990's, releasing solo albums including 'The Speed Of Sound' in 1988 and 'Music From Here' in 1994, as well as reforming Gamma to record 'Gamma 4' in 2000. During his 2009 tour, Montrose revealed that he had fought prostate cancer for the previous two years but was healthy once again, and he continued to tour until, on 03 March 2012 he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His death was originally assumed to be the result of his prostate cancer, but the San Mateo County Coroner's Office confirmed the guitarist had taken his own life. It was a sad end to what most people would consider to be a rich and fulfilling life, but at least we have his many recordings as a reminder of what a great guitarist he was. 

Track listing 

Disc One
01 Wild Night (from 'Tupelo Honey' by Van Morrison 1971)
02 Saga Of The Blue Beaver (from 'Gandharva' by Beaver And Krause 1971)
03 We've Got Ways to Keep High (from 'Victoria' by Victoria Domoalgoski 1971)
04 Black Train (from 'Buddy Bolden' unreleased album by Kendell Kardt 1971)
05 Lovin' Man (from 'Sawbuck' by Sawbuck 1972)
06 Rock 'n' Roll Boogie Woogie Blues (from 'They Only Come Out At Night' by 

                                                                                              The Edgar Winter Group 1972)
07 If You Need Me (from 'Insane Asylum' by Kathi McDonald 1973)
08 Power Of Love (from 'Dream Weaver' by Gary Wright 1975)
09 Down To The Bottom (from 'The Beau Brummels' by The Beau Brummels 1975)
10 The Party's In The Back Room (from 'Images' by Dan Hartman 1976)

Disc Two
11 Teach Your Daughter (from 'Safe In Their Homes' by The Hoodoo Rhythm Devils 1976)
12 Open Fire (from 'The Joy Of Flying' by Tony Williams 1978)
13 Just In The Nick Of Time (from 'In The Nick Of Time' by Nicolette Larson 1979)
14 Trouble (from 'Two Years In A Padded Cell' by Earth Quake 1979)
15 Dirty Work (from 'Lauren Wood' by Lauren Wood 1979)
16 Soldier (from 'No Heroes' by Jamie Sheriff 1980)
17 (She Is A) Telepath (from 'Planet Earth Rock And Roll Orchestra' by Paul Kantner 1983)
18 Whatever It Takes (from 'Uptown' by The Neville Brothers 1987)
19 Blood Alley 152 (from 'Guitar Speak II' by Various Artists 1988)
20 Tighter (from 'High Heel Heaven' by Heist 1989)

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.

Eddie Van Halen - ...and on guitar (2013)

As a tribute to Eddie Van Halen, who passed away on 6th October 2020, at the age of 65, here is a special '...and on guitar' which was put together by correspondent Zach. I didn't realise that he'd guested on quite as many albums as he did, so had passed him by, but this actually makes a really good listen, and also showcases just what a great guitarist he was.

The Van Halen brothers were born in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Edward Lodewijk van Halen on 26 January 1955, and Alexander Arthur van Halen on 8 May 1953, and their father Jan was a Dutch jazz pianist, clarinetist and saxophonist. In 1962, the Van Halen family moved from the Netherlands to the United States, settling in Pasadena, California, and both brothers learned to play the piano as children starting at the age of six. From 1964 through to 1967, Eddie won first place in the annual piano competition held at Long Beach City College, and his parents wanted the boys to be classical pianists, but Eddie liked rock music much better, and so when Alex began playing the guitar, Eddie bought a drum kit, but after hearing Alex's performance of the Surfaris' drum solo in the song 'Wipe Out', he gave Alex the drums and began learning how to play the electric guitar. The brothers formed their first band with three other boys, calling themselves The Broken Combs, and it was while playing in the band that he first felt the desire to become a professional musician. In 1972 Eddie and his brother Alex formed another band, and a couple of years later they changed its name to Van Halen, playing at well-known clubs like the Whisky a Go Go. In 1977, Warner Records offered Van Halen a recording contract, and their debut album of the same year reached number 19 on the Billboard pop music charts, becoming one of rock's most commercially successful debuts. By the early 1980's, Van Halen was one of the most successful rock acts of the time, and the album '1984' went five-times Platinum a year after its release. More hit albums followed over the next twenty years, and in the down-time between recording them, Eddie engaged in several projects outside of the band, including solo work and partnerships with his brother on film soundtracks, such as 'Twister', as well as musical collaborations with Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, Nicolette Larson, Michael Jackson, Brian May, Sammy Hagar, Thomas Dolby, LL Cool J, and a film soundtrack with Roger Waters. Eddie famously played the solo on Jackson's 'Beat It', but as the rest of the guitar on the song was played by Steve Lukather (and also for reasons of space) I've left it off this album, although tracks by all the other artists are represented.  

Perhaps surprisingly, Eddie was also an inventor on three patents related to guitars: a folding prop to support a guitar in a flat position, a tension-adjusting tailpiece, and an ornamental design for a headstock.

Track listing

01 Tunnel Of Love (from 'Gene Simmons Vault' by Gene Simmons 2017, recorded 1977)

02 Can't Get Away From You (from 'Nicolette' by Nicolette Larson 1978)

03 Blues Breaker (from 'Star Fleet Project EP' by Brian May + Friends 1983)

04 Eagles Fly (from 'I Never Said Goodbye' by Sammy Hagar 1987)

05 Eastern Bloc (from 'Astronauts And Heretics' by Thomas Dolby 1991)

06 Respect The Wind (from the soundtrack of the film 'Twister' 1996)

07 If Six Was Nine (from 'Tribute To Jeff' by David Garfield 1997)

08 The Water Sings (from 'Fatherless Child' by Rich Wyman 1996) 

09 Lost Boys Calling (from the soundtrack of the film 'The Legend of 1900' 1998)

10 We're The Greatest (from 'Authentic' by LL Cool J 2013)