The Doobie Brothers - Stampede
[click here to see more vinyl featuring the Doobie Brothers]
Tom Johnston, guitars, vocals
Patrick Simmons, guitars, vocals
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, guitar, steel guitar
Tiran Porter, bass, vocals
John Hartman, drums
Keith Knudsen, drums, vocals
Ry Cooder – bottleneck guitar on "Rainy Day Crossroad Blues" [click here to see more vinyl featuring Ry Cooder]
Bill Payne – piano on "Sweet Maxine", "Neal's Fandango", "Texas Lullaby", "Take Me in Your Arms", "I Cheat the Hangman" and "Double Dealin' Four Flusher", organ on "Music Man" and "I Been Workin' on You", electric piano on "Double Dealin' Four Flusher", other keyboards
Karl Himmel – drums and percussion on "I Been Workin' on You"
Bobbye Hall Porter – congas on "Take Me in Your Arms"
Victor Feldman – marimba, percussion
Conte Candoli, Pete Candoli – trumpets on "I Cheat the Hangman"
Harry Bluestone – concertmaster on "Rainy Day Crossroad Blues"
Maria Muldaur – backing vocals on "I Cheat the Hangman"
Sherlie Matthews, Venetta Fields and Jessica Smith – backing vocals on "Take Me in Your Arms" and "I Been Workin' on You"
Nick DeCaro – string arrangements on "Texas Lullaby", "I Cheat the Hangman" and "Rainy Day Crossroad Blues"
Paul Riser – string and horn arrangements on "Take Me in Your Arms", horn arrangements on "Sweet Maxine" and "Double Dealin' Four Flusher"
Curtis Mayfield – string and horn arrangements on "Music Man"
Richard Tufo – orchestration on "Music Man"
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Rhino Entertainment Company
Label : Friday Music
Original Label : Warner Bros
Recorded September 9 - October 6, 1974 at Warner Bros. Studios, North Hollywood, CA, Burbank Studios, Burbank, CA, Curlom Studios, Chicago, IL and The Record Plant, Sausalito, CA. "I Been Workin' on You" recorded at Creative Workshop, Nashville, TN
Engineered & mixed by Donn Landee, Travis Turk
Produced by Ted Templeman
Remastered by Joe Reagoso
Originally released in 1975
Reissued in 2016
Tracks:
Side A :
- Sweet Maxine
- Neal's Fandango
- Texas Lullaby
- Music Man
- Slack Key Soquel Rag
Side B :
- Take Me In Your Arms
- I Cheat The Hangman
- Precis
- Rainy Day Crossroad Blues
- I Been Workin' On You
- Double Dealin' Four Flusher
Reviews :
"Talk about greatness -- the Doobie Brothers, with Jeff "Skunk" Baxter added to their lineup, delivered their best album to date helped by a fairly big hit, though "Take Me in Your Arms" never did anything close to its predecessors despite some chords and modulations that recalled "Black Water" ever so slightly. Stampede's virtue was its musicianship, which, in addition to new member Baxter, was also showcased in the guises of some impressive guests. The Doobie Brothers' rootsiest album to date, Stampede was virtuoso soulful countrified rock of a gritty nature, crossing over into blues as well as reaching back to a raw, traditional rock & roll sound that wouldn't have sounded too out of place 20 years earlier. That was the opener, the searing "Sweet Maxine," which just might've made a good single with an edit or two to bring it down to three and a half minutes; the record gets better with the bouncing "Neal's Fandango," which is highlighted by lyrical as well as instrumental acrobatics on the verses and a delicious guitar and piano break. "Texas Lullaby" is one of the prettiest pieces of country rock (though it's a little more "Western rock") to come out of the genre since the Byrds and the Beau Brummels had treaded into it eight years earlier, and gets a magnificently soulful performance from Tom Johnston. And speaking of soul, Curtis Mayfield is the arranger on Johnston's hard-driving "Music Man." The group strips down to its acoustic basics for "Slat Key Soquel Rag," which could have been an outtake from the group's self-titled debut album; Maria Muldaur is the guest vocalist on "I Cheat the Hangman," representing Patrick Simmons' songwriting at its most ethereal. Baxter's "Précis" was the group's nod to classical and Spanish guitar technique, and "Rainy Day Crossroad Blues" provides guest artist Ry Cooder with a gorgeous canvas on which to paint his slide guitar licks. And the album lands with its feet firmly in 1970s-style roots rock on "I've Been Workin' on You" and "Double Dealin' Four Flusher."" AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4,5 / 5 , Discogs : 3,83 / 5