Easy Does It (Al Kooper album)
Encyclopedia
Easy Does It was the third solo album by New York City
-based singer-songwriter Al Kooper
, recorded and released in 1970 for Columbia Records
.
A double album, Easy Does It featured Kooper on an expanded number of instruments, including sitar (used to effect on the country-tinged "Sad, Sad Sunshine"), vibes and electronic effects. While mostly backed by Bretheren rhythm section Stu Woods and Rick Marotta
, Kooper also utilized groups in Nashville
and Los Angeles
to record the tracks for the album.
Two tracks were also featured on the soundtrack to the counter-culture film The Landlord, "Brand New Day" and "Love Theme from The Landlord".
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based singer-songwriter Al Kooper
Al Kooper
Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
, recorded and released in 1970 for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
.
A double album, Easy Does It featured Kooper on an expanded number of instruments, including sitar (used to effect on the country-tinged "Sad, Sad Sunshine"), vibes and electronic effects. While mostly backed by Bretheren rhythm section Stu Woods and Rick Marotta
Rick Marotta
Rick Marotta is a US-based drummer and percussionist who appears on many recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Stevie Nicks, Wynonna, Roy Orbison, Todd Rundgren, Roberta Flack, Peter Frampton, Quincy...
, Kooper also utilized groups in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to record the tracks for the album.
Two tracks were also featured on the soundtrack to the counter-culture film The Landlord, "Brand New Day" and "Love Theme from The Landlord".
Track listing
- "Brand New Day" (Al Kooper) – 5:10
- "Piano Solo Introduction to I Got a Woman" (2:00)
- "I Got a WomanI Got a Woman"I Got a Woman" is a song co-written and recorded by American R&B/soul musician Ray Charles and released as a single in December 1954 on the Atlantic label as Atlantic 45-1050 b/w "Come Back Baby." Both sides later appeared on his 1957 album Ray Charles .-Origin:The song builds on...
" (Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Renald Richard) – 4:30 - "Country Road" (James TaylorJames TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
) – 4:22 - "I Bought You The Shoes (You're Walking Away In)" (Bob Brass, Irwin Levine, Kooper) – 1:57
- "Introduction" (0:50)
- "Easy Does It" (Kooper) – 5:25
- "Buckskin Boy" (Kooper, Charlie CalelloCharlie CalelloCharlie Calello is an American, singer, composer, conductor, arranger, accordionist and record producer born in Newark, New Jersey.Calello attended Newark Arts High School. and Manhattan School of Music, in New York City....
) – 3:10 - "Love Theme from The Landlord" (Kooper) – 3:12
- "Sad, Sad Sunshine" (Kooper) – 5:04
- "Let the Duchess No" (John Gregory, Jim Roberts) – 3:17
- "She Gets Me Where I Live" (Kooper, Calello) – 3:34
- "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" (J.D. Loudermilk) – 3:29
- "Baby, Please Don't GoBaby, Please Don't Go"Baby, Please Don't Go" is a blues song first recorded by Big Joe Williams in 1935. It is related to a group of early 20th century blues and work songs that include "I'm Alabama Bound", "Another Man Done Gone", and "Don't Leave Me Here", and "Turn Your Lamp Down Low".It has become a blues and rock...
" (Big Joe WilliamsBig Joe WilliamsJoseph Lee Williams , billed throughout his career as Big Joe Williams, was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar...
) – 12:26 - "God Sheds His Grace on Thee" (Kooper, Calello) – 3:27
Personnel
- Al Kooper – pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, ondiolineOndiolineThe Ondioline is an electronic keyboard instrument, invented in 1941 by the Frenchman Georges Jenny, and is a forerunner of today's synthesizers.The Ondioline was capable of creating a wide variety of sounds...
, sitarSitarThe 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
, vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, prepared guitar, electronic effects, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Stu Woods – electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocal (tracks 1, 3-8 and 13-14) - Rick MarottaRick MarottaRick Marotta is a US-based drummer and percussionist who appears on many recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Stevie Nicks, Wynonna, Roy Orbison, Todd Rundgren, Roberta Flack, Peter Frampton, Quincy...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backing vocal (tracks 1, 3-8 and 13-14) - David BrombergDavid BrombergDavid Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Bromberg has an eclectic style, playing bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll equally well. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the...
– pedal steel, guitar (tracks 5, 8 and 13) - Tom Cosgrove – guitar (tracks 8 and 13)
- Lyle Ritz – electric bass (tracks 12 and 15)
- Earl PalmerEarl PalmerEarl Cyril Palmer was an American rock & roll and rhythm and blues drummer, and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....
– drums (tracks 12 and 15) - Larry KnechtelLarry KnechtelLawrence William "Larry" Knechtel was an American keyboard player and bassist, best known for his work as a session musician with such artists as Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & the Papas, The Partridge Family, The Doors, and Elvis Presley, and as a member of the 1970s...
– piano (tracks 12 and 15) - Louie Shelton – guitar (tracks 12 and 15)
- Tommy Tedseco – guitar (tracks 12 and 15)
- Fred Lipisus – tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
(track 3) - Peter IversPeter IversPeter Scott Ivers was an American musician, best known as the host of New Wave Theatre.Ivers was born in Illinois, but raised in Brookline, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. He attended the Roxbury Latin School and then Harvard University, majoring in classical languages, but chose a career in...
– harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
(track 4) - John Miller – electric bass (track 9)
- Al Rogers – drums (track 9)
- George Devens – percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
(track 9) - Stu Scharf – guitar (track 9)
- Joe BeckJoe BeckJoe Beck was an American guitarist who had been notable in jazz for more than 30 years.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Beck also briefly flirted with rock music in the late 1960s and early 1970s...
– guitar (track 9) - Joe OsbornJoe OsbornJoe Osborn is an American bass guitar virtuoso, notable for his work as a session musician in Los Angeles and Nashville during the period from the 1960s through the 1980s. Osborn's work is widely admired by fellow musicians.Osborn began his career working in local clubs, then played on a hit...
– electric bass (track 10) - Joe Corero, Jr. – drums (track 10)
- Milt HollandMilt HollandMilt Holland was an American drummer, percussionist, ethnic musicologist, and writer in the Los Angeles music scene who pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian percussion styles in jazz, pop and film music, traveling extensively on those continents to collect instruments and to...
– tablaTablaThe tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
(track 10) - Keith Allison – guitar (track 10)
- Freddie Weller – guitar (track 10)
- Charlie McCoyCharlie McCoyCharles "Charlie" Ray McCoy is an American musician noted for his harmonica playing. In his career, McCoy has backed several notable musicians including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Tom Astor, Elvis Presley and Ween. He has also recorded thirty-seven studio albums, including fourteen for Monument Records...
– electric bass (track 11) - Ken Buttrey – drums (track 11)
- Pete DrakePete DrakePete Drake , born Roddis Franklin Drake, was a major Nashville, Tennessee-based record producer and pedal steel guitar player....
– pedal steel (track 11) - Wayne Moss – guitar (track 11)
- Charlie DanielsCharlie DanielsCharles Edward "Charlie" Daniels is an American musician known for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is known primarily for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer...
– guitar (track 11) - The BlossomsThe BlossomsThe Blossoms were a backing group from California. They had a recording career in their own right and were to the American West Coast what The Sweet Inspirations were to the East Coast and The Andantes were for Motown.-Early years:...
– backing vocal (track 11) - Bobby ColombyBobby ColombyBobby Colomby is an innovative jazz-rock fusion drummer, and an original member of the group Blood, Sweat & Tears...
– congas (track 14) - Charlie CalelloCharlie CalelloCharlie Calello is an American, singer, composer, conductor, arranger, accordionist and record producer born in Newark, New Jersey.Calello attended Newark Arts High School. and Manhattan School of Music, in New York City....
– string and horn arrangements (except tracks 12 and 15) - Jackson Marlie - vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Jimmie HaskellJimmie HaskellJimmie Haskell born Sheridan Pearlman 1936 in Brooklyn, New York is a prolific American composer and arranger for a variety of popular singers and motion pictures.-Biography:...
– arrangements and conductor (tracks 12 and 15)