Midnight on the Water (David Bromberg album)
Encyclopedia
Midnight on the Water is an album by David Bromberg
. His fourth album, it was released by Columbia Records
as a vinyl LP
in 1975. It was released in CD
format by Sony Records in 1994, and by SBME Special Markets in 2009. It was also released as a double CD, combined with Bromberg's previous album album Wanted Dead or Alive
, by BGO Records in 2010.
, Emmylou Harris
) and Bernie Leadon
(formerly with the Flying Burrito Brothers
and the Eagles), Midnight On The Water remains a milestone in the history of Americana. Tighter arrangements and a well-rehearsed band made this a genre-hopping smorgasbord of bluegrass, country, 1950s pop, and Celtic fiddle tunes. Showing equal dexterity on guitar and fiddle, Bromberg frames 10 cover tunes and 1 original ("The Joke's on Me") with a historic collection of awe-inspiring players and singers. Members of his then-touring band, including pennywhistle/clarinet player Billy Novick, violin/viola player Evan Stover, guitarist/fiddler/bassist Hugh McDonald
, drummer Steve Mosley and cornet/trumpet/mellophone player and arranger Peter Ecklund
, set a foundation that continues to stand 35 years later, while an amazing array of guests including Jesse Ed Davis
(guitar), Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack
(piano), Buddy Cage
and "Red" Rhodes
(pedal steel) and backup singers Bonnie Raitt
, Emmylou Harris
, Linda Ronstadt
, Doyle Lawson
and Ricky Skaggs
, add the spice."
David Bromberg
David 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...
. His fourth album, it was released by 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...
as a vinyl LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
in 1975. It was released in CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
format by Sony Records in 1994, and by SBME Special Markets in 2009. It was also released as a double CD, combined with Bromberg's previous album album Wanted Dead or Alive
Wanted Dead or Alive (David Bromberg album)
Wanted Dead or Alive is an album by David Bromberg. It was his third album, released by Columbia Records as a vinyl LP in 1974. It has been released as a CD several times — by Sony Music Media in 2004, by SBME Special Markets in 2008, and by Columbia Records in 2011...
, by BGO Records in 2010.
Critical reception
Writing in Driftwood Magazine in 2011, Craig Harris said, "Produced by Brian Ahern (Anne MurrayAnne Murray
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
, Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
) and Bernie Leadon
Bernie Leadon
Bernard Mathew "Bernie" Leadon, III is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member of two pioneering and highly influential country rock bands, Dillard & Clark and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
(formerly with the Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers was an early country rock band, best known for its influential debut album,The Gilded Palace of Sin . Although the group is most often mentioned in connection with country rock legends Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes.-Original...
and the Eagles), Midnight On The Water remains a milestone in the history of Americana. Tighter arrangements and a well-rehearsed band made this a genre-hopping smorgasbord of bluegrass, country, 1950s pop, and Celtic fiddle tunes. Showing equal dexterity on guitar and fiddle, Bromberg frames 10 cover tunes and 1 original ("The Joke's on Me") with a historic collection of awe-inspiring players and singers. Members of his then-touring band, including pennywhistle/clarinet player Billy Novick, violin/viola player Evan Stover, guitarist/fiddler/bassist Hugh McDonald
Hugh McDonald (musician)
Hugh "Huge" McDonald is a well known session musician and bassist. Before joining Bon Jovi he was the bass player for the David Bromberg Band, touring extensively worldwide and playing on many Bromberg albums...
, drummer Steve Mosley and cornet/trumpet/mellophone player and arranger Peter Ecklund
Peter Ecklund
Peter Ecklund is an American jazz cornetist.Ecklund graduated from Yale University in 1967, then played with Gregg Allman, Maria Muldaur, Leon Redbone, and Paul Butterfield. He formed the Galvanized Jazz Band in the late 1960s and toured with Paula Lockheart, in addition to working with many pop...
, set a foundation that continues to stand 35 years later, while an amazing array of guests including Jesse Ed Davis
Jesse Ed Davis
Jesse Edwin Davis was an American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist. His death in 1988 is attributed to a drug overdose.-Biography:...
(guitar), Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
(piano), Buddy Cage
Buddy Cage
Buddy Cage is an American pedal steel guitarist, best known as a longtime member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage....
and "Red" Rhodes
Red Rhodes
Rhodes played pedal steel on many country rock, pop and rock albums with The Monkees, James Taylor, Seals and Crofts, The Byrds, The Carpenters and many other groups. He is most often remembered for his work with former Monkee Michael Nesmith on Nesmith's first solo albums in the early 1970s...
(pedal steel) and backup singers Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
, Doyle Lawson
Doyle Lawson
Doyle Lawson is an American bluegrass and gospel musician. Doyle is best known as an accomplished mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 5-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.-Biography:...
and Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs
Rickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs is a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo.-Early career:...
, add the spice."
Track listing
- Side one:
- "(What a) Wonderful World" (Sam CookeSam CookeSamuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
, Lou AdlerLou AdlerLou Adler is an American record producer, manager, and director.-Life and career:Adler was born in Chicago, Illinois in December 1933, and raised in East Los Angeles. In 1964, Adler founded and co-owned Dunhill Records. He was President of the label as well as the chief record producer from 1964...
, Herb AlpertHerb AlpertHerbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
) – 3:23 - "Yankee's Revenge: Medley" (traditional) – 5:55
- "I Like to Sleep Late in the Morning" (David Blue) – 3:26
- "Nobody's" (Gary White) – 4:58
- "(What a) Wonderful World" (Sam Cooke
- Side two:
- "Don't Put That Thing on Me" (Clifford GibsonClifford GibsonClifford "Grandpappy" Gibson was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is best known for the tracks, "Bad Luck Dice" and "Hard Headed Blues"....
) – 2:52 - "Mr. BlueMr. Blue"Mr. Blue" is a popular song written by and first recorded by DeWayne Blackwell in 1959. It became a hit for The Fleetwoods, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1959 and giving the group its second chart-topping hit of the year.-Cover versions:...
" (DeWayne Blackwell) – 2:55 - "Dark Hollow" (Bill Browning) – 2:59
- "If I Get Lucky" (Booker T. Washington)– 4:03
- "The Joke's on Me" (David Bromberg) – 3:32
- "Midnight on the Water" (traditional) – 4:27
- "Don't Put That Thing on Me" (Clifford Gibson
Musicians
- 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...
– 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...
, dobroDobroDobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
, fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, 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... - Murray Adler – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Brian Ahern – guitar
- Buddy CageBuddy CageBuddy Cage is an American pedal steel guitarist, best known as a longtime member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage....
– pedal steel guitarPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"... - Joe DarensbourgJoe DarensbourgJoe Darensbourg was an American New Orleans based jazz clarinetist and saxophonist notable for his work with Buddy Petit, Jelly Roll Morton, Charlie Creath, Fate Marable, Andy Kirk, Johnny Wittwer, Kid Ory, Wingy Manone, Joe Liggins and Louis Armstrong.-Discography:* The New Orleans Statesman*...
– clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed... - Jesse Ed DavisJesse Ed DavisJesse Edwin Davis was an American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist. His death in 1988 is attributed to a drug overdose.-Biography:...
– guitar - Julie Dougal – violin
- Dr. JohnDr. JohnMalcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
– 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... - Peter EcklundPeter EcklundPeter Ecklund is an American jazz cornetist.Ecklund graduated from Yale University in 1967, then played with Gregg Allman, Maria Muldaur, Leon Redbone, and Paul Butterfield. He formed the Galvanized Jazz Band in the late 1960s and toured with Paula Lockheart, in addition to working with many pop...
– trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, cornetCornetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
, flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
, mellophoneMellophoneThe mellophone is a brass instrument that is typically used in place of the horn in marching bands or drum and bugle corps.... - Dick Fegy – guitar, violin
- Paul Fleisher – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, penny whistleTin whistleThe tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and... - James Getzoff – violin
- Ann Goodman – cello
- Emmylou HarrisEmmylou HarrisEmmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
– vocals - John HeraldJohn HeraldJohn Herald was an American folk and bluegrass songwriter, solo and studio musician, and one-time member of The Greenbriar Boys trio.-Biography:...
– vocals - Brantley Kearns – violin, vocals
- Doyle LawsonDoyle LawsonDoyle Lawson is an American bluegrass and gospel musician. Doyle is best known as an accomplished mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 5-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.-Biography:...
– vocals - Bernie LeadonBernie LeadonBernard Mathew "Bernie" Leadon, III is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member of two pioneering and highly influential country rock bands, Dillard & Clark and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
– guitar - Hugh McDonaldHugh McDonald (musician)Hugh "Huge" McDonald is a well known session musician and bassist. Before joining Bon Jovi he was the bass player for the David Bromberg Band, touring extensively worldwide and playing on many Bromberg albums...
– bass - Steve Mosley – 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 ....
- Billy Novick – clarinet, penny whistle
- Tony Posk – violin
- Bonnie RaittBonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
– vocals - Red RhodesRed RhodesRhodes played pedal steel on many country rock, pop and rock albums with The Monkees, James Taylor, Seals and Crofts, The Byrds, The Carpenters and many other groups. He is most often remembered for his work with former Monkee Michael Nesmith on Nesmith's first solo albums in the early 1970s...
– pedal steel guitar - Linda RonstadtLinda RonstadtLinda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
– vocals - Haim Shtrum – violin
- Ricky SkaggsRicky SkaggsRickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs is a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo.-Early career:...
– vocals - Evan Stover – violin, violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Streamline – tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
- Jay UngarJay UngarJay Ungar is an American folk musician and composer. -Biography:Ungar was born in the Bronx , the son of immigrant Jewish parents from Eastern Europe. He frequented Greenwich Village music venues during his formative period in the 1960s...
– fiddle, mandolin - Lyndon Ungar – vocals
- Ernie WattsErnie WattsErnest James "Ernie" Watts is an American jazz and rhythm and blues musician. He plays saxophone and flute. He might be best known for his work with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and his Grammy Awards as an instrumentalist...
– saxophone
Production
- Produced by: Brian Ahern, Bernie LeadonBernie LeadonBernard Mathew "Bernie" Leadon, III is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member of two pioneering and highly influential country rock bands, Dillard & Clark and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
- Engineers: Brian Ahern, Chris Skene, Paul Skene, Charlie Tallent, Stuart Taylor
- Art direction: Lisa Sparagano
- Design: Andy Engel
- Photography: Al Clayton