Steve Gadd thinks he played on all of the Purdie stuff.
― on entre O.K. on sort K.O. (man alive), Thursday, 17 September 2015 18:09 (nine years ago) link
Hal Blaine's self-promotion with his stupid "wrecking crew" monicker
Invite her to ilxor, imo.
― how's life, Thursday, 17 September 2015 18:10 (nine years ago) link
my eyebrows did go up at the scene w Blaine, Kaye and some of the others where they were talking about how she was just "one of the guys" in the same breath as saying "if there were sexual harrassment suits back then she would be millionaire"
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 17 September 2015 18:11 (nine years ago) link
xxp lol haha, yeah got those mixed up. but yr right, it's crazy to be the actual drummer who played on like a million clssics and still be like: "fuck you, i'm the drummer for the beatles!"
― tylerw, Thursday, 17 September 2015 18:12 (nine years ago) link
"Ringo doesn't even know what a fucking aeolian cadence even is!"
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 17 September 2015 18:15 (nine years ago) link
― Οὖτις, Thursday, September 17, 2015 1:11 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Similarly the weird tension btw Plas Johnson and I think Tedesco on getting credit for the work, that was almost a storyline that could have gone somewhere
― on entre O.K. on sort K.O. (man alive), Thursday, 17 September 2015 18:17 (nine years ago) link
He has completely slandered me, changing his story why I "don't like his film" with all his showings, and lying about a supposedly funny but demeaning incident in the film about me, which NEVER took place, as well as using US to raise money and saying it takes "millions" to license recordings (not true - where is the money going while he burns it in expensive-taste spendings on limousines, and parties etc.? the non-profit status doesn't mean Denny is not getting the money at all) and soon the other musicians found out like I did, and are angry also - they all know now it's a scam too, that we were ALL USED as a backdrop for Tommy and Hal Blaine....imo, this is a continuation of the lowlife and limited jealousy viewpoints of Tommy Tedesco and also of Hal Blaine who Denny calls his "dad" (he said he never really knew his dad Tommy) -- this is the Hal Blaine-Tommy Tedesco story not about us at all and is totally skewered.
those carol kaye rants are insane! did she watch the same movie i did? she was all over it! and it wasn't slanderous toward her at all. and i didn't notice any leaning toward hal blaine. i guess i only watched about 3/5th of it, maybe the last section was all about blaine or something? wtf
― 1996 ball boy (Karl Malone), Thursday, 17 September 2015 18:28 (nine years ago) link
Carol's Amazon review of a Wrecking Crew book:http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RG9T6V6WQF98O/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1250030463#RG9T6V6WQF98O
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 17 September 2015 18:48 (nine years ago) link
summary : avoid the revisionism and just enjoy the grooves.
― mark e, Thursday, 17 September 2015 18:54 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, I didn't initially notice that the review resulted in 17 pages of discussion.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 17 September 2015 18:55 (nine years ago) link
a little bit of david lindley and waddy wachtel sprinkled in there.
― tylerw, Thursday, September 17, 2015 12:14 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I wish there was a solo album called A Soupçon of Watchell so I could post it in the i got my own album to do thread
― Ma$e-en-scène (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 17 September 2015 19:03 (nine years ago) link
lol seems like he should have a solo album just called WAD. think of the cover art potential.
― tylerw, Thursday, 17 September 2015 19:10 (nine years ago) link
i like carol's solo album fwiw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pk2qea3ReY
― chaki (kurt schwitterz), Thursday, 17 September 2015 19:17 (nine years ago) link
Waddy Watchell - Shootin' My Wad (cover is him holding a Strat like a rifle)
― Ma$e-en-scène (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 17 September 2015 19:18 (nine years ago) link
James Taylor's discography seems really dominated by these guys
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 17 September 2015 19:23 (nine years ago) link
Waddy Watchell - Shootin' My Wad (cover is him holding a Strat like a rifle)it is a crime that this album doesn't exist
― tylerw, Thursday, 17 September 2015 19:29 (nine years ago) link
I could watch this all day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOWdp1sOxvA
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 17 September 2015 19:40 (nine years ago) link
Given his past legal issues, it might be ill-advised.
xp
― how's life, Thursday, 17 September 2015 19:41 (nine years ago) link
If we're going by discographies, Wrecking Crew gets the nod easy - a session band is only as good as the music it's given, or the producer/arranger that directs it. Still, I'd certainly choose the mellow mafia's a-team if I were making my own record - the latter actually honed their chops on rock and funk and soul. Most of the Wrecking Crew guys honed their chops on big-band jazz, and the difference in feel is pretty stark - you can hear why so many of them were confined to Carpenters records and TV show themes after James Brown transformed the sound of the rhythm section forever.
― Futuristic Bow Wow (thewufs), Thursday, 17 September 2015 19:41 (nine years ago) link
Interesting that Glen Campbell is the only hotshot among them that made it out of the studio and as a solo acti.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 17 September 2015 19:47 (nine years ago) link
Nilsson?
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 17 September 2015 19:51 (nine years ago) link
dunno if he counts really
leon russelll for sure
― tylerw, Thursday, 17 September 2015 19:53 (nine years ago) link
yeah that was gonna be my other one but I wasn't sure how huge of a star he really was (not glenn campbell level I would think?)
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 17 September 2015 20:00 (nine years ago) link
Dr. John is sometimes mentioned as a member of the Wrecking Crew, too, but I'm not sure what sessions he actually played on. He doesn't play on any Beach Boys stuff that I'm aware of, for instance.
― Futuristic Bow Wow (thewufs), Thursday, 17 September 2015 20:05 (nine years ago) link
are you thinking of Leon Russell?
― Ma$e-en-scène (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 17 September 2015 20:07 (nine years ago) link
i get those two hoodoo voodoo beardo weirdos confused sometimes
Dr. John def did LA session work with the Wrecking Crew
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 17 September 2015 20:08 (nine years ago) link
he talks about it in "Under a Hoodoo Moon" although iirc details were scant on particular songs/sessions - primarily R&B stuff I would imagine
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 17 September 2015 20:09 (nine years ago) link
feels like i have a better handle on the ~sound~ of the LA Mafia as opposed to the Wrecking Crew. I would guess that the Wrecking Crew were on a greater quantity of classic records though. Or at least had the better good/crap ratio.
― brimstead, Thursday, 17 September 2015 20:10 (nine years ago) link
Songfacts: I want to ask you about your time as a session musician. You played on some incredible recordings. Are there any that stand out in your mind as favorite experiences?
Dr. John: I remember Aretha [Franklin], some of her sessions. And doing some of Dolly Parton's sessions and doing some different people that was always interesting to do. And some of the sessions with Ray Charles, with different people that I like, anyway. But I always liked doing stuff with Marvin Gaye and Joe Tex, but I didn't do any records with them. I worked on the road with them, and it was a lot of fun.
Songfacts: Were there some sessions where you felt like you were at the wrong place at the wrong time, like, 'What am I doing here?'
Dr. John: That was tons of sessions. That wasn't some. When I got to California, Phil Spector had a real reputation for doing his 'walls with sound.' I just looked at it like, 'Walls with sound?' It's just padding the payroll.
Songfacts: Were you on some of those Phil Spector recordings?
Dr. John: Yeah. Lots of them. I used to be with this band, they call them a name and I didn't even know they did [Mac might be referring to "The Wrecking Crew," which Carol Kaye tells us they were never known as]. I was in another planet then.
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 17 September 2015 20:11 (nine years ago) link
dr john is on some sonny & cher records, think that's kinda the backstory to how gris gris got made. lol at "walls with sound"
― tylerw, Thursday, 17 September 2015 20:12 (nine years ago) link
― brimstead, Thursday, September 17, 2015 4:10 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Yeah, the Wrecking Crew didn't have a particularly distinctive/identifiable sound (though a handful of its musicians did, at times), which was the point.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 17 September 2015 20:13 (nine years ago) link
Interesting very unofficial 4CD Wrecking Crew compilation here.
― the top man in the language department (誤訳侮辱), Friday, 18 September 2015 16:34 (nine years ago) link
Recommended. Had it a few months and listening to it right now
― banned on ixlor (Jon not Jon), Friday, 18 September 2015 16:35 (nine years ago) link
think that's kinda the backstory to how gris gris got made.
right - wasn't Gris Gris recorded in LA? I want to say it was done during downtime between those sonny and cher sessions but I don't have his bio to hand
― Οὖτις, Friday, 18 September 2015 16:37 (nine years ago) link
xpost Nothing from Nesmith's "The Wichita Train Whistle Sings"?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 18 September 2015 16:58 (nine years ago) link
xp - yeah, from the liners: In fact Gris-Gris was recorded surreptitiously, but not in some New Orleans house of sin. It was laid down in the famed Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, where Phil Spector had cut many of his classics. It might have never come to pass at all had Dr. John and his co-conspirators not managed to wrangle some free studio time that had been originally earmarked for Sonny & Cher sessions.
― tylerw, Friday, 18 September 2015 17:05 (nine years ago) link
kinda explains the nusto reverb on that record
― Οὖτις, Friday, 18 September 2015 17:08 (nine years ago) link
nutso even
yeah! makes sense, but it's gotta be one of the weirdest records to ever be recorded there.
― tylerw, Friday, 18 September 2015 17:09 (nine years ago) link
It's worth noting that, just like Dr. John, the most prominent players on that record were New Orleans natives who'd relocated to L.A. for studio work.
― Futuristic Bow Wow (thewufs), Friday, 18 September 2015 21:24 (nine years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Thursday, 24 September 2015 00:01 (eight years ago) link
me in high school / early 20s would have voted Wrecking Crew easy but somewhere in my mid-twenties I really developed a taste for that slick LA sound...something about how these dudes sound like they really wanna showboat but always (usually) rein it in just enough
― tremendous crime wave and killing wave (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Thursday, 24 September 2015 02:52 (eight years ago) link
which crew will win?????
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 24 September 2015 23:13 (eight years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Friday, 25 September 2015 00:01 (eight years ago) link
xp I think that's the mark of a quality session pro; the ability to find that balance. I said before that the sound of the wrecking crew was hard to identify.. Thinking about it, I don't think I could necessarily distinguish the mafia from their 70s sessioneer peers (although I suspect they wrote the book w/r/t that sound).
I had another totally brilliant thing to say but I lost it
― brimstead, Friday, 25 September 2015 00:27 (eight years ago) link
don't think I'd ever seen this before - in-studio footage of Lee Hazlewood recording with the Wrecking Crew including James Burton and Hal Blainehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDW2K4zxkXw
― Οὖτις, Monday, 5 August 2019 16:05 (five years ago) link
mellow mafia was basically just Danny Kortchmar, Craig Doerge, Leland Sklar, and Russ Kunkel, right? that's what wiki tells me, with a little bit of david lindley and waddy wachtel sprinkled in there.
― Gwar ina Babyon (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 5 September 2021 03:11 (three years ago) link
Not sure about the others, but Russ Kunkel played on “(Listen To The) Flower People” and was the drummer in that scene.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Sunday, 5 September 2021 12:09 (three years ago) link
Feeling the urge to spam the board with another story about Steve Lukather’s guitar teacher Jimmy Wyble, especially since I ran into another one of student’s this weekend. Will just link this website I don’t think I’ve linked before: https://rjacobson.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/irec-and-miss-jimmy-wyble/
― I, the Jukebox Jury (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 20 September 2021 00:26 (three years ago) link
I’ve heard more than one story about some ambitious guitarist in their early years calling up some famous guitar name like Barney Kessel for lessons and the response being: “I don’t teach. Call Jimmy!” *click* *dialtone*
― I, the Jukebox Jury (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 20 September 2021 01:15 (three years ago) link
Update! The xpost Section, who've got their own albums to do as The Immediate Family, are ba-a-ack---and so are Carole and James! (good timing for her, after "Natural Women" so striking in Respect : now I enjoy it even more than the Aretha biopic's title song):THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERSDANNY KORCHMAR, RUSS KUNKEL, LELAND SKLARTO BE FEATURED IN THE UPCOMING DOCUMENTARY“CAROLE KING & JAMES TAYLOR: JUST CALL OUT MY NAME”TO PREMIERE ON CNN AND HBO MAX IN LATE 2021 THE BAND MEMBERS WILL ALSO BE PERFORMING WITH CAROLE KING AT THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY’S 2021 TOUR KICKS OFF ON NOVEMBER 3 IN SUPPORT OF THEIR NEW SELF-TITLED ALBUM October 26, 2021 -- Supergroup The Immediate Family have a full schedule this Fall/Winter with bandmates Danny Kortchmar, Russ Kunkel and Leland Sklar’s participation in the documentary Carole King & James Taylor: Just Call Out My Name, premiering on CNN and HBO Max and also performing with Carole King at her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony on October 30. The band then heads out on their national tour in support of their new album The Immediate Family released on Quarto Valley Records. Prior to forming The Immediate Family, Kortchmar, Kunkel and Sklar have worked together since the early '70s as the legendary ensemble “The Section” backing up James Taylor and Carole King on The Troubadour Reunion Tour as well as appearing on Taylor and King’s various albums. The Immediate Family which also includes Waddy Wachtel and Steve Postell, will be embarking on their national tour on November 3. Some of the stops include San Juan Capistrano, CA (The Coach House), Agoura Hills, CA (The Canyon Club), and New York City (The Society of Ethical Culture). The band has just released their latest album, The Immediate Family, which debuted at #6 on Billboard’s Blues chart and features the single “Fair Warning.” Complete list of tour dates below. For more information on The Immediate Family and to explore their new merch store, visit: www.immediatefamilyband. 2021/2022 Tour November 3 - San Juan Capistrano, CA @ The Coach House November 6 - Santa Barbara, CA @ Lobero Theatre November 7 - Agoura Hills, CA @ Canyon Club November 14 - South Windsor, CT @ Clinic & Concert November 16 - Norwalk, CT @ Wall Street Theatre November 17 - Yarmouth, MA @ The Music Room November 18 - Derry, NH @ Tupelo Music Hall November 20 - New York, NY @ Concert Hall at NY Society for Ethical CultureNovember 21 - Ardmore, PA @ Ardmore Music Hall February 14-18 - The Rock Legends Cruise IX February 19 - Boca Raton, FL @ The Funky Biscuit February 20 - Hallandale Beach, FL @ Sport of Kings Theatre at Gulfstream Park & CasinoBe there or be---not square? No, I wanna go the Society For Ethical Culture, and know I need it.
― dow, Thursday, 28 October 2021 18:32 (two years ago) link
This interview with Danny Kortchmar I watched earlier this summer I thought was interesting and had alot of background on many classic records. If you have seen that one session musician documentary and the Billy Joel guys barking on getting fired, there is a bit later on in that with on how that gone down from a different angle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ngEhoa9fJU
― earlnash, Thursday, 28 October 2021 18:44 (two years ago) link
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=267362992039629
― Goofy the Grifter (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 5 December 2021 00:42 (two years ago) link
Concerning the mystery of who played drums on “These Boots.”
― Goofy the Grifter (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 5 December 2021 01:07 (two years ago) link