·Steve Smith writes:

  “Sorry to be 34 years late….but at least there is somebody still alive that remembers…….Best Regards, Steve”

  Thanks to The Legendary Steve Smith for the following:-

  1."Sailing Shoes" (Lowell George) – 2:44

  Recorded at Sea Saint Studios in New Orleans

  Vocals Robert Palmer  (live vocal and overdubs recorded on the Island Mobile in a church near Midhurst, West

   Sussex)

   Guitar:   Lowell George of Little Feat

RHYTHM SECTION The Meters:

   

  Guitar: Leo Nocentelli

  Bass: George Porter Jr

  Piano/Clavinet: Art Neville

  Drums: Joseph “Zig-aboo” Modéliste

   ·  2."Hey Julia" – 2:24

  Recorded on the Island Mobile at the Island Rehearsal Rooms in St Peters Square in London England and in a

  church near Midhurst, West Sussex

  Drums: First use of a drum machine on a recording. Programming by Robert Palmer and Steve Smith

  Bass: Steve York

  Guitar: Steve Smith

  Backing vocals Robert Palmer and Vicki Brown

  ·  3."Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley" (Allen Toussaint) – 4:21

  Guitar: Lowell George

  Guitar: Leo Nocentelli

  Bass: George Porter

  Piano/Clavinet:  Art Neville

  Drums:  Joseph “Zig-aboo” Modéliste

  Harmonica Solo: Steve York

  A note about the sequencing of this part of the record. After recording Sailing Shoes and Sneaking Sally in New Orleans (with Allen Toussaint and Van Dyke Parks looking over my shoulder (more about Van Dyke on the Pressure Drop notes) in the control room of the studio we returned to London and took a 2 week break before starting final overdubs and mixing to complete the album. I had a hunch that if I could use the drum machine to link those 2 tracks with a song that we could create an opening sequence that could be a great way to open Robert’s solo career. I spliced the two complete tracks together with a simple drum beat in the middle and took it to Robert and asked him to write something simple that would link the two songs and he came back with the melody and words for Hey Julia. It took about 2 hours to finish the recording. I went away with my trusty friend and engineer Phill Brown to try to put all the parts together….and it worked!.....and that is what you hear today.

·    4."Get Outside" – 4:32

  Recorded in New York City at Media Sound Studios on West 57th Street

  http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_mediasound_studios/

  Vocals: Robert Palmer

  Guitars: Lowell George and Cornell Durpee

  Percussion (with snake sounds): Lowell George

  Drums: Bernard Purdie (Aretha Franklins drummer at the time Sneaking Sally was recorded)

  Bernard is one of the most celebrated drummers in the world, having played on recordings by Aretha Franklin, King Curtis,  

  Steely Dan and countless others hit records)  http://www.bernardpurdie.com/

  Piano: Richard Tee

  Richard Tee (1943-1993) Highly regarded R&B and funk session keyboardist, who's worked on hundreds of sessions by

  every major name in the rock, soul and R&B wo

  Bass: Bernard Odom

  (James Brown’s bassist and a badass dude if there ever was one….he took me up to the Apollo in Harlem for my 1st

  visit….scared the crap out of me…..one white boy out of his hood’….like growing up in Alabama where I’m from

  so I felt right at home as I do today)

 

   Bernard Odum (1932 - August 17, 2004) was an American bass guitar player best known for performing in James

   Brown's band in the 1960s.

   Odum started playing with Brown in 1956 and became a full-time member of Brown's band in 1958. He worked in the  

  James Brown band until the end of the 1960s, and played on such hits as "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" (1964),              

  "I Got  You (I Feel Good)" (1965), and "Cold Sweat" (1967).

·   5."Blackmail" (Robert Palmer, Lowell George) – 2:32

    Recorded in New York City at Media Sound Studios on West 57th Street with the same personnel as track 4

·  6."How Much Fun" – 3:02

    Recorded in New Orleans with the same personnel as tracks 1 and 3.

·  7."From A Whisper To A Scream" (Allen Toussaint) – 3:32

    Recorded in New Orleans with the same personnel as tracks 1 3 and 6.

·  8."Through It All There's You" – 12:17

    Recorded live in one take including Robert’s vocal with the great New York session band of Bernard Purdie

   on drums, Richard Tee on keyboards, Cornell Dupree on guitar, and Bernard Odum on bass.

  Steve Winwood played Fender Rhodes Piano

 

   Engineered and Mixed by Phill Brown at Island Studio #2 in Basing Street London

   Produced by Steve Smith

 

   © Steve Smith 2009  (For more on this and other Albums look here)

 

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