Segment 111

In keeping with our policy of truth in advertising here in the Way Back Studios, let me just say right up front that today’s batch of All Hand Mixed Vinyl is really two short sets held together by little more than a few licks on a cowbell and some Three Dog Night. The first set is one of those percussion mixes that comes naturally with early Chicago and Santana. In this case, CTA’s classic cover of a Steve Winwood track that we’ll split in two, during the extended percussion break, and mix into a track from Santana’s third album before returning to the Chicago. After that, we go live to the Forum in Los Angeles for some Three Dog Night before getting to that second set which consists of an improbable mix involving Poco, Deep Purple, and Rory Gallagher. Right about now you’re probably thinking, you can’t segue from Poco to Deep Purple, can you? Well, admittedly, it’s one of those things you don’t want to try at home but I’m a trained professional, so, trust me, just let go and let the cowbell carry you forward.

The idea for this bit came when I heard a Deep Purple track I’d forgotten a long time ago. It’s a track from the 1974 release, Burn. When I heard it recently, I couldn’t help but notice that the cowbell part is virtually identical to the one in the opening track from Poco’s live album, Deliverin’. And while the transition from Poco to Purple is fine and dandy, the best was yet to come. Because it turned out the Deep Purple track has a false ending. Actually three false endings in row that sound exactly like the opening to a Rory Gallagher track from his album Photo Finish. It’s one of the best little segues we’ve stumbled across in years. So keep your hearing holes open for that. And by the way, just so you know we’re really working with vinyl here, somewhere near the end of the set, you can hear me bump the turntable, just like we did in the old days. Oops. Just think of it as a bit of radio authenticity. And now, before we get to all those cowbells, here’s perhaps the most recognizable bass line in the Deep Tracks library.

In keeping with our rule that if you find a hole in a song, you have to stick something in it, we took Rory Gallagher’s “Cruise On Out” and stuck it into that perfect little opening we found in Deep Purple’s “You Fool No One.” What’s funny about that is that the original idea for that part of the set was based on the similar cowbell lick in both the Deep Purple and the Poco that preceded it, a song called “I Guess You Made It.” But then, much to my surprise, the Purple had that perfect false ending that led us to that beauty of a segue with “Cruise On Out.” Now for those of you keeping score at home, this is the second batch of All Hand Mixed Vinyl featuring a cowbell segue. And speaking of cowbells, I can’t hear one without thinking of Christopher Walken. He was in a very funny Saturday Night Live sketch spoofing the VH1 show, “Behind the Music.” In the sketch, Walken plays the producer during the recording of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear The Reaper.” During the sketch, Walken keeps giving these loopy speeches punctuated with the phrase, “I gotta have more cowbell, baby.” Well, we got your cowbell right here.

We bridged the two halves of the set with “Nobody” by Three Dog Night, Live at the Forum. At the top of the set, two more songs with plenty of cowbell. We did a mix from Chicago Transit Authority’s “I’m a Man” into “Batuka” from Santana’s third album. “Batuka” by the way is the Swahili word for cowbell. Just kidding. I think it actually means ‘awakening.’ Well, as Rory Gallagher said, when the fat man plays that upright, he freeze you at the knees, his band’s in full control, of 37 and one half of the keys to the Way Back Studio. If you’re looking for any of the the set lists or the show commentaries, just drop by website, billfitzhugh.com and you’ll find ‘em there along with the rest of the story. I’m Bill Fitzhugh. Thanks for listening. I’ll be back sooner or later with a fresh batch of All Hand Mixed Vinyl, and I hope you’ll join us, right here in the Deep Tracks.