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Rikki Don't Lose That Number (Rikki '95)

from The Second Arrangement (And Other Obscure Steely Dan Covers) by John Tabacco

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Words and Music © 1974 by Walther Becker and Donald Fagen
Published by MCA Music

After releasing our Fuzzy Gray Logic disc, Meryl Mathews and I thought it might be a good idea to record a well known cover song. Our logic being that this might draw in listeners to us who otherwise would not know any of our original music. Since our sound had a lot of Steely Dan overtones, why not chose a Steely Dan song? It was a hard choice. There were so many Becker and Fagen songs we loved, which one should we do? We opted for one of their most popular and highest charting song, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number". Instead of doing a straight ahead cover of the tune, we experimented with mashing up various other Steely Dan songs within the body of "Rikki". It was a challenging experiment that really jelled together nicely once we recorded Gerry Palisi's guitar parts. Meryl's outro chorus on this was the icing on the cake. She really captured a Ricky Lee Jones vibe. I loved it.

There are at least eight Steely Dan references in this recording. SD freaks - have fun finding them.

Of note :
Sometime in 1996 Meryl had the good fortune to find herself back stage during a Steely Dan sound check at Town Hall in NYC. She called me while I was feeling quite glum working at Sonic Underground Studios. Her excitement on the phone was contagious and it certainly boosted my spirits. She was taking a mile a minute, not sure what to do. Fortunately, she happened to have a CD copy of "Rikki '95" with her. I suggested she try to slip it to someone in the group. As fate would have it, she met Walter Becker who politely accepted our SD homage. Shortly there after, Steely Dan started playing "Rikki" in their set which Donald Fagen previously swore he'd never sing again.
Humm, I wonder...

credits

from The Second Arrangement (And Other Obscure Steely Dan Covers), released March 3, 2019
JT : Lead vocal, Programming
Meryl Mathews : Ricky Lee Jones impersonation, Keyboards
Gerry Palisi : Electric guitar

Recorded on a TAC Scorpion console at Sonic Underground Studios, Stony Brook, NY

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John Tabacco Stony Brook, New York

John Tabacco is a composer, singer-songwriter, producer, recording engineer, and visual artist.

Like an unfolding musical diary / puzzle, Tabacco’s music and art are constantly being re-worked, juxtaposed and intertwined.

For more info : www.johntabacco.net ... more

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