Elliott Randall

Elliott Randall - Randall's Island - 1970 - Polydor

Elliott appeared on three Steely Dan albums, "Can't Buy a Thrill", "Katy Lied", and "Royal Scam". All these albums were recorded between 1972, and 1976, and many people regard Elliott Randall as an integral part of the Steely Dan machine. His stupendous guitar solo on " Reelin' in the Years" from the Dan's CBAT debut album is regarded by many of the world's greatest guitarists as the ultimate guitar solo in fretboard skill and technique. " Randall's Island" is a trip back in time to 1970. The album contains eight tracks of rock, jazz rock, fusion, blues rock, and sometimes trippy psychedelic rock. "Jolly Green Giant and the Statue of Liberty" is a weak track, and really is out of place on the album. Randall's guitar work is excellent, and sometimes reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix. An enjoyable album and typical of it's era. Sound quality is far from perfect, and it would be worthwhile seeking out a CD version. Try and listen to Elliott Randall's "Randall's New York" album

TRACKS

Sour Flower
Life In Botanical Gardens (Oh Yes)
Take Out The Dog & Bark The Cat
Mumblin' To Myself
Brother People
Jolly Green Giant & The Statue Of Liberty
Bustin' My Brains
All I Am's

All songs composed by Paul Fleisher, & Elliott Randall

CREDITS

Elliott Randall Guitar, Vocals, Producer
Bob Piazza Fender Bass, Vocals
Andy Muson Fender Bass
George Andrews Piano, Arranger
Pot Organ, Piano
Phillip Namanworth Piano
Terry Adams B-3 Organ, Piano, Keyboards, Moog Synthesizer
Allen Herman Percussion, Drums, Vocals
Paul Fleisher Sax, Flute, Vocals, Wind, Reeds (Multiple)
Richard Boch Cello
Edwin H. Kramer Engineer
Produced by Elliott Randall & Eddie Kramer

COMMENT ON ALBUM by Elliott Randall

What a strange and interesting crew this was! Paul Fleisher and I played together beginning in the early-mid 60's in NYC niteclubs including Trude Heller's, The Peppermint Lounge, and The Metropole. He and I co-authored the entire record. I'd known Allen Herman & Bob Piazza for quite a while too - before they joined The Island, they were members of Genya Ravan's R&B supergroup Ten Wheel Drive. Phillip Namanworth had been playing with Dave Van Ronk & The Hudson Dusters, and brought with him a boogie-thing that was just too contagious! Terry Adams of NRBQ guested on Hammond B-3. George Andrews handled the string arrangements; he used to lead a big-band in NYC, which was well... quite an education. Through the ranks of this band came Steve Gadd, The Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn, Lou Soloff, Chuck Rainey, and most of the Island crew. (Like I said - an education.) Andy Muson also guested on 2 tracks; killer jazzer, also played with Albert King for a spell before moving on to a hugely successful studio career in LA. Finally, the legendary Eddie Kramer, engineer/producer extraordinaire - for most of the Jimi Hendrix records, as well as Led Zeppelin, Traffic, and a host of others. Respect, Eddie! © 2009 ELZ Music & Multimedia. All Rights Reserved.

BIO

Elliott Randall's illustrious career has encompassed a wide and varied cross-section of World Musical forms. These include: record production, composition, electronic research and development, lectures and teaching, and of course, a legendary contribution to popular guitar performance and recording. His guitar solos on Steely Dan's "Reelin' In The Years" and "Fame" (the motion picture) have entered Rock history annals. Elliott has recorded and performed with artists as diverse as The Doobie Brothers, Carly Simon, Seatrain, The Blues Brothers, Carl Wilson, Peter Wolf, Peter Frampton, James Galway, Richie Havens, The Rochester Philharmonic and The American Symphony Orchestra, among many others. In addition, he is a favorite of esteemed songwriters Jimmy Webb, George David Weiss, Don Covay and Laura Nyro. Other credits include: music consultant for NBC Saturday Night Live and Oliver Stone, and projects with producers Gary Katz, David Kershenbaum, Steve Lillywhite, Eddie Kramer and Jerry Wexler. In addition to artistic projects, Elliott has also played, produced and composed myriad advertisements (jingles) for television, radio and cinema, for clients including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Miller Beer, Budweiser, Cadillac, Ford, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, CitiBank, General Mills, Nabisco, Proctor & Gamble, MTV, ESPN, CBS, ABC, BBC-TV and countless others. Cutting edge technologies: Since the advent of midi in the early 80s, Elliott has worked as independent consultant for a wide range of companies, including Akai, Roland, Korg and Yamaha, in the areas of musical instrument and amplifier development, recording & sampling technology, software design, and education. Current projects include recording & production, lectures, and consultancy on multimedia content. He continues to rack up air miles, recording and playing out with his London-based "Posse" and his NYC-based "Randall's Rangers". © 2009 ELZ Music & Multimedia. All Rights Reserved

BIO (Wikipedia)

Elliott Randall (born 1947) is an American guitarist, most known for being a session musician with popular artists. Randall has played the well-known guitar solos from Steely Dan's hit Reelin' in the Years and Fame. Legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has said that Randall's solo on Reelin' in the Years is his favorite guitar solo of all-time The solo was ranked as the 40th best guitar solo of all-time by the readers of Guitar World magazine and the 8th best guitar solo by Q4 Music. Randall began taking piano lessons at age five. At nine, in 1956, he switched to guitar. In 1963, as a sixteen-year-old, Randall met Richie Havens in Greenwich Village and began gigging. Randall did some early work behind the Capris and the Ronnettes and by 1964 was recording "small-time" demos. Between 1966 and 1967 he was a music teacher in Ohio. Upon his return to New York, he began working as a staff musician for the Musicor record company. He began recording with some friends around 1968, including Tim Rose and demo recordings with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, who at the time were with Jay and the Americans. In 1969 he joined the band Seatrain, opting for that band rather than joining Wilson Pickett in Muscle Shoals. In 1970, Randall was signed to the Robert Stigwood Organization, which managed Cream, The Bee Gees, John Mayall, and The Staples Singers. He formed a band called Randall's Island, who recorded a few albums on Polydor. In 1972 The Stigwood Organization bought the rights to Jesus Christ Superstar and produced the show on Broadway, and hired Randall's band to perform the music. It was there that Randall met guitarist Vinnie Bell, who was experimenting with various electronic effects. Randall began to dabble in electronics as well, and whenever Bell was unable to make a gig, he recommended Randall. In 1972 Randall left New York for California in the hopes of doing something bigger. It was then that he reunited with Becker and Fagen, as well as childhood friend Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter, and recorded the first Steely Dan album, Can't Buy a Thrill. Randall's guitar work on Reelin' in the Years became popular as the song headed up the charts, and soon, as the solo gained fame and respect, Randall began getting calls from other artists. Randall had a history of turning down permanent gigs, instead favoring being a session musician. Becker and Fagen asked Randall to become a permanent member of Steely Dan but Randall politely declined, as he felt that the band's dynamics would cause a dissolution of the band after the third album, which ultimately happened. Randall later played with Steely Dan on their fourth and fifth albums, Katy Lied and The Royal Scam. At one point Randall was approached by John Belushi and asked to be the musical director for The Blues Brothers, a position which he also turned down. Jeff Porcaro and David Paich offered Randall the chance to be a founding member of Toto, which he rejected. As a session player, Randall played with artists such as The Doobie Brothers, Tom Rush, Elkie Brooks, Carly Simon, Carl Wilson, Peter Wolf, Peter Frampton, James Galway, The Rochester Philharmonic and The American Symphony Orchestra, among many others. He was also a music consultant for Saturday Night Live and Oliver Stone and did projects with producers Gary Katz, David Kershenbaum, The Tokens, Steve Lillywhite, Eddie Kramer and Jerry Wexler. A full list of artists and producers with whom Randall has recorded can be found @ (http://www.elliott-randall.com/artists.htm). In addition to artistic projects, Elliott has also played, produced and composed myriad advertisements (jingles) for television, radio and cinema, for clients including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Miller Beer, Budweiser, Cadillac, Ford, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, CitiBank, General Mills, Nabisco, Procter & Gamble, MTV, ESPN, CBS, ABC, BBC-TV and countless others. Since the advent of midi in the early 1980s, Randall has worked as independent consultant for a wide range of companies, including Akai, Roland, Korg and Yamaha, in the areas of musical instrument and amplifier development, recording & sampling technology, software design, and education. Current projects include recording and production, as well as consultancy on streaming Internet content. Randall is currently recording a new CD in London, New York, and Ireland which blends together Celtic, Afro-Cuban and other global musical influences. He recorded and plays with his London-based "Posse" and his NYC-based "Randall's Rangers". He appeared as a guest at the Hammersmith Apollo on 1st July 2009 with Steely Dan to play lead guitar on Reelin' in the Years. Randall plays a 1963 Fender Stratocaster. The neck pickup is a 1969 Gibson Humbucker. He plays though a Fender Tweed Deluxe on many occasions. In an article in Guitar Player Magazine (July 2007) Randall was asked what rig he used to record the solo on Reelin In The Years. He states, "That was my '63 Fender Stratocaster with a PAF humbucker in the neck position, straight into an Ampeg SVT bass amp. The SVT wouldn't have been my first choice for an amp--or even my fifth choice--but that Strat is still my go-to guitar that I use about 98 percent of the time."