Farewell Tour (album)

Farewell Tour is the first live album by American rock band The Doobie Brothers, released in 1983. It documents the group's 1982 Farewell Tour and is a double album set.

Farewell Tour
Live album by The Doobie Brothers
Released	June 1983
Venue	Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Laguna Hills, CA, September 3, 1982; Universal Amphitheatre, Universal City, CA, September 4, 1982; Hearst Greek Theatre, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, September 10–11, 1982
Genre	Rock
Length	67:06
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Ted Templeman
The Doobie Brothers chronology
One Step Closer (1980) Farewell Tour (1983) Cycles (1989)
Singles from Farewell Tour
"You Belong to Me (live)" / "South City Midnight Lady (live)" Released: July 6, 1983

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
The Great Rock Discography	4/10[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

By the early 1980s, the Doobie Brothers had evolved from the guitar-boogie sound under original band frontman Tom Johnston to a soulful keyboard-driven AOR sound under Michael McDonald. Despite the many personnel changes in the group, Patrick Simmons remained from the original incarnation of the group.

In 1982, Simmons decided to retire from the group after years of constant touring and recording. When the band decided to break up in light of his impending departure, Simmons encouraged the group to make one last tour during the summer of 1982 as a way of thanking the group's loyal fanbase. This tour became known as the "Farewell Tour."

The front cover shows drummer Keith Knudsen cutting the strings on John McFee's guitar as a symbolic gesture.[5] The last two songs on the album were recorded at the final concert of the tour in Berkeley, California, on September 11, 1982 with vocals by original lead vocalist and guitarist Tom Johnston. For a long time the album was available on CD only in Japan, but ultimately it was re-released on CD by Rhino/WEA on August 26, 2008. The reissue deleted approximately 1½ minutes of onstage talk from Patrick Simmons between 'Streets' and 'Jesus', including mentioning that the band were going to "light up a 'doobie'" during intermission, suggesting the audience do the same.

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Slippery St. Paul (excerpt from The Doobie Brothers, 1971)"	Patrick Simmons	Tom Johnston	0:51
2.	"Takin' It to the Streets"	Michael McDonald	McDonald	4:26
3.	"Jesus Is Just Alright"	Arthur Reid Reynolds	Cornelius Bumpus	4:20
4.	"Minute by Minute"	McDonald, Lester Abrams	McDonald	4:25
5.	"Can't Let It Get Away"	Simmons, John McFee, Nicolette Larson	Simmons	3:46

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
6.	"Listen to the Music"	Johnston	McDonald, Simmons	3:25
7.	"Echoes of Love"	Simmons, Willie Mitchell, Earl Randle	Simmons	2:35
8.	"What a Fool Believes"	McDonald, Kenny Loggins	McDonald	3:43
9.	"Black Water"	Simmons	Simmons	4:04

Side three

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
10.	"You Belong to Me"	McDonald, Carly Simon	McDonald	3:16
11.	"Slack Key Soquel Rag"	Simmons	instrumental (guitar: Simmons, McFee)	1:51
12.	"Steamer Lane Breakdown"	Simmons	instrumental	3:34
13.	"South City Midnight Lady"	Simmons	Simmons	5:43

Side four

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
14.	"Olana"	McDonald	McDonald	2:42
15.	"Don't Start Me Talkin'"	Sonny Boy Williamson	Keith Knudsen	2:37
16.	"Long Train Runnin'"	Johnston	Johnston	4:54
17.	"China Grove"	Johnston	Johnston	3:14

• "Can't Let It Get Away" and "Olana" are songs that the band had recorded in the studio but not released on albums. The studio version of "Can't Let It Get Away" was released only on a one-sided single in Japan in 1981, while the studio version of "Olana" remained unreleased until it appeared on Long Train Runnin': 1970-2000.

Personnel

• Patrick Simmons - guitars, lead and backing vocals
• John McFee - guitars, pedal steel guitar, violin, backing vocals
• Michael McDonald - keyboards, synthesizers, lead and backing vocals
• Cornelius Bumpus - saxophone, synthesizer, organ, backing vocals, lead vocal on "Jesus Is Just Alright"
• Willie Weeks - bass, backing vocals
• Keith Knudsen - drums, backing vocals, lead vocal on "Don't Start Me Talkin'"
• Chet McCracken - drums, vibraphone, marimbas
• Bobby LaKind - congas, percussion, backing vocals
• Tom Johnston - guitar and lead vocals on "China Grove" and "Long Train Runnin'" (and "Slippery St. Paul")
• Joe Crowley - harmonica on "Don't Start Me Talkin'"

Dave Shogren & John Hartman appear, uncredited, on "Slippery St. Paul."

Production

• Producer: Ted Templeman
• Engineer: Jim Isaacson
• Management: Bruce Cohn
• Mastered by Bobby Hata at Warner Bros. Recording Studios, North Hollywood
• Production coordinator: Joan Parker
• Publicity: David Gest & Associates
• Album recorded by the Record Plant (technicians: Jack Crymes, Mark Eschelman, Gary Singleman, Jim Scott)
• Tour manager: Joe Crowley, Jeff Mills (assistant)
• Production manager: Lol Halsey, Rollie Clasen (assistant)
• Live sound mixer: David Morgan
• Monitor mixer: Mike Kelley
• Guitar technician/Stage manager: Mark Brown
• Guitar, violin, pedal steel technician: David Bowers
• Keyboard technician: Alan Bartz
• Drum technician: Greg Winter
• Live sound technicians: Mark Drale, Alan Bonomo, Philip Ashley at Innovative Audio
• Lighting director: Martin Wolff
• Art direction and design: Jay Vigon
• Photography: Chris Callis, Michael Simpson (assistant)
• Special thanks to Sam Schniable, Michael Barbieri, Doug Brunkow, Bob Walker, Tad Inferrera, Brent Anderson, Shep Lonsdale, Oscar Harris, Ralph Cain, Dalton Perry, Harry Hughes, Sam & Donna Stewart, Linda Patrick, Leslie Wiener, Bob Gordon, Kathy Nelson, Carol Miller

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1983	Pop Albums	79

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	"You Belong To Me"	Pop Singles	79

References

1. Hal Horowitz. "Farewell Tour - The Doobie Brothers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
2. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
3. Strong, Martin Charles (2002). "The Doobie Brothers". The Great Rock Discography. The National Academies. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
4. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 253. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
5. According to a post at the forum (now retired) at the Doobie Brothers Official Website, by the Webmaster/Forum Administrator, who is John McFee's son.