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
ReleasedJune 1983
VenueIrvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Laguna Hills, Calif., September 3, 1982; Universal Amphitheatre, Universal City, Calif., September 4, 1982; Hearst Greek Theatre, UC Berkeley, September 10–11, 1982
GenreRock
Length67:06
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerTed Templeman
The Doobie Brothers chronology
Best of The Doobies Volume II
(1981)
Farewell Tour
(1983)
Cycles
(1989)
Singles from Farewell Tour
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
The Great Rock Discography4/10[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 112 minutes of onstage talk from Patrick Simmons between 'Jesus' and 'Minute by Minute', including mentioning that the band were going to "light up a 'doobie'" during intermission, suggesting the audience do the same.

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Slippery St. Paul (excerpt from The Doobie Brothers, 1971)"Patrick SimmonsTom Johnston0:51
2."Takin' It to the Streets"Michael McDonaldMcDonald4:26
3."Jesus Is Just Alright"Arthur Reid ReynoldsCornelius Bumpus4:20
4."Minute by Minute"McDonald, Lester AbramsMcDonald4:25
5."Can't Let It Get Away"Simmons, John McFee, Nicolette LarsonSimmons3:46
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
6."Listen to the Music"JohnstonMcDonald, Simmons3:25
7."Echoes of Love"Simmons, Willie Mitchell, Earl RandleSimmons2:35
8."What a Fool Believes"McDonald, Kenny LogginsMcDonald3:43
9."Black Water"SimmonsSimmons4:04
Side three
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
10."You Belong to Me"McDonald, Carly SimonMcDonald3:16
11."Slack Key Soquel Rag"Simmonsinstrumental1:51
12."Steamer Lane Breakdown"Simmonsinstrumental3:34
13."South City Midnight Lady"SimmonsSimmons5:43
Side four
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
14."Olana"McDonaldMcDonald2:42
15."Don't Start Me Talkin'"Sonny Boy WilliamsonKeith Knudsen2:37
16."Long Train Runnin'"JohnstonJohnston4:54
17."China Grove"JohnstonJohnston3:14
  • "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 in Japan in 1981, while the studio version of "Olana" remained unreleased until it appeared on Long Train Runnin': 1970-2000.

Personnel

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Guests

  • Tom Johnston – electric 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

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  • 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

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Chart (1983) Peak
position
Canada Albums (RPM)[6] 87
US Top LPs & Tape (Billboard)[7] 79

References

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  1. ^ Hal Horowitz. "Farewell Tour - The Doobie Brothers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The 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.
  6. ^ "RPM Search Engine" (PHP). Library and Archives Canada. March 31, 2004.
  7. ^ "The Doobie Brothers Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2021.