Posted on by Nathan Beaudry

Episode #139 – Four on the Floor

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Lead up to the Album:

  • This was the brainchild of Al Kooper and Jeff Baxter.
  • Al Kooper
  • Jeff Baxter
    • Jeff “Skunk” Baxter
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Baxter
    • Worked extensively with Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, 
    • Most recently, and oddly, he has been working as a missile defense consultant. He also works on the NASA advisory board.
    • He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 as a member of the Doobie Brothers.
  • In the Connoisseur Collection liner notes, Simon Robinson says that someone saw this album in a Manchester HMV with a sticker on it saying that the vocals were by Glenn Hughes.  The sleeve did not back this up so it must’ve seemed suspicious.
  • Information on this album is very hard to come by. Simon Robinson writes that he wonders how the Manchester HMV knew Glenn was on it.
  • In 1978 Al Kooper began working with a group which was going to be named The Hollywood Horns.  Richie Hayward of  Little Feat was going to be on drums and Jeff Baxter on guitar. Elliott Randall was also going to play guitar in the group.
  • Glenn Hughes was brought in for vocals.
  • Hayward was injured in a bike crash three weeks before going into the studio and had to be replaced with studio musicians.
  • This project fell apart and there was music written by Kooper, Hayward, and Baxter that was never recorded.
  • Casablanca, the label who bankrolled this project, decided to clean up some of the tapes from the sessions and release them to recoup some of the losses they suffered from this project.
  • Hughes was unhappy with the way this was handled and asked to remain uncredited on this album.
  • There wasn’t a huge release with Hughes’s name off the album and it soon became difficult to find.

Personnel:

Technical:

Album Art & Booklet Review

  • Illustration [Cover] – Fred Nelson (2)
  • Concept By [Logo] – Vicki Lee Johnston
  • Design [Jacket] – Gary Nichamin
  • Robinson speculates that the title “Four on the Floor” is that there were four tracks left on the floor.  That being said Robinson admits to being unaware that this was how manual shift cars are referred to outside of Europe: four (gears) on the floor.
  • My understanding is that this refers to a 4/4 time signature in electronic, pop, and disco music.
  • Connoisseur Collection released in 1990.
  • Our friend Mike Eriksson is thanked in the liner notes.

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Album Tracks:

Side One:

  1. There Goes My Baby
  2. Gypsy Woman
  3. Any Day Now

Side Two:

  1. Glimmer Twins Medley:
    • Let’s Spend The Night Together
    • Lady Jane
    • Paint It Black
    • Under My Thumb

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Reception and Review

  • Simon Robinson says that his friend passed this album along to him after discovering it was Glenn Hughes doing disco tunes.
  • Simon admits that he actually preferred it to “Play Me Out.”

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Listener Mail/Comments

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