1989 Rickie Lee Jones – Flying Cowboys
Flying Cowboys is an album by Rickie Lee Jones that was released in September 1989 and produced by Walter Becker of Steely Dan.
After the release of The Magazine in 1984, Jones retreated from the limelight. She married Pascal Nabet Meyer and gave birth to daughter Charlotte Rose in 1988 while working on her fourth full-length studio album.
Jones and Nabet Meyer had been writing and working together on new material for several years before the recording work commenced in 1988, with Becker as producer. Jones had expressed admiration for the work of Steely Dan, particularly their album The Royal Scam (1976).
Promotional copies of Flying Cowboys were packaged with an interview with Jones conducted by an unknown individual (previously misidentified as LeVar Burton). This interview is the source for a passage that is extensively sampled on British electronic group The Orb’s 1990 hit “Little Fluffy Clouds”.
Tracks
1 The Horses (Walter Becker, Rickie Lee Jones) 4:50
2 Just My Baby (Rickie Lee Jones, Pascal Nabet-Meyer) 4:48
3 Ghetto of My Mind (Rickie Lee Jones, Pascal Nabet-Meyer) 6:15
4 Rodeo Girl (Rickie Lee Jones) 4:54
5 Satellites (Rickie Lee Jones) 4:57
6 Ghost Train (Rickie Lee Jones) 4:18
7 Flying Cowboys (Rickie Lee Jones, Pascal Nabet-Meyer) 5:05
8 Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying (Les Chadwick, Leslie Maguire, Gerry Marsden, Fred Marsden) 4:19
9 Love Is Gonna Bring Us Back Alive (Rickie Lee Jones, Pascal Nabet-Meyer) 4:55
10 Away from the Sky (Rickie Lee Jones) 5:34
11 Atlas’ Marker (Rickie Lee Jones) 5:57
Biography
Musicians
1 The Horses
| Bass | Neil Stubenhaus |
| Drums | JR Robinson |
| Guitar | Buzzy Feiten |
| Guitar | Dean Parks |
| Keyboards | Greg Phillinganes |
| Organ | William Smith |
| Piano | Michael Omartian |
| Vocals | Rickie Lee Jones |
2 Just My Baby
| Bass | Ed Alton |
| Guitar | Dean Parks |
| Vibraphone | Gary Coleman |
| Percussion | Mike Fisher |
| Vocals | Rickie Lee Jones |
3 Ghetto of My Mind
| Bass | Neil Stubenhaus |
| Drums | JR Robinson |
| Guitar | Buzzy Feiten |
| Guitar | Dean Parks |
| Keyboards | Greg Phillinganes |
| Percussion | Robert Zimmitti |
| Vocals | Rickie Lee Jones |
4 Rodeo Girl
| Drums (programming) | Chris Dickie |
| Vocals | Rickie Lee Jones |
5 Satellites
| Bass | Neil Stubenhaus |
| Drums | JR Robinson |
| Guitar | Buzzy Feiten |
| Guitar | Dean Parks |
| Keyboards | Greg Phillinganes |
| Sax | Bob Sheppard |
| Percussion | Robert Zimmitti |
| Vocals | Rickie Lee Jones |
6 Ghost Train
| Effects | Jim Keltner |
| Programming | Michael Bernard |
| Vocals | Rickie Lee Jones |
7 Flying Cowboys
| Bass | Walter Becker |
| Drums | Peter Erskine |
| Guitar | Dean Parks |
| Guitar | Sal Bernardi |
| Clarinet | Marty Krystall |
| Horn | Marty Krystall |
| Trumpet | Vince Mendoza |
| Vocals | Rickie Lee Jones |
8 Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying
| Bass | Rob Wasserman |
| Programming | Michael Bernard |
| Sax | Bob Sheppard |
| Percussion | Paulinho Da Costa |
| Vocals | Rickie Lee Jones |
9 Love Is Gonna Bring Us Back Alive
| Bass | Neil Stubenhaus |
| Drums | JR Robinson |
| Guitar | Buzzy Feiten |
| Hammond Organ | Greg Mathieson |
| Sax | Marty Krystall |
| Vocals | Rickie Lee Jones |
10 Away from the Sky
| Guitar | Dean Parks |
| Synthesizer | Michael Boddicker |
| Vocals | Rickie Lee Jones |
11 Atlas’ Marker
| Bass | Neil Stubenhaus |
| Drums | Peter Erskine |
| Guitar | Dean Parks |
| Programming | Pascal Nabet-Meyer |
| Programming | Michael Bernard |
| Trumpet | Randy Brecker |
| Percussion | Pascal Nabet-Meyer |
| Vocals | Rickie Lee Jones |
Liner Notes
Producer – Walter Becker
Producer (Executive) – Gary Gersh
Engineer – Greg Penny (Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
Engineer – Roger Nichols (Tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
Engineer – Mark Linett (Tracks 2, 7, 11)
Engineer – The Robbs Brothers (Track 9)
Engineer (Second) – Greg Laney, Ken Felton, Lavant Coppock, Robert Hart
Mastered By – Stephen Marcussen
Mastered By – Chris Bellman (Tracks 2, 9)
Mixed By – Greg Penny, Roger Nichols
Design – Praxis
Painting – Jose Esteban Martinez
Photography – Dewey Nicks
Mastered At Precision Lacquer
Recorded At Studio 55, Los Angeles
Recorded At CHerokee Studios
Recorded At The Village Recorder
Phonographic Copyright The David Geffen Company
Copyright The David Geffen Company