he ran it past [arranger] Nick DeCaro for some orchestration ideas. 'Night on Bald Mountain' by Mussorgsky really inspired the wildness of the strings, and Nick came up with the chorale thing at the end." The ambitious "I Cheat the Hangman" only managed to reach #60 on the music charts. Cash Box said it was a "rather lengthy piece quite unlike any previous single release from this super-group" and "a low-key ballad carried by a single, melodic voice against flowing guitar picking that grows into beautiful vocal harmony from the group, soon to segue into sustained orchestration holding a sweeping power chord under which some jazz improvisation goes on." "Neal's Fandango" was inspired by the Santa Cruz mountains and was an homage to Neal Cassady, Merry Prankster bus driver and former Jack Kerouac sidekick in On the Road. It was occasionally played on San Francisco Bay Area classic rock station KFOX "K-FOX" (that means KUFX) because of the Doobie Brothers' South Bay roots. Track listing Personnel The Doobie Brothers Tom Johnston – guitars, lead and backing vocals Patrick Simmons – guitars, lead and backing vocals Jeff "Skunk" Baxter – guitars, pedal steel guitar Tiran Porter – bass guitar, backing vocals John Hartman – drums, percussion Keith Knudsen – drums, percussion, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "Double Dealin' Four Flusher" Additional musicians Bill Payne – piano on "Sweet Maxine", "Neal's Fandango", "Texas Lullaby", "Take Me in Your Arms", "I Cheat the Hangman" and "Double Dealin' Four Flusher", organ on "Music Man" and "I Been Workin' on You", electric piano on "Double Dealin' Four Flusher", other keyboards Ry Cooder – bottleneck guitar on "Rainy Day Crossroad Blues" Karl Himmel – drums and percussion on "I Been Workin' on You" Bobbye Hall Porter – congas on "Take Me in Your Arms" Victor Feldman – marimba, percussion Conte Candoli, Pete Candoli – trumpets on "I Cheat the Hangman" Harry Bluestone – concertmaster on "Rainy Day Crossroad Blues" Maria Muldaur – backing vocals on "I Cheat the Hangman" Sherlie Matthews, Venetta Fields and Jessica Smith – backing vocals on "Take Me in Your Arms" and "I Been Workin' on You" Nick DeCaro – string arrangements on "Texas Lullaby", "I Cheat the Hangman" and "Rainy Day Crossroad Blues" Paul Riser – string and horn arrangements on "Take Me in Your Arms", horn arrangements on "Sweet Maxine" and "Double Dealin' Four Flusher" Curtis Mayfield – string and