This is the Original Drinking Man’s Friend: Eric Quincy Tate (1972)

Back in the days of vinyl (and so nice it’s making a nice comeback), it was often the habit to find one side of an album you liked better than the other and play it almost exclusively. I suspect many of us from the Triassic period have discovered songs on CDs we don’t remember at all from Side 2 of the album (or Side 1).

Drinking Man’s Friend by Eric Quincy Tate is one of those albums for me, with the iconic front and back covers. I was vaguely familiar with the five songs on Side 2. Side 1 is another matter entirely…

Eric Quincy Tate emerged in 1969 when a quartet from Corpus Christi signed on with Atlantic, moved to Memphis and recorded their self-titled first album on Cotillion (an Atlantic subsidiary) in 1970, after which they moved to Memphis, then on to Atlanta. By 1975, they had released their third album, EQT, on GRC. Can’t Keep a Good Band Down was issued on the band’s own label in 1977. A dozen albums have been released from 2007 to the present, starting, appropriately, with Thirty-Seven [see below].

The band, whose members were Tommy Carlisle, slide and lead guitars; Joe Rogers, keyboards; David Cantonwine, bass; and Donnie McCormick, drums, lead vocals, switched from Cotillion in 1972 to the new hot label for the new hot Southern rock: Capricorn. Paul Hornsby engineered and produced the session at Capricorn Sound Studios in Macon. The delicious cover art for Drinking Man’s Friend was courtesy of W.D. Powell.

Capricorn represented a variety of genres and artists such as Livingston Taylor, brilliant funk band Maxayn, killer rockers Captain Beyond, space jazz from Eddie Henderson, humorous Martin Mull, and the one and only White Witch, but, at its heart Capricorn WAS Southern rock. The Allman Brothers, Cowboy, and Wet Willie preceded Eric Quincy Tate on the label, which grew to include the Marshall Tucker Band, the James Montgomery Band, Elvin Bishop, solo projects from Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts, and more.

Capricorn Rising: Conversations in Southern Rock by Michael Buffalo Smith

We will discuss Side 2 in a bit. For the moment, let’s concentrate on Side 1.

[SET PHASERS TO IMMOLATE.]

Because I will put this album side up again any other album on the Capricorn label. Any time. Any date. Any band. Period.

Any lyrics I have attempted to transcribe contain the basics, but McCormick was a blues shouter, and he talks and soulfully interjected lots of “Woo”s and “yeah”s and the like throughout the recording. It must have been a real kick seeing them perform in a bar, clearly their home atmosphere, Piedmont Park shows and the like notwithstanding.

There is a plaque on the EQT website that hung in The Whippin’ Post in Augusta with this inscription, and I’m not arguing:

They shove off with a cover of John Mayall’s “Brown Sugar” (no relation to the Rolling Stones’ song), with McCormick entreating Rogers on Hammond B3: “Gimme that chord, son.” [CHORD] “What a chord!” Then McCormick starts singing, shortly thereafter accompanying himself on drums for the first half of the stanza. Cantonwine’s bass walks in for the second half, and the band kicks in full blast when McCormick announces: “Here it comes!” Carlisle and Rogers play together during the first break. Then:

Got a taste of brown sugar, and it’s sweetened my coffee cup,
Got a taste of brown sugar, and it’s sweetened my coffee cup,
Well, my brown sugar, she sure do stir me up
We got JoJo!

And Rogers solos on B3; Carlisle does after the third stanza. Carlisle is not flashy here; he has plenty to say, and he does so with great depth. At tune’s end, it is again just McCormick on vocal and drums until the short coda.

“Brown Sugar” serves as a great introduction, but EQT slips into mind-blowing mode with “Things (I Think I Think I’ll Find),” an astonishing and magnificent tune drenched in blues. It begins with B3 and drums, then Cantonwine adding a killer baseline and Carlisle comping on guitar. That segment runs for a minute and a half, until McCormick’s whiskey-soaked voice drifts in:

Somewhere in my mind…
There were things I think I think I’ll find, yeah
Somewhere in my mind

McCormick’s drums mesh so perfectly with the bass line, and the pressure builds to a crescendo, with Carlisle’s solo relieving it a bit. There is a tempo change halfway through the almost seven-minute song. Rogers’ piano is in there, too, and then guitar and organ complement each other, piano in the background. Rogers also adds backing vocals to the chorus. McCormick adds brilliant vocalese during the last minute of the song, all four musicians simply wailing away.

If I had a nickel for every time we were drinking beer and I was playing DJ at the house and threw that on…

And speaking of blues, EQT gets all the way down and dirty with “Whiskey Woman Blues.” Carlisle is in front here, rhythm section bouncing along, B3 in the background, and then you believe to your soul that this song is autobiographical the way McCormick pours it out:

I’ve been brought down,
And I’ve been pushed around.
My landlord has thrown me out,
And I feel talked about,
People, that makes me feel,
I feel, I said I feel a little down and out.
I’ve got to find me,
I’ve got to find, find me a whiskey woman, yeah, yeah

Rogers gets a short B3 outing before McCormick continues:

I’ve done my share of comin’ down.
I can remember being run out of town.
Sometimes I up, I’m way, way, way, way up,
Then again sometimes I’m a-way, way, a-way, way,
A way, way, way, way down.
I went out the other night and got myself a little taste.
I think my whole self is going to waste, yes, I am,
I’ve got to find, find me a whiskey woman, yeah, yeah

Rogers has a perfect B3 solo, Carlisle one on guitar. McCormick’s drums have that dramatic blues touch.

I’ve been up all night
Sittin’ here smokin’ cigarette after cigarette
Drinkin’ drink after drink, tryin’ to get myself tight.
I feel all right,
And I still think I might, yes I might.
I’ve got to find, find me a whiskey woman, yeah, yeah

Damn. Maybe you can relate.

Any Capricorn album. Any time. Any date. Any band. Period.

The flip side (Side 2) is a lot of fun if less spectacular than the masterpiece on Side 1. It begins with a bouncy tune titled “Another Sunshine Song.” Carlisle owns this one on slide guitar, Rogers playing barrelhouse piano. As with every other EQT song, the bass line kills, and the drums are precisely what’s needed. Unlike Side 1, there are several songs here on which McCormick’s voice might remind you of one of his contemporaries, the late Ronnie van Zandt.

Following that is the brief “Water to Wine,” the first of three songs penned by Carlisle. Piano and acoustic guitar match up well hear, McCormick’s voice sounding a million miles away (OK, maybe not that far, but it’s a nice effect). Carlisle takes a short electric solo.

“Can’t Get Home for Your Party” features a piano intro. Cantonwine’s bass is up front here, sounding great. Carlisle plays acoustic. The harmony vocals are excellent… but uncredited. The lament has an “I Shall Be Released” cadence to it.

For your obscure reference (I can’t get it out of my head), “Texas Sand” reminds me so much of “Cottage Cheese” by Crow (look that up in your Funk and Wangalls-apedia). Vocal harmonies and slide guitar highlight this funky song, which is autobiographical:

This whole world’s gettin’ mighty rough.
Sometimes things look bad.
Just want to say to all you people
Be thankful for what you have.
We left on the road, and we headed for Memphis
In the fall of ’69.
Here it is two winters later,
And we still don’t have a dime.

The album closes with a very uptempo obituary for “Suzie B. Dunn.” Carlise starts on guitar, then B3, drums, and bass enter in succession. Rogers takes what has to be one of the first wah-wah Hammond B3 solos, almost like a clavinet. At the three-minute mark, the band stops cold. Just when you assume it’s over, Rogers plays a very funereal dirge for another two minutes with trippy accompaniment from the band.

The original album lists: Additional percussion, hand-clapping, etc. by John “Duck” Sandlin, Bill Stewart, Mary Lane and Jeanne.

I have wanted to review this album for years but kept putting it off. It was only available on vinyl; I know — I have searched for years to find it on CD. Then, recently, I looked at the Eric Quincy Tate website. Lo and behold, 15 albums are listed in the discography section, and you can order many of them. Mine came with a receipt from bassist David Cantonwine, who manages the band’s website.

I am one extremely happy Eric Quincy Tate fan! Time to get some more!

And speaking of more, there is a new release called Eric Quincy Tate Light. Website says: Enjoy the lighter side of EQT from previous recordings and tapes. Damn skippy! You can order Light, Drinking Man’s Friend, and a dozen others on the EQT website.