Jeff’s Playlist: How to Become Clairvoyant

Robbie Robertson — How to Become Clairvoyant

I pre­sent­ed Robbie’s first solo album a while back. I have been fol­low­ing his music career since 1987 after his split from The Band. We’ve been togeth­er through thick and thin, and I have always been able to rely on his music to be there to cheer me up and egg me on.

Robbie passed away August 9 in Los Angeles at 80 years old. His giv­en name was Jaime Royal Robertson, and he was born July 5, 1943, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. R.I.P.

This is his next-to-last album and one of my favorites. Clapton joins him on a cou­ple of songs — com­pos­ing, singing, and play­ing — as well as Steve Winwood on organ. There are also a cou­ple of demos includ­ed at the end. This is a very fine set of record­ings. I hope you’ll take the time to enjoy it.

Album Information

All tracks com­posed by Robbie Robertson; except where indicated.

“Straight Down the Line” – 5:19
“When the Night Was Young” – 5:05
“He Don’t Live Here No More” – 5:46
“The Right Mistake” – 4:30
“This Is Where I Get Off” – 5:09
“Fear of Falling” (Eric Clapton, Robertson) – 5:18
“She’s Not Mine” – 4:28
“Madame X” (Eric Clapton) – 4:46
“Axman” – 4:36
“Won’t Be Back” (Eric Clapton, Robertson) – 4:10
“How to Become Clairvoyant” – 6:17
“Tango for Django” (Robertson, Marius de Vries) – 3:50
“The Right Mistake”
“He Don’t Live Here No More”
“Fear Of Falling”
“This Is Where I Get off”
“Madame X”
“Houdini”

Personnel

Robbie Robertson – gui­tar, elec­tric gui­tar, gut-string gui­tar, key­boards, vocals
Angelyna Boyd – back­ing vocals
Ann Marie Calhoun – vio­lin
Eric Clapton – acoustic and elec­tric gui­tar, gut-string gui­tar, slide gui­tar, vocal harmony,backing vocals
Marius de Vries – key­boards, piano
Rocco DeLuca – dobro, back­ing vocals
Bill Dillon – gui­tar, gui­tor­gan
Jimi Englund – per­cus­sion
Dana Glover – back­ing vocals
Taylor Goldsmith – back­ing vocals
Eldad Guetta – horn
Tina Guo – cel­lo
Michelle John – back­ing vocals
Daryl Johnson – back­ing vocals
Jim Keltner – drums
Frank Marocco – accor­dion
Angela McCluskey – vocals
Natalie Mendoza – back­ing vocals
Tom Morello – gui­tar
Pino Palladino – bass
Martin Pradler – Wurlitzer piano
Robert Randolph – ped­al steel gui­tar
Ian Thomas – drums
Sharon White – back­ing vocals
Steve Winwood – organ

Released   April 5, 2011
Recorded  2011
Studio        The Village Recorder, West Los Angeles, California; Olympic Studios, London, England
Length      59:09
Label        Macrobiotic Records, 429 Records
Producer  Marius de Vries, Robbie Robertson