''Playin' It Cool'' is the debut solo

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American musician Timothy B. Schmit, the bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

. The album was released in 1984 on

Asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The album features guest appearances from

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as its sole continuous member. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles ...

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...

Steve Lukather Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to ...

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Dennis Wilson, ...

JD Souther John David Souther (November 2, 1945 – September 17, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was "a principal architect of the Southern California sound and a major influence on a generation of songwriters". Souther wrote and ...

and

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on ''Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and th ...

Critical reception

Reviewing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, critic Rob Theakston wrote of the album "The production on several of these tunes sound antiquated in comparison to the super glossed production of the mid-eighties; almost reminiscent of Schmit's tunes in the Eagles. It certainly doesn't help matters that many of his Southern California compadres (Henley, Carl Wilson, Joe Walsh and JD Souther) make guest appearances, leading to the notion that Playin' It Cool is an album that was several years in the making. It's not the worst of Eagles solo records, but it is certainly nowhere near the best either."

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

* Timothy B. Schmit – vocals, bass (1–4, 8), backing vocals (1, 2, 4), guitars (5), percussion (7) *

Vince Melamed Vincent Edward "Vince" Melamed is an American keyboardist and songwriter who resides in Nashville, Tennessee. He was born in New York, and moved to Los Angeles at an early age. Melamed has appeared with many bands as a keyboardist (Bob Dylan, JD ...

– keyboards (1, 2, 4, 6–8) *

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist, and secondary vocalist of the rock band Toto (band), Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrot ...

– keyboards (6, 7), percussion (6) *

Michael Utley Michael Edward Utley (born 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and was the musical director and keyboard player for Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band. After Buffett's death he retired from touring and was replaced by his ...

–

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

(9) * Josh Leo – guitars (1), percussion (2), backing vocals (2), first guitar solo (4, 9), acoustic guitar (7), rhythm guitar (9), bass (9), chorus harmony vocals (9) *

– second and end guitar solos (4), guitars (6, 8), electric guitar (7) *

–

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

(4), third guitar solo (4), second and end guitar solos (9) *

Bob Glaub Bob Glaub (born May 10, 1952)Hageman, William (April 29, 2005)."The aces of bass: Five giants of an overshadowed instrument", Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. is an American bass player and session musician. He has played with such artists an ...

– bass (6, 7) * Craig Krampf – drums (1, 9), percussion (2) * Harry Stinson – Simmons snare drum (2),

Roland TR-808 The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patterns. ...

(2) * John Robinson – drums (3) *

– percussion (2), drums (4), backing vocals (4) *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer. He is best known for being the co-founder and drummer of the rock band Toto, but is also one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundr ...

– drums (6–8), percussion (6, 7),

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

(8) *

Keith Knudsen Keith A. Knudsen ( ; February 18, 1948 – February 8, 2005) was an American rock drummer, vocalist, and songwriter. Knudsen was best known as a drummer and vocalist for The Doobie Brothers. In addition, he founded the band Southern Pacific wit ...

– tambourine (9) * Greg Smith – baritone saxophone (6) * Bill Bergman – tenor saxophone (6) * Jim Coile – tenor saxophone (6) * Steve Allen – tenor saxophone (8) * Sam Clayton – backing vocals (1) *

– backing vocals (1, 6) *

– backing vocals (2) *

– backing vocals (9) * Max Gronenthal – backing vocals (9) *

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

– backing vocals (9) Cheers on "Playin' It Cool" * Jean Cromie * Carole Damien *

Debra Dobkin Debra Dobkin is an American vocalist, percussionist, music producer, and painter. Biography Early history She was selected at age 6 for children's scholarship classes by the Art Institute of Chicago, and later attended the Sam Fox School of D ...

* Joan Kreiss * Jeddrah Schmit * Jay Harris * Renee Larose Leo * Lindah K. Lauderbough

Production

* Josh Leo – producer (1, 4–9) * Timothy B. Schmit – producer (1, 4–9), cover concept * Russ Titleman – producer (3) *

Niko Bolas Niko Bolas is an American music producer, sound engineer, and consultant. He is also a business developer in the fields of virtual reality and Internet radio. In 1989, Bolas founded Fakespace Music with Mark Bolas, Ian McDowall, and Christian Greu ...

– recording (1, 2, 4–9), mixing *

Mark Linett Mark Linett is an American record producer and audio engineer who is best known for his remixing and remastering of the Beach Boys' catalog. Since 1988, he has been the engineer for Brian Wilson's recordings. He has also worked with Red Hot C ...

– engineer (3) * Richard Bosworth – second engineer, assistant engineer, mix assistant * Denny Densmore – second engineer * Larry Hinds – second engineer * Bob Loftus – second engineer * Duane Seykora – second engineer * Ernie Sheesley – second engineer * Wayne Tanouye – second engineer *

Joe Gastwirt Joe Gastwirt is an American audio engineer, known for digitally remastering hundreds of CDs and LPs for famous artists, including the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, Helen Reddy, Electric Light Orchestra, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, The Blu ...

– mastering at Oceanview Digital Mastering (Los Angeles, California) * Dan Hersch – mastering assistant * Bruce Ayers – cover concept * Jean Cromie – cover concept *

Gary Burden Gary Burden (May 23, 1933 – March 7, 2018) was an American artist specializing in the field of album covers. He is considered one of the pioneers of the concept of album cover art. Early life Gary Burden was born on May 23, 1933, in Cleveland, ...

– cover concept, art direction, design * Jenice Heo – art direction, design *

Henry Diltz Henry Stanford Diltz (born September 6, 1938, in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American folk musician and photographer who has been active since the 1960s. Career Photography Among the bands Diltz played with was the Modern Folk Quartet. W ...

– photography

Chart performance

Album

Singles

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1984 albums Timothy B. Schmit albums Albums produced by Josh Leo Asylum Records albums