"In this instance, I believed that we needed a specific sound that only a specialist such as Phil could provide, and as the final arbiter, I followed my instinct. "My suggestion to use Phil Woods wasn't meant to offend Richie Cannata or his playing," Ramone wrote in his 2007 book, Making Records: The Scenes Behind The Music. He thought the solo needed "the throaty texture" of an alto sax. Phil Woods, who is a prominent jazz player, was brought in to play the alto saxophone for this song after Phil Ramone decided Richie Cannata's tenor sax wasn't providing enough dimension to the bridge. Using brushes on the snare gave it a very sexy sound." The slight rest, and a little extra pressure on each kick of the bass drum pedal gave it extra emphasis. We tried it again, and this time I began dropping the bass drum out in certain places, and playing the tom-tom on the 'and' of four. "Phil suggested trying a South American Byonne rhythm, and tapped out the pattern to show me what he meant. When Ramone agreed the cha-cha rhythm wasn't working and suggested a pattern with a more sensuous feel, DeVitto finally got on board. 'I'm no goddamned sissy drummer,' he said." Joel recalled in Ramone's book Making Records: "We originally played 'Just The Way You Are' as a cha-cha: 'Don't go changing (cha-cha-cha) - just to please me (cha-cha-cha).…' Well, Liberty DeVitto got so pissed that he threw his drum sticks at me. In his Songfacts interview, DeVitto said: "Me and Phil Ramone came up with that kind of crazy rhythm that started out as a samba beat, like a bossa nova with a brush and a stick."īut DeVitto was one of the most vocal opponents of the song in its original form. Joel's longtime drummer Liberty DeVitto considers his work on this track his greatest contribution to a Billy Joel song.
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