{"id":1785,"date":"2025-08-13T00:04:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T07:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cowsill.com\/home\/?page_id=1785"},"modified":"2025-08-13T00:04:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T07:04:31","slug":"the-cocaine-drain-album-liner-notes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cowsill.com\/home\/music\/the-cocaine-drain-album\/the-cocaine-drain-album-liner-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"The “Cocaine Drain” Album: Liner Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Cover
Album Cover<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If we had to sum up our collective experiences during the recording of Cocaine Drain with one word, it would be \u201cschool.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1978, The Cowsills were eight years past our prime\u2014already a has-been musical group. Terms like \u201coldies,\u201d \u201ctribute bands,\u201d and \u201cartist impersonator\u201d hadn\u2019t come in to being yet. There were no \u201coldies\u201d tours and no \u201coldies groups\u201d yet, because none of the generation of musicians who were going to feed that future phenomenon (for many decades to come) hadn\u2019t aged yet appreciably. We were all still quite young. At 16, Susan had already been through a successful career, and in 1976 had launched her solo career (which would continue to this day) in New Orleans, but at the time was limited to a singles deal with Warner Bros., which would sadly not produce a hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 1978, I was writing songs, and had actually never stopped. So, we did what we had always done\u2014and would even continue to do for decades to come\u2014go into the studio to record songs. We had songs to record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group went to Clover Studios down on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, and we started recording demos with Chuck Plotkin and engineer Toby Scott. While recording demos of new songs, Chuck taught us how to get drum sounds, how to mix, how to write good songs, how to produce recording sessions. He brought us material from the outside to demo. Songs from Andrew Gold, Kenny Edwards, Wendy Waldman, Steve Ferguson, Buzzy Feiten\u2014some of which made it on to Cocaine Drain. We went into Clover one Sunday and recorded 16 songs in a row that we had written. An early version of \u201cGettin\u2019 Ready\u201d was in that group. Nobody has ever heard the rest of those songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, after days and days of rehearsal and preparation at Earshot Studios in Burbank (thank you Bob Chambers), we were ready for primary recordings to begin. What really triggered starting the sessions was the song \u201cThinking Of You,\u201d which was one of the songs demoed that worked out . . . and the demo became the master on that one. From there, the songs came. From within and without, we immersed ourselves at Clover Studios and really went to \u201cschool.\u201d We really got a recording and writing frenzy going. Even when we were done, and Paul and I had written \u201cIs Your Love Alive?,\u201d we kept coming up with songs. Chuck kept us in the studio, even if we had to book elsewhere\u2014like at Emitt Rhodes\u2019 studio (garage!) in the San Fernando Valley. We recorded five more songs, and then the whole thing just stopped. We got as far as the album being sequenced by Val Garay, then it went south, and the reason is complex as you can imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susan was forging a separate path with Dwight Twilley, and Chuck Plotkin was forging a separate path with Bruce Springsteen (all because Bruce, the perfectionist, couldn\u2019t find an engineer in the country who could mix Darkness On The Edge Of Town <\/em>until he met Chuck), so\u2014there went our lead singer and producer. For a brief moment, we did think, \u201cThis is not going to stand,\u201d and actually auditioned girl singers to replace Susan so we could continue. Today we laugh at that one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We love recording and writing and those days were so wonderful and crazy and fulfilling. We learned everything we could from Chuck, but like always, when it went south, we retreated, withdrew and went back to our lives having recorded the first of a few very fine albums that were not going to do much of anything for us outside the world of being satisfied that we made a good record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Bob Cowsill
July 2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Paul Cowsill, Dennis Castanares, Bob Cowsill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sometime in 1978, The Cowsills were playing a show at The Troubadour in Hollywood. Playing greatest hits was the last thing on their minds, since they had new material they\u2019d labored over and loved. So of course their set gets interrupted by one guy, standing up and yelling for an oldie: \u201cIndian Lake! Play Indian Lake!\u201d They politely shushed the guy, explained that wasn\u2019t where they were at, and carried on with the new songs\u2014not learning until later that the guy was Brian Wilson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
John Cowsill, Barry Cowsill, Susan Cowsill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t easy being The Cowsills in the late \u201970s. The very same \u201960s sunshine pop associations that make them hip today had just the opposite effect back then. Though they were still a young band (all under 30 at decade\u2019s end), the industry was writing them off as relics. Yet the album you\u2019re now holding had the goods to hit FM radio where it lived. Written largely by Bob Cowsill and sporting the trademark sparkling harmonies, the album could have established The Cowsills as modern hitmakers\u2014and could have made a superstar out of Susan, who was now the full-time lead singer. If only it had been released at the time . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of our favorite family albums,\u201d says Bob Cowsill. \u201cI will say there is a \u201970s feel to it, some of those drum sounds are dry and upfront. And sure, we were paying attention; things come into our brains and filter through us as writers. Our genetic makeup is what it is, and every album we do has that spilling through it. We understand now that it never came out, just like we understand everything about the music business. Okay, you didn\u2019t buy this one, fine, but we\u2019ll ride the ride. But you\u2019ve always got to be true to yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story really begins back in 1972 when The Cowsills disbanded as a group. They\u2019d recently changed labels and made the album On My Side with a grown-up folk-rock sound, then a couple later singles that restored oldest brother Bill to the lineup. None of it caught on, and the family went to separate corners. Bob to return to school and keep writing songs, John to drum with various bands back in Newport, RI. Meanwhile Paul had moved up in the music industry, working for Jeff Wald\u2019s management company and road managing his main client (and wife), Helen Reddy. With Wald\u2019s help Paul got signed to Capitol to form a new band, dubbed Bridey Murphy. Brothers Bill, Barry, and John were all briefly involved, though the A-side of Bridey Murphy\u2019s one single \u201cThe Time Has Come\u201d features only Paul and multi-instrumentalist Waddy Wachtel. Nearly joining up at one point were two promising songwriters Wachtel was also friendly with: Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susan too was looking to make a new start, though she swears she only pursued a solo career because her mom insisted she either go back to school or get a job. \u201cI\u2019ll always be a singer but I am a reluctant solo artist, and I don\u2019t know if I would have even pursued this gift if I hadn\u2019t been born a Cowsill,\u201d she says. \u201cSo yes, it was about staying out of school. Lenny Waronker from Warner Bros. thought it would be a good idea to give me a singles deal, and that\u2019s when my musical journey began. I now had to decide what I was going to sing. I remember my brother Barry bringing Linda Ronstadt\u2019s \u201cDifferent Drum\u201d into the office because he thought I sounded like her.\u201d Fittingly enough, a highlight of the four Warners tracks was a version of Warren Zevon\u2019s \u201cMohammad\u2019s Radio\u201d\u2014suggested by her friend Jackson Browne\u2014that predates Ronstadt\u2019s similar one by a few years. Susan still sings it to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That circle of L.A. connections included two people who\u2019d play a pivotal role in these sessions. Jon Meyer was a management associate of Wald\u2019s, who also became Paul\u2019s closest friend and Susan\u2019s romantic partner. Through him and Browne they got introduced to Chuck Plotkin\u2014a magic-touch producer who\u2019d already had success with Orleans and Andrew Gold, and was soon to have a lot more with Bruce Springsteen. Having these two heavy hitters in their corner made a huge difference for The Cowsills. As Susan puts it, \u201cJon Meyer was our Brian Epstein and Chuck Plotkin was our George Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By now the four core members\u2014Bob, John, Paul, and Susan\u2014had settled in Hollywood and were open to another try. Bill was out of the picture, having started a new life in Canada. Barry had mixed feelings about being a Cowsill again so he never fully rejoined, but did show up for many of the sessions and live shows. Paul took on the bass, Barry played rhythm guitar when present, Bob was now the lead guitarist. The group played the clubs fairly often in this time, often billed incognito as either The Critics or The Secrets. John Cowsill recalls talking to Springsteen, who was among those advising them to take on a new name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Far as the brothers were concerned, moving Susan up to lead singer was a no-brainer. \u201cShe had by far the best voice,\u201d says John. Adds Bob, \u201cYou do what\u2019s best for the song. And Susan had this young, uplifting, beautiful voice. You just fell in love with it, and for us to harmonize behind it felt wonderful. I think we were all enamored of her talent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susan saw it a little differently. \u201cIn my head we were just a band, and I happened to be the chick lead singer. That didn\u2019t mean anything like stepping out front. To me we are an interchangeable mix of voices and bodies and people; that\u2019s a family thing and there wasn\u2019t a lot of caring about who did what.\u201d Still, there were always record labels looking to poach Susan for a solo career. \u201cI remember being at the Starwood with Plotkin and someone from a record label came up to me and he said, \u2018The first thing we\u2019re going to do is get you to stop biting your nails.\u2019 So I cranked a middle finger at him, broken nail and all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plotkin gave The Cowsills a development deal, spending endless hours in the studio polishing up arrangements and pushing Bob to throw out songs and write better ones. \u201cThe University of Plotkin was an amazing education,\u201d says John. \u201cHe believed in us so hard and we loved him. I learned from those sessions that I didn\u2019t suck.\u201d Paul, who\u2019d switched from keyboards to bass, recalls trying to nail the tough bassline of the title track. \u201cI looked right at him and said \u2018Dude, I can\u2019t do that\u2019. And just said \u2018Yes, you can.\u2019 It was a real master class.\u201d Though he and Bill had written most of The Cowsills\u2019 originals in the past, Bob felt like he was starting over. \u201cI keep writing songs for Chuck, and he knows they\u2019re not that good. Finally I came up with one where he said, \u2018Now that\u2019s a song\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That first one to get Plotkin\u2019s thumbs-up was called \u201cYou Lied,\u201d but the group worked so much on that song that they burned out on it and shelved it. But an obvious winner from the first batch of songs was the lovely and emotive \u201cThinking Of You,\u201d which includes trademark piano from Little Feat\u2019s Bill Payne. The song holds a bittersweet memory for Susan, as Jon Meyer had become seriously ill, and it was one of her last chances to sing for him in the studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They didn\u2019t think much about chasing musical trends, with one exception, says Bob. \u201cI blame disco for a lot of what happened. Now, we\u2019re not disco. Plotkin knew that, Elektra-Asylum knew it, everybody knew it. But we thought okay, we\u2019ll write a disco song. That\u2019s where \u2018Is Your Love Alive?\u2019 came from, even though it\u2019s not really a disco song.\u201d But it does wrap some joyful pop essence around the big beat, as does the other almost-disco number \u201cDance In A Dream.\u201d The latter was the only original to see release at the time, on the second solo album by Dwight Twilley\u2019s former musical partner Phil Seymour. His guitarist couldn\u2019t nail the part so Bob came in and played it himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bob wrote seven of ten songs pegged for the album, with occasional help from Paul. Plotkin hooked them up with keyboardist Dennis Castanares, who became the auxiliary man in the studio, and with songwriters Buzzy Feiten (from The Rascals\u2019 fusion-era lineup) and Steve Ferguson (the Asylum songwriter, not the ex-NRBQ guitarist), who respectively brought in \u201cPart Of Me\u201d and \u201cGive Me A Chance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orleans leader John Hall came up with the title track, which would likely have raised eyebrows if released, even with its anti-coke sentiments. Clapton and Fleetwood Mac could sing about cocaine, but The Cowsills? \u201cDamn right, we said that song is going to come out and The Cowsills are doing it,\u201d said Susan. \u201cHey, it was the \u201970s and \u201980s in Los Angeles, and everybody who lived there knows what it was like at the time. There was no reason not to do a song that was relevant.\u201d Hall released a moody acoustic version himself; but The Cowsills\u2019 take has a funkier groove that recalls \u201cThe Long Run\u201d by the Eagles\u2014quite a feat, since that song wasn\u2019t written yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a ten-track album in the can, The Cowsills and Plotkin just kept recording. The five bonus tracks were part of a possible follow-up, done at a different San Fernando Valley studio, owned by cult hero Emitt Rhodes (who alas wasn\u2019t present, so there was no summit meeting). But these songs sport a guitar-driven power pop sound, bringing the \u201960s roots more into play\u2014especially on \u201cSay You Love Me\u201d, where Bob plays a Byrdsy 12-string lead. They provide a natural bridge to the sound of the Global<\/em> album a decade later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what exactly went wrong? \u201cIt just fizzled, man,\u201d says John. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know the business then and we don\u2019t know it now.\u201d It was expected that Elektra-Asylum would release the album, thanks to Plotkin\u2019s relationship with the label. But he wound up getting deeper into the Springsteen orbit and moving to New York, leaving a lot of unfinished business in Hollywood\u2014including finding The Cowsills\u2019 album a home; Bob says that the label never even got to hear it (nor was it formally named Cocaine Drain<\/em>, though that became its colloquial title over the years). It got as far as another hot producer, Val Garay, sequencing and mastering the album. The master tapes went missing decades ago; but some modern wizardry has been applied to significantly upgrade the sound of Garay\u2019s acetate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another issue was Susan\u2019s going her own way. She\u2019d begun a relationship with power-pop maestro Dwight Twilley, who had a few opinions about his girlfriend being a performer. So her exit from The Cowsills wasn\u2019t so much for musical reasons. \u201cI can tell you that Mr. Twilley was an old-fashioned sort of guy, and he didn\u2019t like his girlfriend to be up there sweating for men, which is what he called it. That\u2019s the truth, and I was very much in love. I\u2019m a domestic person and I thought I was going to get married and have a baby, that was what I wanted.\u201d Though that didn\u2019t happen with Twilley, she became his musical partner through the early \u201980s; her harmonies (and John\u2019s drums) are all over two of his best and most popular albums, Scuba Divers<\/em> and Jungle<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plotkin did get The Cowsills onto the Living Room Suite<\/em> album by Harry Chapin, who gave them an appreciative note in the credits. Less known (because he wasn\u2019t credited) is that John Cowsill appeared on Bob Dylan\u2019s Shot Of Love<\/em> album, playing timpani on \u201cTrouble.\u201d As he recalls, \u201cI had time to just hang out so I was really living at Clover Studios. I remember Ringo, Ron Wood, and Jim Keltner being there, all trying to get Bob off the back steps and into the studio.\u201d John of course would later join his former heckler Brian Wilson in The Beach Boys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for Cocaine Drain<\/em>, It can\u2019t be a great feeling to know you\u2019ve done something special and that the world won\u2019t get to hear it, at least until the Internet and specialty record labels are invented. \u201cIt\u2019s the first time I really experienced rejection on a level of, \u2018Okay, I was wrong about that,\u2019\u201d Bob admits. \u201cBut we had things aligning in front of us until it all fell apart. We made a great record, we had a great producer, and there was that clan of musicians around us that we liked. But it\u2019s our history: When things fall apart we recoil and we go back to our lives until the next thing comes up. We didn\u2019t think that someday there would be oldies tours [like the Happy Together tour where The Cowsills are a beloved fixture] that would keep people like us on the road for decades. Who knew?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adds Susan, \u201cWhen I think of this album and our evolution, I feel like I\u2019m watching my own Laurel Canyon story. We had these moments to look back on, and my guys got to be part of it. We are who we are, we\u2019re meant to be exactly who we are. And I am proud of every musical minute.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Brett Milano
July 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If we had to sum up our collective experiences during the recording of Cocaine Drain with one word, it would be \u201cschool.\u201d In 1978, The Cowsills were eight years past our prime\u2014already a has-been musical group. Terms like \u201coldies,\u201d \u201ctribute … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1778,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cowsill.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1785"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cowsill.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cowsill.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cowsill.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cowsill.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1785"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/cowsill.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1793,"href":"https:\/\/cowsill.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1785\/revisions\/1793"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cowsill.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cowsill.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}