Various Artists - What's Shakin'

Year: 1966/2005
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:38
Size: 89,8 MB
Styles: Electric blues, R&B
Scans: Full

1. The Lovin' Spoonful - Good Time Music (3:09)
2. The Lovin' Spoonful - Almost Grown (1:52)
3. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Spoonful (3:04)
4. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Off The Wall (2:07)
5. Al Kooper - Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes (4:35)
6. Eric Clapton & The Powerhouse - I Want To Know (2:18)
7. Eric Clapton & The Powerhouse - Crossroads (2:18)
8. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Lovin' Cup (2:43)
9. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (2:24)
10. Eric Clapton & The Powerhouse - Steppin' Out (3:17)
11. Tom Rush - I'm In Love Again (2:07)
12. The Lovin' Spoonful - Don't Bank On It Baby (1:55)
13. The Lovin' Spoonful - Searchin' (3:15)
14. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - One More Mile (3:29)

When we launched our Elektra reissue program, we honestly didn't think we would land this legendary 1966 rarities compilation, because it boasted a couple of big-name artists, the Lovin' Spoonful and Eric Clapton, who were not known for their association with the label. But the lawyers checked, the label signed off, and here we are, with one of the decade's most notorious compilations!

The Lovin' Spoonful tracks stem from the band's almost having signed with the label; Jac Holzman states in the notes that it was John Sebastian's way of making amends, and these four tracks - "Good Time Music", "Almost Grown", "Don't Bank on It Baby", and "Searchin'" - were never recorded by the band, not even in different versions. The Clapton tracks, meanwhile, feature him with Powerhouse, a supergroup composed of Jack Bruce, Stevie Winwood and Manfred Mann lead singer Paul Jones; produced by Joe Boyd, the tracks are "I Want to Know", "Crossroads", and "Steppin' Out".

Five Paul Butterfield Blues Band tracks appear here from their ill-fated debut recording session for Elektra: "Lovin' Cup", "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", "Spoonful", and two that appear nowhere else,"Off the Wall" and "One More Mile". Tom Rush's "I'm in Love Again" is an outtake from his 1966 LP "Take a Little Walk with Me", and Al Kooper's "I Can't Keep from Crying Sometimes" is something of a rehearsal for the later, fuller Blues Project version. A collector's dream - a Collectors' Choice Music exclusive!

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Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, Steve Stills - Super Session

Year: 1968/2003
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:15
Size: 177,9 MB
Styles: Electric blues, rock/blues jam
Scans: Full

1. Albert's Shuffle (6:53)
2. Stop (4:18)
3. Man's Temptation (3:24)
4. His Holy Modal Majesty (9:12)
5. Really (5:26)
6. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (3:29)
7. Season Of The Witch (11:07)
8. You Don't Love Me (4:09)
9. Harvey's Tune (2:10)
10. Albert's Shuffle (2002 Remix, Bonus) (6:58)
11. Season Of The Witch (2002 Remix, Bonus) (11:08)
12. Blues For Nothing (Outtake, Bonus) (4:15)
13. Fat Grey Cloud (Live, Bonus) (4:38)

As the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) had done a year earlier, Super Session (1968) initially ushered in several new phases in rock & roll's concurrent transformation. In the space of months, the soundscape of rock shifted radically from short, danceable pop songs to comparatively longer works with more attention to technical and musical subtleties. Enter the unlikely all-star triumvirate of Al Kooper (piano/organ/ondioline/vocals/guitars), Mike Bloomfield (guitar), and Stephen Stills (guitar) - all of whom were concurrently "on hiatus" from their most recent engagements. Kooper had just split after masterminding the groundbreaking Child Is Father to the Man (1968) version of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Bloomfield was fresh from a stint with the likewise brass-driven Electric Flag, while Stills was late of Buffalo Springfield and still a few weeks away from a full-time commitment to David Crosby and Graham Nash. Although the trio never actually performed together, the long-player was notable for idiosyncratically featuring one side led by the team of Kooper/Bloomfield and the other by Kooper/Stills.

The band is fleshed out with the powerful rhythm section of Harvey Brooks (bass) and Eddie Hoh (drums) as well as Barry Goldberg (electric piano) on "Albert's Shuffle" and "Stop". The Chicago blues contingency of Bloomfield, Brooks, and Goldberg provide a perfect outlet for the three Kooper/Bloomfield originals - the first of which commences the project with the languid and groovy "Albert's Shuffle". The guitarist's thin tone cascades with empathetic fluidity over the propelling rhythms. Kooper's frisky organ solo alternately bops and scats along as he nudges the melody forward. The same can be said of the interpretation of "Stop", which had originally been a minor R&B hit for Howard Tate. Curtis Mayfield's "Man's Temptation" is given a soulful reading that might have worked equally well as a Blood, Sweat & Tears cover. At over nine minutes, "His Holy Modal Majesty" is a fun trippy waltz and includes one of the most extended jams on the Kooper/Bloomfield side. The track also features the hurdy-gurdy and Eastern-influenced sound of Kooper's electric ondioline, which has a slightly atonal and reedy timbre much like that of John Coltrane's tenor sax.

Because of some health issues, Bloomfield was unable to complete the recording sessions and Kooper contacted Stills. Immediately his decidedly West Coast sound - which alternated from a chiming Rickenbacker intonation to a faux pedal steel - can be heard on the upbeat version of Bob Dylan's "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry". One of the album's highlights is the scintillating cover of "Season of the Witch". There is an undeniable synergy between Kooper and Stills, whose energies seems to aurally drive the other into providing some inspired interaction. Updating the blues standard "You Don't Love Me" allows Stills to sport some heavily distorted licks, which come off sounding like Jimi Hendrix. This is one of those albums that seems to get better with age and that gets the full reissue treatment every time a new audio format comes out. This is a super session indeed. /Lindsay Planer, AllMusic

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The Blues Band - Few Short Lines

Year: 2011
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:49
Size: 134,1 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. Few Short Lines (4:41)
2. My Brother Was A Sailor (w. Mike Sanchez) (4:03)
3. Sway With Me (w. Linda Lewis & Mike Sanchez) (4:36)
4. You Are True (w. Southside Johnny) (3:39)
5. Living With The Blues (w. Al Kooper) (3:55)
6. I Believe I'm In Love With You (w. Maggie Bell & Pete Wingfield) (4:06)
7. Pay It No Mind (w. Al Kooper) (3:17)
8. Statesboro Blues (w. Mike Sanchez) (4:57)
9. Suddenly I Like It (5:13)
10. My Toot Toot (3:28)
11. That's My Way (3:19)
12. Road (w. Al Kooper) (5:26)
13. It Take Love (3:19)
14. You Can Dance To The Blues (w. Southside Johnny) (3:43)

Hallelujah! Yes, it's a brand new album from one of the UK's best loved and most popular bands. We could say it stars the incomparable singer and harmonic player supreme Paul Jones. We could add it also stars Tom McGuinness on lead guitar. But The Blues Band is really a co-operative with a team of superb musicians on board. And, this time, they are augmented by welcome guest artists adding extra blues power. Among those joining the regulars are singers Linda Lewis and Maggie Bell, the legendary Al Kooper on keyboards, Mike Sanchez and Pete Wingfield on piano, and Southside Johnny on raunchy vocals.

Together they tear through a barnstorming selection of mainly originals numbers, many written by bass man Gary Fletcher and slide guitarist Dave Kelly. There are 14 tracks to enjoy, ranging from Paul Jones "Suddenly I Like It" to Tom's thoughtful "My Brother Was A Sailor" - all about the perils of life at sea. Few Short Lines makes a fine addition to the legacy of a band, whose career now spans more than 30 years. Good to know they are still out on the road, playing the music they love. /Amazon

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Al Kooper, Shuggie Otis - Kooper Session

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:36
Size: 93.0 MB
Styles: Roots rock, West Coast blues
Year: 1970/1999/2007
Art: Front

[8:55] 1. Bury My Body
[2:25] 2. Double Or Nothing
[3:34] 3. One Room Country Shack
[5:47] 4. Lookin' For A Home
[9:27] 5. 12 15 Slow Goonbash Blues
[4:02] 6. Shuggie's Old Time (Dee-Di-Lee-Di-Leet-Deet Slide Boogie)
[6:24] 7. Shuggie's Shuffle

In 1969, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist Al Kooper added "talent scout" to his already lengthy résumé on the follow-up to the highly successful Super Session disc, which had been issued the previous year. One major difference between the two, however, is the relatively unknown cast featured on Kooper Session. Both albums again converge with the presentation of top-shelf musicianship and inspired performances. At only 15 years of age, guitarist Shuggie Otis is equally potent a performer as the seasoned keyboardist/guitarist Kooper. The duo is able to manifest an aggregate of material whose success leans as much on Kooper's experience as it does on Otis' sheer inspired youthful energy. The LP is divided between a side of shorter works (aka "songs") and a few extended instrumentals (aka "blues"). Kooper and Otis steer their house band, which includes Stu Woods (bass), Wells Kelly (drums), and Mark Klingman (piano). The tight arrangements aptly reveal Kooper's uncanny ability as a musical conduit. "Bury My Body" -- a variation on "In My Time of Dyin'" -- has been reworked into a gospel rave-up and features Kooper on one of the album's only vocals. Conversely, "Double or Nothing" is a spot-on re-creation of a Booker T. & the MG's track, which not only retains every Memphis-inspired intonation, but also shows off Otis' ability to cop Steve Cropper's guitar solo note for note. The blues instrumental jams are documented live and presented on this album the way that they originally went down at the recording sessions. The descriptively titled "Shuggie's Old Time Dee-Di-Lee-Di-Leet-Deet Slide Boogie" is endowed with a nostalgic piano/bottleneck slide duet and even features the added production value of manufactured surface noise. Both "12:15 Slow Goonbash Blues" and "Shuggie's Shuffle" are certainly no less traditional, allowing both Otis and Kooper the chance to stretch out and interact in real time. ~Lindsay Planer

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Mike Bloomfield & Al Kooper - Bottom Line, New York 1974

Size: 171,6 MB
Time: 73:39
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Chicago Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Band Intros By Michael ( 0:28)
02. Don't You Lie To Me ( 3:37)
03. Linda Lou ( 3:57)
04. Sweet Little Angel (10:43)
05. Unchain My Heart ( 4:37)
06. Inside Information ( 4:16)
07. Tuning Pt. 1 ( 1:46)
08. Tryin' To Find The Door ( 3:58)
09. Glamour Girl ( 7:56)
10. Heartbreak - Kansas City ( 6:37)
11. Tuning Pt. 2 ( 0:54)
12. Imagination ( 4:05)
13. Let Them Talk ( 7:09)
14. Station Id And Tuning ( 0:52)
15. Trouble Ahead Of Me ( 8:39)
16. If I Get Started All Over Again ( 3:58)

Personnel:
Mike Bloomfield - Guitar, Vocals
Al Kooper - Keyboards, Vocals
Barry Goldberg - Keyboards
Roger 'Jellyroll' Troy - Bass, Vocals
George Rains - Drums

This legendary concert, held at New York's Bottom Line on March 31st, 1974, and presented in its entirety as it was broadcast on WNYU-FM, conveys the majesty of Bloomfield's phenomenal ability while also paying homage to friends Al Kooper, Roger Troy, John Hammond, George Raines, and Barry Goldberg. Digitally remastered.

Bottom Line, New York 1974

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