|
|
| Home: Music: Blood Sweat & Tears (Exp) |
Blood Sweat & Tears (Exp)- Amazon |
One of the great classic albums
2005-04-20
What can you say? Every single song on this 1969 album is a classic, except for the sprawling "Blues--Part II". This was the first album to have three singles go gold in America ("You've Made Me So Very Happy", "Spinning Wheel", "And When I Die"). Founder/singer Al Kooper had left after BS&T's first album. The band rehearsed with Laura Nyro as singer for a while (she wrote "And When I Die"), before going with the strong voice of David Clayton-Thomas. The album has excellent production by James William Guercio, who was also a founder/producer of Chicago (while both bands played brassy jazz-rock, BS&T focused more on the jazz); he manages the unusual feat of giving all nine band members room to shine without cluttering up the sound. In addition to the hits, there are fantastic covers of Billie Holliday's "God Bless the Child" and Traffic's "Smiling Phases", and even a couple of permutations of Erik Satie's "Trois Gymnopedies". Guitarist Steve Katz wrote and sang the heartbroken ballad "Sometimes in Winter". While there is plenty of soloing, the solos are focused and don't overstay their welcome (again, this excludes "Blues--Part II).
This reissue includes some interesting liner notes on the making of the album, and a couple of live tracks recorded at New York's Café au Go-Go two months before the album was recorded. "More and More" comes off well. A 19-minute recording of "Smiling Phases" is horrific, though, with 5 minutes of random brass noodling to open it, an interminable electric piano solo, and ending with two full minutes of stage announcements from a half-awake theater employee. Less would have been more. (1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal) 
AN OVER-AMBITIOUS REMASTERING JOB
2004-10-02
This is a rare remastering failure from Columbia/Legacy. The overall gain of the recording has been raised to the point where the background hiss of the original master tape is far too audible. As a result, the cymbals and horns are also annoyingly harsh and sibilant. This recording is a masterwork which deserves better. For those who wish to hear this work in proper form, seek out the Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs version. Now that MFSL has re-emerged from bankruptcy, that title is now commercially available again at the original reasonable retail price, right here on Amazon. I am not an advocate of buying only MFSL titles vs. recently remastered CD's available from the record companies. I have A-B'd dozens of older MFSL titles, most which were mastered in the 80's or mid-90's, against remasters produced in the last five years. In almost all cases, IMHO, the advances of remastering technology in the past five years supercedes much of the older MFSL work. The comparisons were performed on two Sony XA7ES players run digital out thru a Camelot Uther DAC. However, I've always held the opinion that the MFSL version of this title was one of the best MFSL CD's ever. It certainly is superior to this Columbia/Legacy remastered version. I feel bad about having to post this, because, by and large, Legacy has done an amazing and laudable job of leading the industry in sonically updating the rich Columbia catalog (the bean counters at wretched Warner Brothers should take note). This is one title, however, where they just missed the target. The MFSL title is going to cost you 3X of the Legacy version. However, this is one area where you don't need to have tens of thousands of dollars invested in high-end audio equipment for the difference to be stark and immediately noticeable. If you indeed have an affection for this wonderful work, buy the MFSL. It is a much more warmer, pleasant audio experience, where this CD is just too harsh. You won't be sorry.
Still stunning after all these years
2004-09-08
For all the ink that was spilled in the wake of this album's success in 1969, it remains one of the catchiest fusions of rock, jazz and pop that's ever been waxed. With the Al Kooper-less BS&T resetting the band's course there was plenty of grist for "serious" music fans to chew on, including the lightheartedness found in many of the songs, and the blue-eyed funk that underpins many of the tracks. It didn't live up to the Stax and Motown sounds from which it borrowed, but the combination of talented musicians, jazz-inflected pop arrangements, suitably deep grooves and David Clayton-Thomas' soulful voice resulted in both artistic and commercial triumph. Critics will continue to deride the album's pop sensibilities, but it's exactly that sound introduced many mainstream listeners to the songwriting charms of Traffic ("Smiling Phases"), Billy Holiday ("God Bless the Child"), and Laura Nyro ("And When I Die"), as well as deftly recasting Motown (Brenda Holloway's "You've Made Me So") in a new light.
The hits speak for themselves, having been replayed endlessly on all manner of oldies and MOR radio. The album's most ambitious track, the nearly 12-minute long "Blues, Pt. 2," provides a deeper sense of the bands roots by marrying quotes from Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" to lengthy instrumental improvisations and a bluesy vocal from Thomas. But its length and jazz abstraction don't really match the album's hallmark accessibility. Legacy's 2000 reissue features crisp sound that holds up both the bottom end and the horns, and shines a particularly flattering light on the drum playing of Bobby Colomby. Bonus tracks include live versions of "More and More" and a nearly nineteen minute take of "Smiling Phases." Both give a sense of the band's power as a live unit, though the tinny compactness of the recordings pales in comparison to the studio tracks.
Nothing more perfect and lovely
2004-08-29
This, while it was a hit, is one of the most underrated, entertaining and grand album. From the smoothly beautful sounds of Variations, to the brooding Blues pt. II. The sound on this CD are classic. The lead singer has the soul of Joe Cocker and the delivery of Steve Winwood. The other singer has the hippy sensibilities of the 60's singing on the gorgeous classic Sometimes in Winter. It can't get any better when you hear amazing music like this, and you are automatically sucked into them. You can tell this album is destined for greatness, one way or another. It's amazingly brilliant.
Merger of musical sensibilities worked well in its time...
2004-08-08
I bought this LP in the fall of '69, not long after getting out of the Army. The hit single "And When I Die" made me do it, although it was the third single from the record released that year. I liked it then, and I like it now. BS&T combined classical, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock when the nine guys got going, but I always felt the jazz/soul elements were strongest. Does every minute of the original LP hold up, 35 years later? Of course not. Does most of it? Yes. David Clayton-Thomas is still a fascinating singer, and "Sometimes in Winter" remains a haunting jazz ballad sung perfectly by Steve Katz. The bonus tracks, two live and lengthy renditions of songs later put on this record in briefer form, give a good idea of how exciting it was to watch these guys play live. I got that privilege in late '69 or early 1970, when BS&T headlined at Madison Square Garden. The opening act was the legendary Miles Davis, but he was in his fusion phase and hardly acknowledged the audience. I barely remember his segment, although I honor his talent and own a dozen of his albums. BS&T was the excitement for that crowd, and Clayton-Thomas especially knocked us out. I don't think I can really explain why this group's work hooked more than three million of us who bought this LP. It had something to do with the rise of album-oriented FM radio, and the Vietnam War losing favor with the citizens, and the Civil Rights movement, and the deaths of JFK, Malcolm,
Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. Rock was maturing, jazz was changing, roots music had already been discovered. BS&T played a lot of stuff that was not original with them, even "old" compositions, yet made them sound totally fresh. The group never had a better year than '69, when America was going through a pretty bad time politically and socially. Those of us depressed about the direction of the country and worried about how to fix things could find diversion and comfort in this album. Anyone who likes more than one kind of music, and has respect for good playing, should give 69 minutes of listening time to this famous production. If you've never been exposed to BS&T, using earphones might enhance that experience.  Read for more: http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html%3FASIN=B...
Browse more in:[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] ... |
|
|
(c) 2005-2006 Giga Goods - Release New Products Online
Submit New Product | Submit New Software | Submit Press Release | Submit French Press Release |