Customer Reviews

Blood Sweat & Tears (Exp)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

At the beginning of 1969, the psychedelic movement was dying down. The social turmoil of the previous year was already seeming to hint that not all was fine and dandy with the situation at hand. While some bands took the time out to address the upheaval, a few barely bothered to acknowledge it and instead just made some great experimental music typical of the time. Blood, Sweat & Tears was one of these bands. After firing Al Kooper, who had virtually founded the band himself, the remaining members recruited vocalist David Clayton-Thomas, and a totally different dynamic was taken for their self-titled second album. Horns were used throughout CHILD IS FATHER TO THE MAN, no doubt, but they weren't the primary focus, that being Al Kooper's organ. This time around, the horn section is used almost on the level a lead guitar would be used in a regular rock band. And the material they use is equally mind-blowing. Not afraid to cover the most unusual sources, BS&T manage to take Traffic's "Smiling Phases", Billie Holliday's "God Bless The Child", Laura Nyro's "And When I Die" and Brenda Holloway's "You've Made Me So Very Happy" and turn the originals inside-out to the point that BS&T actually own the songs now. Kooper may not have agreed with the new music being made, but the omnipresent organ that was all throughout CHILD is still a big part of this album, which I guess explains why Kooper's version of the band is often overlooked as if it didn't even exist. Unlike CHILD, BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS was pretty much the THRILLER of 1969, topping the charts for weeks on end, spawning 3 #2 hits which should have been #1's, and going platinum before platinum was even an official designation. But like Kooper's BS&T, long-running success was not to be. With 8 members in the band, differences were bound to erupt, and while they did manage to hold out a little longer (for two more albums), this album was rather the beginning of the end for BS&T, rather than the beginning of a new era, which it damn well should have been. It still ranks as one of the most original and breathtaking statements popular music has ever made.

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.

I picked this up recently along with some other CDs from a bargain bin at one of my favorite record stores. I hadn't listened to Blood, Sweat and Tears in years, I remembered them as a very decent horn-based band but had never been a real big fan. Then I put the CD in the changer.
Oh my lord, how much greater this sounds today than when I was a teen! From the classical "Variations on a Theme" to all the great songs sandwiched between the two takes on that, I was in heaven. BS & T's top 40 songs are some of the few top 40 songs I will listen to, but it is the incredibly suave rendition of God Bless The Child that catapults this band to greatness and makes the CD a must-have.
Singer David Clayton-Thomas was one of the best of his day, and its really too bad that he and his band did not stick around long enough to produce more gems but instead drifted into undeserved obscurity.
Blood, Sweat and Tears was a good album when it was first issued but with its reissue remastered, it is now an album for the ages.

As a big Al Kooper fan, I was gonzo over BS&T's first release, Child Is Father To Man. That album combined a solid rhythem section, great R&B keyboads by Kooper and an outstanding horn section. More than any other jazz/rock fusion band BS&T, set the standard and influnced the sound of Electric Flag and Chicago and even predated the funky LA based Tower of Power.

Unfortunately, the chemistry was not to last. Gone was Kooper and his keyboard wizadry, to be replaced by David Clayton Thomas. With their new frontman and a more eclectic sound, BS&T were now incorporating swing, funk, classical and pyschedelic elements and were ready to conquer the rock world. And conquer they did. Blood Sweat & Tears, their self titled second effort sat on top of the album charts for fifteen consecutive weeks. No small feat, in an era that produced the likes of Electric Ladyland, Begger's Banquet, Wheels of Fire and The Soft Parade.

Success, however was fleeting. BS&T were able to avoid the sophomore jinx, by topping Chid Is father To Man. They even managed to survive the loss of Kooper and regroup, seemingly with ease behind Clayton Thomas. But succsessive efforts never achieved the same level of greatness. The new remastering and additional cuts make both Blood Sweat & Tears and Child is Father To Man essential relistening.

This great masterpiece defies categorization. It has clear classical roots, with themes derived from Eric Satie. It has clear jazz influences, and blues. And at the same time, it delivers hard driving rock and roll, powered by the man with perhaps the greatest voice in rock history, David Clayton-Thomas. The brass are fabulous (the revolutionary concept of having a rock album with brass providing the basic orchestration directly foreshadows the group Chicago), the singles are fabulous (You Made Me So Very Happy, Spinning Wheel), the remake of the Billie Holiday classic God Bless the Child is a revelation, More and More is just fun driving rock, And When I Die is a satirical masterpiece. Do you get the feeling I like this album? And to top it all, it sounds just as fresh today as thirty years ago. A desert island rock CD.

For me this was a real rediscovery, because I wasn't really listening to B, S & T back then, although I certainly recognised their major hit "Spinning Wheel", which is included in this absolutely wonderful album.
Starting of with French composer Eric Satie's "Gymnopédies", first introduced very much as written from the composers hand, but then `twisted' in a nice and imaginary way, with some great writing for horns, and I guess this is the key point to this album; they take other peoples compositions and turn them into their own, in a very personal and imaginary way. I would actually go so far as to say that they beat the originals, but of course this is a matter of taste.
To me there is no doubt; this is their finest moment, the most inspiring and soulful outlet of them all. This is also the first album with singer David Clayton-Thomas and what a singer. I think this is a great album the way through and what an eye-opener it must have been, completely new and fresh, and the best thing is; it still sounds fresh. The only little thing that I can criticize is the second last track called Blues-part 2. Is has a great and very interesting organ intro, which builds up to a climax where horns finally enter, but then right away cuts into a drum/bass groove, which is a bit of an anticlimax, and the rest of this song is virtually different ideas spliced together, contra a homogeneous composition. (this is one out of three compositions of their own hand, the other two being "Spinning Wheel" and "Sometimes in Winter"). But that cannot take anything away from this album as a whole, which is just full of great songs arranged in such an irresistible way. Check this out!!!

With the departure of lead singer Al Kooper, Blood Sweat & Tears inducted David Clayton-Thomas as a replacement, which was fortuitous for him, as he presided over what was BS&T's masterpiece album of 1969. This album topped the charts, garnered the Best Album Grammy and it's not difficult to see why. BS&T's fusion of funk, rock, and jazz signalled an innovation in music from the guitar-dominated rock of the early to mid-60's. The horns, bass, and piano prevalent in jazz music add much to a blues-based rock sound that had emerged with the British-led blues revival of the 60's.

The album itself begins with lilting and reflective flute melodies of atonal composer Erik Satie's "Trois Gymnopedies" of which BS&T do variations on a theme based on the first two movements, the latter which has the horns kicking in. The variation on the first movement also closes the album, not including the bonus tracks.

BS&T do quite a few cover songs, and they add horns and a funky beat to the psychedelic organ of Traffic's "Smiling Phases," originally on their Mr. Fantasy album. Those inclined will be "amazed at the gaze on their faces."

The relaxed and lyrically introspective remembrances in "Sometimes In Winter" includes organs, a burst of horns at an orchestral level, which is mixed with yearning for "memories in a spring that never came," a remarkable contrast to the strong horn attack, intense organ, and gritty and belting blues vocals of the rocking "More And More."

The next four songs comprise the majestic centerpiece of this classic album, as three of the four became hit singles. "And When I Die" is a cover of a Laura Nyro song from her first album More Than a New Discovery, beginning as it does with a harmonica, then thrusting into a summery skipping soul/country beat with vocals tempo to match. Despite the title, it has an upbeat outlook: "and when I die, and when I'm gone, there'll be one child born in this world to carry on" and the figuring out of if there's a heaven by dying. The wishes of a just life is given in "all I ask of living is to have no chains on me." The cover of the Billie Holliday standard "God Bless The Child" incorporates 60's-style organs with the blast of horns and is a welcome interpretation. And then, "what goes up, must come down." Given their career afterwards, those opening words in "Spinning Wheel," the song most associated with the group, seems ironic. The song itself is replete with the funky beat, horns, distorted vocals, and the finale, which features a flute solo incorporating the nursery ditty "My Little Augustine" and a carnival-like swirl of noises. Dr. Farrell played "Spinning Wheel" in our jazz/rock/blues class to demonstrate the jazz/rock sound incorporated by them and Chicago. Finally comes their cover of Brenda Holloway's "You've Made Me So Very Happy," which has been covered by the likes of Honeycone and Gloria Estefan. Clayton-Thomas's gravelly voice belies the soul roots of this song, but it's the rich horn flourishes that give this rendition that extra punch.

"Blues Part II" is a lengthy jam incorporating an organ solo that's space age, (an influence on Philip Glass on the Koyaanisqatsi soundtrack, perhaps?) other times baroque, before it gives way to a meandering bass solo, a masterful sax reminding the listener of the group's jazz influences, but with the backing bass and drums signalling the rock influence. And then, I hear the bass plucking out a familiar melody, before the crashing horns repeat it. Yes, it's Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love." Finally, Clayton-Thomas belts out some vocals for a final touch.

As for the bonus tracks, live versions of "More And More" and "Smiling Phases," the latter has a beginning the swirl of horns doing their thing, warming up per a classical concert for nearly five and a half minutes before the organ and vocals kick in, but also including a lengthy organ and later bass jam.

A pity they peaked early, leaving only this masterpiece album behind, following it up with releases that didn't measure up. All in all, this CD, a birthday present from Eric Andrews, has made me so very happy.

In response to that fool from Champaign, Illinois and his rather immature review of this album, I think he needs to wake up and get a clue. I'm sure he's one of those guys who thinks that Limp Triscuit and Korn-pone are good Rock and Roll bands, tattoos and all. From the moment the album Blood, Sweat & Tears opens, David Clayton Thomas and Crew show us just what musicianship is all about-being a drummer myself, Bobby Columby's ability behind the drum kit never ceases to amaze me. And DCT's deep, soulful voice enlightens us to the pain, happiness, grit and grime that the Blues so well bespeak. Mix it up with some blazing horns, rockin' guitar and Dixieland Jazz, and the result is music that LASTS, and will probably be drifting over the airwaves for another 30 years to come. Oldie-moldie or oompah-loompah music? I think not. Call me an old fogey, but when you create music that over 30 years later people are still grooving to, like CCR, Chicago, the Stones, B,S&T, etc., I think you're on to something.

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)

Lew Soloff's trumpet solo on "Spinning Wheel" is just "sick" (that's musician for too good), so I don't know why anybody would prefer the single version of this song with its wimpy guitar solo over the album version. Doubtless the band substituted guitar on the single for marketing purposes. Every reviewer has said something about the horns and David Clayton-Thomas, but dig Bobby Colomby's drum solo on "Blues, Part Two." He's playing one-handed rolls with his left hand while doing other things with his other limbs - sort of like Buddy Rich. It's noteworthy that in 1976 Colomby produced bass player Jaco Pastorius's debut solo LP. To me, Soloff and Colomby are the hottest players in BS&T. Jim Fielder (bass) and Colomby make a very tight rhythm section, laying a solid foundation for a 9-piece band. The whole band is incredibly tight - that is, together.

I was given my first copy of this recording in 1970, when I was only three. My mother mail ordered it from the Columbia record club. It's imprinted on my memory forever. It's pure cream - highly recommended if you like serious jazz fusion. Five stars aren't enough!