Customer Reviews

Fillmore East: The Lost Concert Tapes 12-13-68

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Without providing a full review of this CD (available elsewhere) I did want to point out that the most obvious flaw in the CD, the drummer's inability to play in time with the band, reveals one of the great strengths of Mike Bloomfield. At turns, the drummer tries to play a straight blues in 3/4 or sounds like he is accompanying a striptease act rather than a blues-rock band. But listen to Bloomfield's blistering solo on "Don't Throw Your Love on me so Strong" and hear how he plays completely undeterred even by a drummer hopelessly out of sync with the rest of the band. Bloomfield's solo on this Albert King classic is so full of exquisite chops and passion it's worth the price of the ticket alone. His tone is unbelievable and it's a rare individual who can make even a Les Paul sound that good. It's as close as anyone I have heard come to making a guitar talk. Then again, the extended solos of Winter and Bloomfield on "It's My Own Fault" also justify the purchase. It's like listening to two masters at the peak of their game totally in control and throwing everything they've got at the music on one very good night. Thanks for finding these tapes Mr. Kooper.

Who would've thought that in April of 2003, it would be sort of my take of a "Bloomfield" Month, with the duo releases of this album & the re-release of the Super Session album? The project as a whole had been delayed for some time, as I continually made my trip to the stores...only to find out on Al Kooper's web site that Sony/Columbia had to delay the project again.... & again.

True to Mr. Kooper's word, this album is "all about Bloomfield". Well sort of, as a nod must be given to the surprise guest appearance by Johnny Winter(what happened to the mentioned Buzzy Feiten cuts?). And he does not disappoint, but the drummer sure does. All over this recording, as he & the rest of the band are clearly out of sync.

However, there is enough here to overlook any of the faults. At time when he was still at the peak of his guitar powers, & his name was ALWAYS mentioned with the other great guitarists of the day. His singing NEVER was on par with his guitar playing(not much changes in my assessment w/ this album), but if one wants to just hear the man play with glee, pick this one up. It's what keeps many of us coming back for more to this inconsistent, but giant talent. By then, he wasn't the hot shot guitarist with the Butterfield Blues Band. Rather, a seasoned pro that had perfected his "Bloomfield" style.

The playing by Bloomfield is on par with the My Labors/Fillmore West releases, but those recordings were enhanced with the addition of Nick Gravenites, the backing band for those gigs, & the guest appearance by Taj Mahal.

Hopefully this project will remind the musical community again on what an awesome talent he was. Many of us owe it him, & countless others who were there to "educate" the rock & roll community on the art form known as the blues.

My copies of Fillmore East Lost tapes arrived today via Amazon. All I can say is that sometimes when you have anticipated something for a long time you can become afraid that it can't possibly live up to your built up expectations. No fear this time. The lost album is indescribable. What a treasure to hear Kooper and Bloomfield together again! After wearing out copies of Super Session and Super Session live on Vinyl, 8 track, cassette, and CD, to actually hear this new material was like the closest thing to time travel that I expect to ever get. On Al Kooper's web site he mentions how this album would be a real find for Bloomfield fans, well he wasn't just kidding. From the get go Mike sounds focused, sober and on a mission. The guitar duet with Johnny Winter is worth the whole album. Mike's playing of "Don't throw your love on me so strong" is turned up several notches from the original live Super Session and his vocals are heartfelt. After 35 years, the unearthing of this material is a most welcome widening of our perspective on some legendary music making. So set out some incense, break out your black light posters and back issues of Zap comix and don't miss it.

Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield are two individuals that took very different paths in life. Kooper played the organ, piano and vocals and is still producing excellent music today. Bloomfield was an extremely gifted guitarist that dedicated excessive time to drugs and alcohol and who died at the young age of 37 as a result. Kooper, however, will not let the world forget about his friend and the musical contribution that he made during his short life. In addition to this release, Kooper is currently working at a Bloomfield anthology.

This disc features tunes originally recorded at the Fillmore East in December of 1968. The tapes laid unplayed in Columbia's vaults and were thought to be missing until Kooper rediscovered them in 1999 while sorting through material for the box set "Rare & Well Done". Now, after baking the tapes in an oven to prevent oxidation, digitally debuzzing the ground hums, clicks and audio aberrations and some careful editing, Bloomfield releases this lost recording 33 years after they were originally recorded.

The recording opens with an introduction and then a guitar drenched version of "One Way Out" with quivering Bloomfield vocals. Bloomfield then introduces an unsigned Johnny Winter who plays an extended version of B.B. King's "It's My Own Fault". After hearing Winter's blistering guitar solo on this tune, it's no wonder that Columbia executives were falling all over themselves to sign him the next morning.

Winter's solo is followed by Bloomfield's rendition of Paul Simon's "Feelin' Groovy", and Bloomfield's own slow Chicago blues number "Please Tell Me Partner" and a superbly covered version of Albert King's "Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong" which is the only track which truly highlights Kooper's talent on the organ and piano.

The lone soft spot on the disc is probably "Together Till The End Of Time" but considering the high quality of the remainder of the disc, it's a flaw that can easily be overlooked.

All the reviews I saw in Amazon rave about this set but I didn't like it so much. Now mind you, I believe everyone should own everything Bloomfield ever recorded and it is real nice to have something "new" to hear but the sound and the music didn't turn me on like the original Live Adventures from the west coast show. It is awful nice to hear the Jonnie Winters bit on this but on the whole the album isn't as hot as all that.

Ask yourself, who could play a guitar like that and with that sort of tone back in 1968 like Michael Bloomfield did? Owning this album takes the guesswork out of it. Only Michael Bloomfield sounded like that. Michael Bloomfield was, and still is a guitar player's guitar player. This album is also a must have for Johnny Winter afficionados also.

A special thanks to Al Kooper for bringing this great album to the world. It was worth the 30+ years wait!

The "drummer" (more like "The Anti-Drummer") on this is Johnny Cresci. He is maddeningly lacking in even basic garage band ability, and literally has no idea what a 6/8 blues meter is. How he landed on the same stage with these legends may be the musical mystery of all time. For me, Mr. "Clueless" Cresci makes it nearly impossible to enjoy the brilliant performances going on despite his anti-rhythmic upchucking.....kinda like driving an Aston Martin with a flat tire! I have tried to get beyond Cresci's chops for over a year of listening now, and I simply can't do it. If you're a musician, his playing will make you extremely agitated. I'm gonna have to trade this in, and go on listening to Live Adventures like I have for the past 37 years. This would have been much better with the drum tracks totally muted on the 6/8 numbers.

Granted, this is an historically significant release, but I think it should have stayed in the vault, or released with Johnny Cresci having been digitally removed or replaced.

It was long wait, 33 years, but what a CD! Kooper, Bloomfield, and friends play some amazing tunes at the Filmore East. Johnny Winter makes his first major appearance (great introduction of Johnny by Michael) and just blows the crowd away.

I can't decide if I like this version of Season of the Witch better than the version on Super Session done by Steve Stills (a new version of Super Session with more songs was also released yesterday), but what does it matter-they both are great!

Al does nice renditions of Together to the End of Time and 59th Street Bridge Song.

A must have CD for all Bloomfield and Kooper fans.

I can remember those many, many years ago when I got the two-record set of "Live Adventures," with the Norman Rockwell pic of Bloomfield and Kooper. (A hint of the year is that I think I also had just gotten a Moby Grape album or two!) To make a long story short, those records developed their scratches from overplaying. Bloomfield was called by another performer at Monterey "probably the best white guitarist." He's good! And Kooper's organ work is wonderful.

When I saw a review of this album, among the thing I noted right off is that Johnny Winter plays on it! He's one with whom I became acquainted when I forgot to send the card for a record club so I received an album by a funny looking Texan albino. (For the record, he was given a contract with a well known record company the Monday after his performance on this album.) Bloomfield calls him in his introduction, "The baddest M...F....," then I think it's Kooper who adds, "That cat can play." Well, I have stacks of Winter music too.

Even the introductions and monologue remind me of Live Adventures: the insomniac Bloomfield sound lethargic AND hip.

Be prepared to hear slightly different versions of a couple of the tunes you heard on Live Adventures. But they were, after all, live performances.

This is definitely a must for people interested in the music of that era, and from an institution: the Fillmore.

This is a welcome release for people hungry for more live Bloomfield. The "pick up" band rehearsed for just 2 days, so it is not that tight, the drummer is the weak link here, but bloomfield's playing more than makes up for it. He was one of the greatest guitarists...this guy will have you floored from the second he begins a solo. His style was'nt really about speedy fireworks, it was more about emotion coupled with unmatched vibrato, attack, dynamics and phrasing...there aren'nt many who did it better. A couple tunes suffer noticably as a result of the lack of rehearsal and band chemistry. As far as the band as a whole, the best tunes are "One way Out" and "Don't Throw Your Love On me So Strong", but Bloomfield brings it strong throughout. Being a Johnny Winter fan, it's an added plus to hear him guest (on "It's My Own Fault") as a virtual unknown and blow the Fillmore audience away... but Bloomfield has the last word. Sound is pretty good too, despite a minor glitch here and there. This is a special item with some drawbacks which keep it from getting five stars, but you gotta take Bloomfield as he comes. The walls and ears of the Fillmore sure got their taste of smokin' guitar, this disc is another document of a time that is basically the rock equivalent of classical music's Mozart and Beethoven.