Original Lost Elektra Sessions

Paul Butterfield | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 18, 1995)
• Original Release Date: July 18, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000003473
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,560 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl

2. Just to Be with You

3. Help Me

4. Hate to See You Go

5. Poor Boy

6. Nut Popper #1

7. Everything's Gonna Be Alright

8. Lovin' Cup

9. Rock Me

10. It Hurts Me Too

11. Our Love Is Driftin'

12. Take Me Back, Baby

13. Mellow Down Easy

14. Ain't No Need to Go No Further

15. Love Her with a Feeling

16. Piney Brown Blues

17. Spoonful

18. That's All Right

19. Goin' Down Slow

Editorial Reviews

Assembled by producer Paul Rothchild shortly before his death, this really is the band's debut album that they recorded in 1964 yet never released, with only two of the songs appearing on their maiden Paul Butterfield Blues Band release! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why was this music scrapped?!, October 4, 2003

By 

Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Original Lost Elektra Sessions (Audio CD)

Even though this page only lists five tracks, "The Original Lost Electra Sessions" is not an EP, it's a 19-track CD.

All but one of these 19 tracks were recorded in December, 1964, as Paul Butterfield's projected first LP, but the results were (inexplicably) scrapped and replaced by the band's official self-titled debut, cut a few months later.

With both Sam Lay, Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield already onboard, these sessions are very similar in feel to the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's first album. It's perhaps a little bit rawer in production and performance, but not really worse or different than what ended up on the actual debut LP.

Dedicated primarily to electric Chicago blues standards, it opens with a somewhat rushed take on "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", followed by a great "Just To Be With You" with some sublime harp playing by Paul Butterfield.

Butterfield also does a pretty good Sonny Boy Williamson (II) on a faithful rendition of "Help Me", and there are many more highlights, including an excellent rendition of the classic blues shuffle "Poor Boy", a slow, smouldering "It Hurts Me Too", an alternate version of the fine original "Our Love Is Drifting", a great, swinging "Take Me Back Baby", Jimmy Rogers' "That's All Right", and yet another Tampa Red-tune, "Love Her With A Feeling".
The band also lay down a really good version of Jimmy Oden's "Goin' Down Slow", and the originals "Lovin' Cup" and the fiery instrumental "Nut Popper #1" are excellent.

Virtually everything here is worth a listen, actually. It's not highly original, but The Paul Butterfield Blues Band's versions of these classic Chicago blues tunes are among the best and most convincing blues music ever waxed by a (primarily) white blues band. And any serious blues guitar lover will want to hear Mike Bloomfield's supremely tasty, economical playing.

Paul Butterfield fans will find this album well worth acquiring, as most of the selections were never officially recorded by the band's original lineup.
Great, classic blues.

52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Early, raw, and utterly cool, June 5, 2000

By 

happydogpotatohead "happydogpotatohead" (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Original Lost Elektra Sessions (Audio CD)

It's hard to believe that this album was scrapped. A lot of bands put out albums that were much worse than this. One has to wonder if Paul Rothschild should have just taken a few valiums and put this out at the time it was recorded, because this is very, very good.

This is a terrific document of a band of seriously dedicated guys playing the music they love, as authentically as they can. These guys weren't kidding; they paid their dues on the South Side of Chicago and were accepted as peers by none other than Muddy Waters. The performances here are raw but not sloppy, and the band is as tight as a tick. Most of the songs on here are played at a quick clip, but there's a lot of bite and venom in these performances, an air of urgency not dissimilar to something you hear on Buddy Guy's early recordings.

It's sad to think that the Yardbirds got so much praise (and still do) as being white interpreters of the blues, when this collection shows clearly that the Butterfield Blues Band was much, much better than anything the British blues movement would offer for several years. Why the Yardbirds got the press and historical props and the Butterfield Blues Band doesn't is a total mystery. Maybe they didn't wear enough paisley.

There is no paisley or patchouli on this one. It's just hard, tough blues, nasty, with teeth in it. Forget that half the band was white guys and dump every preconception you have about hippies, white blues, etc., and listen to this for what it is; a seriously cool recording of a very hot band hitting their stride.

Finally, I want to add that the recording quality of this album is not "execrable." It sounds every bit as good as any other album recorded in 1964 (! ) and a whole lot better than most. As a matter of fact, I think this is a much better produced record than anything the Yardbirds ever did. It's certainly much more authentic blues. A great document of an unjustly forgotten group.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best White Harpist Ever, November 5, 1999

By 

"wednightprayermeeting" (Bellview, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Original Lost Elektra Sessions (Audio CD)

This is some of the earliest Butterfield available. The takes on this album were scrapped (or thought to be scrapped) for the more produced tunes that appear on first album. In my opinion, a lot of these takes are better than what appears on the first album. Butterfield's rendition of "Just To Be With You" (Muddy Waters)is absolutely awe-inspiring. Jimmy Rodgers' "That's Alright" is as good as the original, although different. And Little Walter's "Everything Is Gonna Be Alright" is a jam. All of these takes are amazing, and definately not to be missed.