21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not Just for Those Already Acquainted, October 27, 2000
With all due respect to Marc Greilsamer, I have to disagree. After more than 30 years of listening to all that the "main three" (Bloomfield, Kooper,and Stills) have offered up, I believe this pivotal recording is indeed some of the best of each.
I recently saw Kooper perform here locally where he reiterated his contention that Bloomfield's best has yet to have been caputured in a single recording. But, he pointed to this album as one that came very close to it. After having seen Bloomfield perform in various settings and venues over the years, I'd have to agree. That being said,I can't accept a statement that it's "hopelessly mired in 1968."
As testament to this, you wouldn't believe the number of times in recent years that I've played this CD (often to younger listeners)only to have someone totally unfamiliar with it sit up and say "Wow, who IS that? They're GREAT!" The music stands up.
FYI to Fans: According to Kooper, there will be a 2 CD set of his music released domestically next Spring. Around the same time, the recently recovered "lost tapes" of the Fillmore East live sessions (those from which the "Live Adventures.." album was taken)will be released on a 2 CD compilation. Kooper claims that these are even better than the original "Live Adventures.." stuff!
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mired in 1968?, May 11, 2003
Sure it is mired in 1968. Would you expect that an album(vinyl)be made to today's standards? I bought this when it first came out on vinyl and rebought it on CD when I saw it. It gives the raw and spontaneous art for which much of today's music is lacking. Mike Bloomfield was a legend and this album shows him in great form. It also gives a portrait of Stills as he was backed up by musicians he was unfamiliar with. Let the album be what it is and not what you would like it to be. Listen and enjoy great musicians enjoying the music and not worrying about polish.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic, August 27, 2003
In the absence of any intelligible listener reviews (such as the well written entry by BluesDuke below) I usually defer to Amazon's editorial reviews for guidance on unfamiliar music. As I am well familiar with the music on this disc I find Mr. Greilsamer's comments to be pretty far off the mark. What he dismisses as "enjoyable but dispensible noodling" I have for almost the last three decades considered to be some of the finest electric blues guitar playing I have ever heard. Indispensible. Opinions in music vary widely to be sure but to provide a more founded perspective than the editor who either listened to this disc only once or has no real insight into the music he's reviewing I have been studying guitar for 30 years and have found Mike Bloomfield's playing on this disc to be some of the finest I have ever heard, unqualified. In attempting to learn the craft of blues guitar improvisation I have learned more from "Albert's Shuffle" and "Really" than most all other albums combined. From what I have derived over the years, many other listeners and guitar players alike share this opinion. I'm a little concerned when I read supposedly authoritative reviews by people who have no more than a superficial knowledge of the genre and the music they are panning.
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