A Long Time Comin'

Electric Flag

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: March 1968
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000024TY
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #110,073 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The reissue of 1968 album features 14 tracks including 4 bonus tracks, 'Sunny', 'Mystery', 'Look Into My Eyes' (previously unreleased) & Going Down Slow' (previously unreleased), packaged in a digipak. Featuring such legendary musicians as Mike Bloomfield, Richie Havens & Buddy Miles. SMM. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Flag Is Burning!, July 4, 2001

By	Jon G. Jackson "j_dog_jackson" (Santa Rosa, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This album was *after* Bloomfield's time with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. It came out about the same time as Al Kooper's Blood Sweat & Tears (the one album *before* David Clayton Thomas). And it was *before* The Chicago Transit Authority (later Chicago). These three *rock* bands with horns were a new thing, way back then. And while all of their initial albums contained some great music, my favorite is still this debut by American Flag. The songs are consistently a bit better, and the music a little less forced than the other two. Nick Gravenites' vocals are easily the best. Buddy Miles' comin'-at-you-like-a-steamroller drumming is a real thrill (a style matched only, I think, by Tim Davis of the then Steve Miller Band). And, though others might argue, I think Mike Bloomfield's guitar was never better than on this album. The combined effect is, indeed, one of the best rock albums of the 60s.

As I look back, I can only wish that all three of these bands had put out more than they did in their original styles of music. True, I do like the Buddy Miles Express (some of it quite a bit!). And I do like most of the first three Chicago albums (though none of the later ones). And I truly *dislike* everything Blood, Sweat & Tears did with Thomas. But, wouldn't it have been nice if we'd had a little more like these early ones? Oh, well...what we've got is nice to have. Good stuff from a time of a lot of fine music.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars San Francisco's answer to Blood, Sweat & Tears, August 17, 2004

By	R. Lindeboom "theboomer" (Paso Robles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When this album first appeared in early 1968, underground freeform FM radio was in its heyday and the songs on "A Long Time Comin'" were a mainstay on underground radio. AM radio didn't know what to make of a band that combined blues, folk, jazz, rock and -- at times -- even classical modes in a sound that was astounding. This was the Bay Area's answer to New York's Blood, Sweat & Tears and it was an incredibly worthy answer indeed. Al Kooper built the original BS&T from the ashes of the little-known Blues Project, while The Electric Flag's Mike Bloomfield came from even headier stuff -- namely, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, where Bloomfield proved that a Jewish kid can have the blues -- real blues. To cover what other musicians in this band made this such an incredible group would take pages as there are so many of them. Buddy Miles handled the drums (who'd later launch his own Buddy Miles Express before joining Hendrix in the Band of Gypsies). Barry Goldberg added keys that were exquisite before leaving to form Barry Goldberg's Reunion. The horns in the Flag were more brash and bluesy than the classically-trained jazz musings of their New York contemporaries, BS&T. These guys could cook and when they turned up the heat, no audience I ever saw them perform to was able to withstand the spell they created live. The songs on this album are a remarkable testament to the precision, eloquence and power of the Electric Flag. Wow. Even the memory of these guys live is powerful. This album is their greatest recorded legacy.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buyer Beware, September 13, 2005

By	Marc Siegel (Simi, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Long Time Comin' (Audio CD)

This being one of my favorite cd's I was excited when I saw this available as a remastered import from Sony.However, when I put it on it sounded terrible. The highs were so screechy that the cd was unlistenable and lets not talk about the non-existent bass. I do have the original Columbia issue and compared to this "remastered version" the original sounds like an audiophile cd. Not really but this is how bad this thing sounds. In looking at the credits it appears that the same person did the remastering on both. I am guessing that the import is nothing more than a digital dub from way back when. Do yourself a favor and just get the Columbia/Legacy remastered compilation. It has 99 9/10 of the origial album and it sounds great. Happy listening