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The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper

 

 
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The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper
 
 
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Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper is a double album
Double album

A double album is an sound album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold . A double album is typically, though not always, released because the recording is longer than the capacity of the medium....
 documenting performances from two of blues-rock
Blues-rock

Blues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy Improvisation#Musical_improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jam session with rock and roll styles....
's most notable American musicians of the late 1960s. Recorded at the famous Fillmore West venue, the album is a successor to the studio album Super Session
Super Session

The album Super Session grew out of a single nine hour jam in 1968 by guitarist Mike Bloomfield and multi-instrumentalist Al Kooper and Stephen Stills of CSNY fame....
 which included both Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield

Michael Bernard Bloomfield , an United States musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation entirely on his instrumental prowess....
 and Kooper
Al Kooper

Al Kooper is an United States songwriter, record producer and musician, probably best known for organizing the group Blood, Sweat & Tears, though he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity....
 in addition to Steven Stills, and had achieved commercial and critical success earlier in 1968.

The performances, recordings and production cannot be described as flawless; in his sleeve notes, Kooper describes the difficulties of finding rehearsal space, Bloomfield's insomnia
Insomnia

Insomnia is a symptom of a sleep disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling sleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity. Insomnia is a symptom, not a stand-alone diagnosis or a disease....
, and the failure of a vocal microphone during "Dear Mr Fantasy"; the track "I Wonder Who" is faded during a Bloomfield solo for no apparent reason.
Nevertheless, the album remains an important, if raw, document of a live blues-rock
Blues-rock

Blues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy Improvisation#Musical_improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jam session with rock and roll styles....
 performance of the period and apart from its intrinsic qualities is notable for not only one of the earliest live recordings by Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana

Carlos Augusto Santana Alves is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-American Rock music musician and guitarist. He became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana , which created a highly successful blend of rock music, salsa music, and jazz fusion....
, but also Bloomfield's debut as a vocalist
Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the human voice, which is often contrasted with regular speech. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist....
.






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Encyclopedia


Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper is a double album
Double album

A double album is an sound album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold . A double album is typically, though not always, released because the recording is longer than the capacity of the medium....
 documenting performances from two of blues-rock
Blues-rock

Blues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy Improvisation#Musical_improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jam session with rock and roll styles....
's most notable American musicians of the late 1960s. Recorded at the famous Fillmore West venue, the album is a successor to the studio album Super Session
Super Session

The album Super Session grew out of a single nine hour jam in 1968 by guitarist Mike Bloomfield and multi-instrumentalist Al Kooper and Stephen Stills of CSNY fame....
 which included both Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield

Michael Bernard Bloomfield , an United States musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation entirely on his instrumental prowess....
 and Kooper
Al Kooper

Al Kooper is an United States songwriter, record producer and musician, probably best known for organizing the group Blood, Sweat & Tears, though he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity....
 in addition to Steven Stills, and had achieved commercial and critical success earlier in 1968.

The performances, recordings and production cannot be described as flawless; in his sleeve notes, Kooper describes the difficulties of finding rehearsal space, Bloomfield's insomnia
Insomnia

Insomnia is a symptom of a sleep disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling sleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity. Insomnia is a symptom, not a stand-alone diagnosis or a disease....
, and the failure of a vocal microphone during "Dear Mr Fantasy"; the track "I Wonder Who" is faded during a Bloomfield solo for no apparent reason.
Nevertheless, the album remains an important, if raw, document of a live blues-rock
Blues-rock

Blues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy Improvisation#Musical_improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jam session with rock and roll styles....
 performance of the period and apart from its intrinsic qualities is notable for not only one of the earliest live recordings by Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana

Carlos Augusto Santana Alves is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-American Rock music musician and guitarist. He became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana , which created a highly successful blend of rock music, salsa music, and jazz fusion....
, but also Bloomfield's debut as a vocalist
Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the human voice, which is often contrasted with regular speech. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist....
. Whilst he is not historically noted in this role, in "Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong", according to Kooper, "he displays consummate homage to the traditional guitar-voice trade-offs; a lesson in phrasing and understanding."

Live Adventures has since been re-released on CD but without any additional material beyond its initial release; the concerts took place over three nights, and according to Kooper, for two sets a night; this should have yielded in the region of twelve hours of recordings, of which the album provides just short of ninety minutes.

Bloomfield died in 1981 but this album is one of the major reasons for his reputation as a blues guitarist; Kooper now teaches songwriting and production, and still plays live concerts.

Track listing


Side One

  1. "Opening Speech" (Mike Bloomfield) – 1:30
"One-two..Uh, listen here now, here's what...here's where it's at, this is the thing of this gig and here's...I'll tell ya 'bout it now. Uh, awhile ago my friend Alan Kooper called me on the phone and said "Let's make this gig, an Lp in Los Angeles, and we'll jam together and we'll see what will happen. . ."
  1. "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" (Paul Simon
    Paul Simon

    Paul Frederic Simon is an United States singer-songwriter and musician, perhaps best known for his partnership with Art Garfunkel in the duo Simon & Garfunkel....
    ) – 5:38
  2. "I Wonder Who" (Ray Charles
    Ray Charles

    Ray Charles Robinson , known by his stage name Ray Charles, was an United States pianist, singer, and songwriter who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues....
    ) – 6:04
  3. "Her Holy Modal Highness" (Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield) – 9:08


Side Two

  1. "The Weight" (J. Robertson
    Robbie Robertson

    Robbie Robertson is a singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership in The Band. He was ranked 78th in Rolling Stone magazine?s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time....
    ) – 4:00
  2. "Mary Ann" (Ray Charles
    Ray Charles

    Ray Charles Robinson , known by his stage name Ray Charles, was an United States pianist, singer, and songwriter who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues....
    ) – 5:19
  3. "Together 'Til The End Of Time" (Frank Wilson
    Frank Wilson (musician)

    Frank Wilson is an African American former songwriter and record producer for Motown Records. He joined the company in 1965, working with Brenda Holloway....
    ) – 4:15
  4. "That's All Right" (Arthur Cruddup
    Arthur Crudup

    Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup was a delta blues singer and guitarist. He is best known outside blues circles for songwriter songs later cover version by Elvis Presley , such as "That's All Right " , "My Baby Left Me" and "So Glad You're Mine."...
    ) – 3:28
  5. "Green Onions
    Green Onions

    Green Onions is the debut album by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, released on Stax Records in October of 1962 in music. It reached number 33 on the Pop Albums chart in the month of its release....
    " (Booker T. Jones
    Booker T. Jones

    Booker T. Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known for frontman the band , Booker T. and the MGs....
    ) – 5:26


Side Three

  1. "Opening Speech" (Al Kooper) – 1:28
  2. "Sonny Boy Williamson" (Jack Bruce
    Jack Bruce

    John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scotland musician, musical composer and singer. He is best-known as an electric bass guitarist, harmonica player and piano, and was most famous as a vocalist and the bass guitarist for the 1960s rock band Cream ....
     and Paul Jones
    Paul Jones (singer)

    Paul Jones is an England singer, actor, harmonica player, and radio personality and television presenter.In 1962 Jones became resident singer with Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated ....
    ) – 6:04
  3. "No More Lonely Nights" (Sonny Boy Williamson
    Sonny Boy Williamson

    Sonny Boy Williamson may refer to either of two 20th-century American blues harmonica players:*Sonny Boy Williamson I , John Lee Curtis Williamson, "The Original Sonny Boy Williamson", born in Tennessee and associated with Bluebird Records and pre-war blues...
    ) – 12:27


Side Four

  1. "Dear Mr. Fantasy
    Dear Mr. Fantasy

    "Dear Mr. Fantasy" is a rock music song by Traffic off their 1967 album, Mr. Fantasy. An extended live version of the song also appears on the 1971 Traffic album Welcome to the Canteen....
    " (Stevie Winwood) – 8:04
  2. "Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong" (Albert King
    Albert King

    Albert King was an United States blues guitarist and singer....
    ) – 10:56
  3. "Finale-Refugee" (Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield) – 2:04


Album cover

The gatefold
Gatefold

A gatefold is a type of fold used for advertising around a magazine or section, and for packaging of media such as vinyl records....
 sleeve features
  • on the front cover, a painting of Bloomfield and Kooper by Norman Rockwell
    Norman Rockwell

    Norman Percevel Rockwell was a 20th century Americana Painting and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad Popular culture appeal in the United States, where Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over more than four decades....
    .
  • on the rear cover, against a background of a montage of crowd scenes (not necessarily from the concert audience), superimposed photographs of the core band and a track listing.
  • on the interior, a more detailed track listing, text of Bloomfield's opening speech, and notes by Kooper, as well as other album credits.
According to Kooper, Rockwell's original artwork ended up on the wall of CBS
CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
 Art Director, John Berg, who later sold it despite Kooper having expressed an interest in having the painting.

Personnel

  • Al Kooper
    Al Kooper

    Al Kooper is an United States songwriter, record producer and musician, probably best known for organizing the group Blood, Sweat & Tears, though he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity....
     – Organ
    Hammond organ

    The Hammond organ is an electronic organ which was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to Church as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s, it became a standard keyboard instrument for jazz, blues, Rock and r...
    , Piano
    Piano

    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
     (overdub as Roosevelt Gook on "Together 'Til The End Of Time")
  • Mike Bloomfield
    Mike Bloomfield

    Michael Bernard Bloomfield , an United States musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation entirely on his instrumental prowess....
     – guitar
    Guitar

    The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
  • John Kahn
    John Kahn

    John Kahn was an American rock music bass guitar player. For a period of about twenty five years Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead....
     – bass guitar
    Bass guitar

    The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
  • Skip Prokop
    Skip Prokop

    Ronn "Skip" Prokop is a Canada drummer and band leader who was a driving force in Canadian rock music, creating seminal bands The Paupers and Lighthouse ....
     – drums
    Drum kit

    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
  • Carlos Santana
    Carlos Santana

    Carlos Augusto Santana Alves is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-American Rock music musician and guitarist. He became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana , which created a highly successful blend of rock music, salsa music, and jazz fusion....
     – guitar
    Guitar

    The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
  • Elvin Bishop
    Elvin Bishop

    Elvin Bishop is an United States blues and rock and roll musician and guitarist....
     – guitar
    Guitar

    The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
Steve Miller
Steve Miller

Steve Miller may refer to:*Steve Miller , President and CEO of the Professional Bowlers Association*Steve Miller , CEO of Delphi Corporation...
 and Dave Brown
David Brown (musician)

David Brown was the primary bass guitar player for the band Santana from 1966 until 1971, then again from 1973 until 1976. He played on Boz Scaggs' debut 1971 Columbia album Moments, for which he also authored two of its sadder songs, and on the two subsequent Scaggs albums Boz Scaggs & Band and My Time ....
 had also volunteered their services but if they performed, their contributions do not appear (at least credited) on the album