Michael Bloomfield ... rediscovered!

Best remembered as a member of The Butterfield Band (1965 - 1967) and founder of The Electric Flag (1967 - 1968), Michael [Mike] Bloomfield also worked with Al Kooper, with "Super Session", the result of their collaboration, which received excellent reviews and became the best-selling album of Bloomfield's career. Its success led to a live sequel, "The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper", recorded over three nights at Fillmore West in September 1968.

Today we'll remember the first two of his solo releases, "It's Not Killing Me" (1969) and "Try It Before You Buy It", which was rejected by Columbia and the complete version of the record would not appear until 1990.

 It's Not Killing Me

It's a shame that Michael Bloomfield's recorded legacy is so spotty. Generally speaking, the blues guitarist's finest moments are found on the universally praised first two discs with Paul Butterfield, the Electric Flag's A Long Time Comin' album, and the sporadic glimpses of greatness on his solo records. Unfortunately, there aren't many of those on "It's Not Killing Me", Bloomfield's first solo LP released under his name in 1969. The main problem with this album is its lack of a powerful vocalist who could equally tackle blues, soul, and country. Singing was not one of the legendary guitarist's strengths, and he definitely wasn't capable of carrying that load over an entire record. Instead of focusing on Bloomfield's guitar prowess and letting him arrange the American music he obviously loved so deeply, you get the impression someone at Columbia, or maybe even Bloomfield himself, wanted to turn him into a hip frontman à la Eric Clapton. It's especially odd considering the presence of blues belter Nick Gravenites singing backup on this session, not to mention additional vocals by the Ace of Cups and Diane Tribuno. It makes about as much sense as Led Zeppelin having Jimmy Page sing lead while Robert Plant played tambourine! It's Not Killing Me is recommended for completists only. [allmusic.com - review by Al Campbell]

 

Try It Before You Buy It

"Try It Before You Buy It" is one of Michael Bloomfield's neglected albums, and there's a reason why -- although there's some very fine playing scattered throughout the album, the performances are uneven and unfocused. Furthermore, the album leans too close to a straight rock & roll direction for blues purists. If you dig hard, there are some rewards on Try It Before You Buy It, but on the whole, it's one that should be left on the shelf. [allmusic.com - review by Thom Owens]

If you've read the reviews above, you may be wondering why I'm sharing these two records with you. The answer is simple. Listen to them and try to find out, yourself, if they are killing or not, your music taste.