Butterfield Blues Band

Got a copy of Sundazed LP 5097 " The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw" by the BBB. I forgot how good these guys are and the Sundazed LP is a real bargain at $14.

 

Are you familiar with the eponymous first album and East/West? Both albums are great examples of this fine band.

 

I will have to chek them out.

 

those first two album were real land mark albums at the time. There was really nothing like it before them. You might also look for the "Lost Elektra Tapes"s album. It is there first studio attempt. They also tried to record a live album, neither of which was considered satisfactory at the time. The "Lost" album is good, but not nearly as stunning as the one that came out. Wouldn't mind hearing the live recordings. There is an interesting cd that Mark Naftlin put out. It's four different live versions of East-West. Good bootleg quality stuff. There are a few live BBB tracks from Newport on different comps. Worht looking around for those.

 

I just received "Droppin' In With..." in the mail today and have been grooving to it all night. It's a boot comprised of 4 different live sets from '65 and '66, including 4 cuts from the '65 Newport Folk Festival. The sound quality is surprisingly good, and the playing is phenomenal. If you're a Butterfield - and especially Bloomfield - fan, this is a must.

Aaron

 

thanks for the report on that one. I just saw it on a trade list, and was wondering... Now I just have to sort out the cassette that the chappie wanted from me

 

One caveat: When I said that the sound quality is surpringly good, I meant that in the sense that these are 40 year old recordings cobbled together from God-knows-what sources. It's not a pristine recording by any means - it's spotty in moments - but it sounds quite good as these things go. As long as you're not expecting perfection recording-wise, I think you'll be pretty happy with it. You certainly can't argue with the performances in any case.
I just wanted to point that out before you pull the trigger.

Aaron

 

Droppin' In is made from a few sources. The Newport tracks are needle drops from tracks issued by Vanguard. The tracks "Come On In" and the early version of "Born In Chicago" also sound like needle drops from the original single and the Sampler "Folksong '65." You can hear those tracks better on the Vanguard CD "Blues With A Feelin'" and The Elektra Anthology "Born In Chicago." The stuff that says it's from Chicago is probably pretty old as I don't hear any Bloomfield-just one guitar probably Elvin or Smokey Smothers. The tracks from the Fillmore make the whole thing worth it, some burning Bloomfield and Butter. If you want good sound quality pick up the Rhino Handmade Live album-but there is NOTHING like the original band with Bloomfield. In this case you sacrifice audio fidelity for great music, like we've done for Charlie Parker all these years. I also highly recommend another early Butter Boot "Live At The Unciorn" it's the original band just tearing it up. They do a version of "I Got A Mind To Give Up Living" and the crowd justly goes nuts for Bloomfield's solo.
For you youngsters, let me give you some perspective-maybe just my own, maybe shared by others my age (55). I heard and appreciated a lot of great music growing up and got into blues through the folk boom. And yeah I loved Dylan, and the Beatles, and Motown, and the Stones. etc-but nothing was as BAD as the early Butterfield Band.Trust me there were very few groups that heavy before. The Beatles were singing "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and Paul was singing "I Got A Mind To Give Up Living and Go Shopping For A Tombstone Instead."
It took me a long time to realy get the early Stones because I kept holding them up to the Butterfield yardstick (wrong thing to do) and they sounded like pretenders and Butter sounded real. I've been blessed to hear a lot of great performers in person like The Beatles, the Stones, Dylan when he went electric in 65, Wes Montgomery and Mose Allison ten feet from me and Elton John five feet on his first tour. But to this day one of the most exciting things I ever heard in my life was the sound of the Butterfield Band playing "Comin' Home Baby" through the WALL OF THE CLUB as I was standing outside waiting to get in. They were that good.

 

Good details there. See, I've grown up listening to live tapes, made more than a few myself. I guess it runs contrary to some of the philosophy here, but it's the music that matters. I have the Unicorn boot, and a few bits of Fillmore tapes, not much though.

As for Butterfield, that's what I meant in my first post. I'd been listening to Them, the Stones, Yardbirds etc, when I heard the first album. I didn't make me like any of those bands less, but it pulled me in deeper. I started looking a lot closer at the originals. A lot of others did too. In the same way everyone was covering the UK bands in '65, people were totally latched onto Butterfield. Lots of Raga Rock songs in '66!

 

Wow Ragu - thanks for the detailed info. I too noticed a distinct lack of Bloomfield on the Southerland Hotel material, but I was confused because the packaging says "Spring, '66" for that set. Perhaps he was suffering from insomnia and skipped that night?
I wasn't around when they were (i'm 37), but when I heard "East-West" for the first time (in college in 1988) I was hooked for life. Now I can't get my hands on enough Butterfield - and Bloomfield, especially. I never really lumped them in with the British blues bands at all - the overall sound is different primarily, but also because these guys seemed to be steeped in the blues first-hand. I love the early Stones, Animals, Yardbirds, Mayall, Mac, etc..., but The BBB seem to fit closer to the real thing in my mind.
If only I could have seen them live in their heyday...

Aaron

 

You and me both. That's around the time I discovered Butterfield in college.

One Bloomfield CD that just recently came out is a two-fer featuring his best solo work from the 1970s: Gospel Guitar Duets with Woody Harris, and Bloomfield's instructional album "If You Love These Blues". The latter was nominated for a Grammy in 1977. If you like Bloomfield at all, this is required listening.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...02/sr=2-2/ref=pd_ka_b_2_2/102-0029144-5088957