The Butterfield Blues Band - East-West
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Free Music Notes for East-West
Free Music Review: Ground breaking original
Hit: 4 Stars
The first PBBB album and John Mayall's 'Hard Road' album turned me onto the blues. This album was ground breaking with its long solos and 'improvisation'. The 'I've got a mind to give up living' track is my all time personal favourite, with Mike Bloomfield showing a never since repeated depth of feel and talent. The other tracks worth the price are 'Work Song' and 'East-West' although time as diminished their impact. Personally, the first album stands the test of time better and shows what great talents Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield were.Free Music Review: Classic band, classic record, what else do you need?
Hit: 5 Stars
A lot of bands from the 60s are making semi-comebacks these days through reissues of their albums and critical reappraisal, but quite frankly not many of them were as good as the Butterfield Blues Band. It's a complete mystery to me why Eric Clapton's early work is held in such reverence when it so obviously pales in comparison with what Mike Bloomfield did with the Butterfield Band. "East/West" was the Butterfield Blues Band's masterpiece. They had already shown on their first album that they had a definite command of the Chicago blues idiom. Here, they open up and branch out without losing the edge and drive of their first recording. The two long workouts, "Work Song" and "East-West," are so far ahead of what anyone else in rock was doing (including the Beatles) that it isn't even funny. This was recorded in 1966, when most bands, if they played the blues at all, were thrashing around doing impersonations of British musicians impersonating the styles of American musicians. In 1966 it was unheard of to have extended solos unless you were playing jazz, and even then you could expect to be razzed by people with short attention spans.
On "East/West," the Butterfield Blues Band cheerfully dispenses with most of the reigning thou-shalt-nots of their time and proceeds to kick down the walls. This is a trend-setting recording that had more impact than people are willing to acknowledge, and it still rewards the listener. A lot of bands stole liberally from this album and have never paid back their debts. Don't you owe it to yourself to check it out and get the real stuff straight from the source?
Free Music Review: Butter is the greatest, but this album is his weakest
Hit: 3 Stars
The Butterfield Blues Band is my favorite group of all time. I've listened and learned from Paul and co. since 1966 with the release of their first album, which in my opinion, is one of the top five albums ever recorded in the history of man. However, the second album, East-West, left a lot to be desired. It's simply a matter of taste. I don't care for prolonged solos, which was prevalent in the 60's and early 70's. Work Song and East West are claimed by many to be groundbreaking--I thought they were poor. I appreciate the fact that the band was experimenting, but I hated the experiment. In fact, most of the other songs are average (by Butterfield's standards). Get out of my Life, Woman/ Mary, Mary/ Walkin' Blues/Never Say No are some of Butterfield's more unremarkable songs. The one exception is 'Ive Got a Mind to Give Up Livin' which is flawless. As I said earlier, Butterfield is in a class by himself--and even his weaker work is wonderful. But if I were to introduce someone to Paul's music, I wouldn't use the East-West album. Much better choices would be 1) Paul Butterfield's Blues Band (1st album), 2) The Lost Sessions, 3) Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw,4) Anthology, or 5) Paul Butterfield-Live.Free Music Review: Best White Harpist Ever
Hit: 5 Stars
Do you find it strange that a hard-core blues band invented psychedelic rock? Well, it happened on this album. The title track is pure history, but the rest of the album is pure bliss. "Work Song," and "Mary Mary" are absolutely amazing.Free Music Review: A great album from one of the sixties best blues bands.
Hit: 4 Stars
I've never heard a bad Paul Butterfield Blues Band album.He was an unsung hero of modern blues.The bands All-Star guitar players Mike Bloomfield,and Elvin Bishop "light it up".And Pauls harp playing firmly places him in the top ten list of chicago's best.Wish he were still with us.