BS&T - Blood Sweat & Tears

1969

Track Listing                                                      

1. Variations on a Theme By Erick Satie                    6. God bless the child                   

2. Smiling phases                                                      7. Spinning wheel          

3. Sometimes in winter                                              8. You've made me so very happy                      

4. More and more                                                      9. Blues - Part II                              

5. And when I die                                                      10. Variations on a Theme By Erick Satie              

Band Members:

David Clayton Thomas - Vocals        Steve Katz - Guitar, vocals, harmonica   Lew Soloff - Trumpet, flugelhorn

Bobby Colomby - Drums         Jim Fielder - Bass      Dick Halligan- Trombone     Fred Lipsius - Alto Saxophone 

Chuck Winfield - Trumpet         Jerry Hyman - Trombone, recorder     Produced By: James William Guercio

Notes

A lot of changes took place between the release of their debut album and their second album.  Most notably the founding member and songwriter Al Kooper had left the band.  The label still wanted them even without Kooper so they had to recruit a new singer.  They auditioned Canadian singer David Clayton Thomas, who was now the new voice for the band.  They were able to record BS&T in the middle of touring and came out with a pop classic.  This album has more of a pop feel than their debut and consists of three of their biggest hits.  The cover of "You've made me so very happy", another cover of "When I die", and the Clayton Thomas original, "Spinning wheel".  With Kooper being gone they obviously lost their big songwriter as this album consist of only three originals, which would be a sign of things to come for future albums.  BS&T was a number one record on the Billboard Pop charts.

Recommendations

BS&T has more hits, but I think their debut as a whole was better.  That doesn't mean that this is not a bad album.  I still highly recommend it.  If you're into some good pop with a mix of jazz and blues then you should own this.  I personally love the work of Jim Fielder on this album.  Each tune has a nice walking bass line to give a nice blues feel.  I was impressed by the deep track "Blues Part II" which features a solo by each member of the band.

If you plan on purchasing Blood Sweat & Tears

There is really only one version to own, and that is the 2000 remastered version.  It includes two bonus tracks, a live version of "More and More" and a 18+ minute live version of the band Traffic's "Smiling Phases".  The album sounds great and is the only album in which you can get the full length versions on their big hits remastered.  It also includes some nice liner notes with quotes from drummer Bobby Colomby.  If you can not find this album in town you can purchase it at Cdnow.com.

If you don't plan on purchasing Blood Sweat & Tears but want to hear some tracks from it

I can understand if this isn't your scene.  But what I don't understand is why you wouldn't want to own the three big hitters off this album.  The three singles are essential for any music library.  But in the case of Blood Sweat & Tears it's a little complicated.  In most cases I would say just buy a greatest hits album, but the greatest hits album contains only the single versions.  So if you want the real versions' of these tracks, then you much either purchase this album or make a purchase at Itunes or Napster for individual tracks, but make sure that it's from this album and not the greatest hits. If you need more suggestions, I have my ideal compilation for the band at my Blood Sweat & Tears homepage.

My Top 5