The complete smash album featuring Kooper, Stills and Bloomfield at Fillmore East December 13th, 1968, here reissued & remastered with liner notes by Al Kooper. Columbia/Legacy. 2003.
The live attempts at recreating the seminal jam chemistry of Super Session were hit-and-miss affairs, and this one, previously unreleased, has its fair share of off-key and off-target tunes. The rhythm section is erratic, the repertoire--ranging from Simon & Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" to an Elvis-flavored "That's All Right Mama"--is a bit odd, and co-leader Al Kooper is competent but rarely inspired. Guitarist Michael Bloomfield, however, is uniformly brilliant and his graceful blues virtuosity is by itself well worth the price of admission. Bloomfield and the group are joined on B.B. King's "It's My Own Fault" by a then-unknown Johnny Winter and things get really interesting. For nearly 11 minutes Winter and Bloomfield dive deep into the blues with Winter astounding the audience with his vocals and lightning licks on a song that had long been a staple of his live shows in Texas. The remainder of the album lacks similar energy and excitement, but Bloomfield's guitar work keeps it listenable. Overall, The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield & Al Kooper, recorded several months earlier, provides a better look at the band's concert sound but it does so without Winter. --Michael Point
