| Child Is Father To Man | 1968 |
| Blood, Sweat And Tears | 1969 |
| Blood, Sweat And Tears 3 | 1970 |
| Blood, Sweat And Tears 4 | 1971 |
| Greatest Hits (compilation) | 1972 |
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(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
While psychedelia was running its course new styles were breaking out in the world of Rock music; one of them was the sound of big band music put into Rock. Blood, Sweat, And Tears would be the first band to do this (shortly afterwards Chicago would come out and become even more successful with this horn-driven type sound), and they did quite a good job at it. The album opens up with an "Overture" and ends with an "Underture" to make it flow like a classical piece, but it's mostly a collection of big-band styled pop/rock songs with a hint of psychedelia running through a few of them.
The first six songs are especially good, there are a lot of great melodies and it's a consistent set. "Morning Glory" starts out with bright horns and becomes a great organ-driven orchestrated song with great emotional singing; "Without Her" has a cocktail type melody with a jazzy rhythm section; "Just One Smile" is also great and rises up to an exciting climax on each chorus. Most of the songs all have that same beautiful and emotional quality about them, but there are some less serious songs too, like the psychedelic zaniness of "House In The Country" which has what sounds like Donald Duck talking in the beginning. "I Can't Quit Her" and "My Days Are Numbered" are other highlights, along with most of "Somethin' Goin' On" which keeps you interested throughout the beginning and guitar solo, but gets kind of tired towards the end.
Every melody seems perfect although some of the songs are less realized like "Meagan's Gypsy Eyes" (which has good parts to it) and "The Modern...Freud" (a really orchestrated track that is too serious, yet still has a good tune). Besides that this is an excellent album that showed that big band music could be incorporated into rock in the right hands.
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The overture is a welcoming sound, setting the ground for the rest of the crazy-as-molasses album. Al Kooper is a perfect singer for the sound, but his intrumental play is far more profound. The transfer from song to song is flowing and creative.
The album starts off with "I love you", easily their best song of the compilation. The trumpets accompany the vocals harmonically the provide the distinct "Blood, Sweat and Tears" sound that would be emulated in later years by untold numbers of bands. Emotional and touching, all the instruments add depth and diversity. The saxophone solo in the middle of the song is a buildup to the heart-wrenching ending vocals of the song, where Al Kooper seems like he's going to burst into tears. A truly beautiful song. Try not listening to the saxophone solo without getting a lump in your throat.
"Morning Glory" is a very medicore, organ-driven song with some annoying-as-hell vocal tricks by Al Kooper. The brass section is wonderful in this song, but they are all overshadowed by the incredibly annoying gurgling sound made by Kooper.
"My days are numbered" is a fast-paced, meaningful piece that cuts right to a swooning chorus. The foot-tapping sound added by the trumpets in the background put a smile on your face. A no-nonsense ballad with a great bass line and nice guitar solo towards the end of the song.
"Without Her" is a club-sounding, jazzy piece with a very prominent bass line that adds a lot to very hard to listen to song. The lyrics are a little contrived and the trumpets are really quite frustrating except for one nice solo in the last minute.
"Just One Smile" is a great little song that comes together with a trumpet base building up to a wonderful chorus that showcase Kooper's limited vocal abilities. One of the greats on the album.
"I can't quit her" is probably the most famous song on the album as it quite catchy and a lot of fun to the ears. The piano is subtle, kept to the left channel but adds a lot to the trumpet back bench. Great lyrics and a mood-lifter.
"Meagan's Gypsy Eyes"... the less we say about this better. Very folky, very raspy and gurgly voice, and some annoying keyboard effects that just cripple it.
"Something goin' on" is a personal favourite with an AMAZING bass line coming from the double-bass. The angry and hurt lyrics make the blues-based a joy to listen to as the brass section gives the formula some new life. Catchy and fun, a great addition. Coming in at just over 7 minutes, it has a funky, blues-grade guitar solo with some awesome trumpey stacatto at the 2 minute mark that I wish could go on forever.
"House in the country" sounds exactly like it's title with a very weird Donald Duck intro. A little like the Overture sound, very fast-paced circus music with some psychodelic sound effects added for effect. Not a great song, but some good imagery. Kooper sounds very high during this song.
"The Modern Adventures of Plato, Diogenes and Freud" starts out with some tame violin strings and flows beautifully. Kooper's voice is notibly controlled and very able. As it progresses, the violins are quickened and slowed periodically adding a lovely pace to this brass-free song. In fact, it's the only song on the album that isn't backed up by trumpets or saxophones.
"So much Love/Underture" is fast-paced, foot tapping song that ends the album with a smile. Uplifting and different from the rest of the songs on the album, this one is a gem. The underture takes over with about a minute and 20 seconds left and progresses from where the overture ended.
This was the first and last album Al Kooper ever made with his band and has endured as one of the first successful rock/brass albums. He went on to do a lot of solo stuff and jamming compilations with Mike Bloomfield and even cut a studio album with Steve Stills and Bloomfield that is quite extraordinary.
Child is father to the man is one of my favourite and listened to albums that never gets boring. The brass is a wonderful addition to the rock and roll formula and should be in every rock lover's collection.
Rating: 9/10
Highs: I love you, My days are numbered, I can't quit her, Somethin' going on
Lows: Morning Glory, Meagan's Gypsy Eyes.
(reviewed by Casey Brennan)
The vocals are handed over to Clayton-Thomas now, which are very gritty and rough. The production is much cleaner on here and there were more great hits on this album, as this was their biggest selling album ever. The songs are more vibrant and energetic for the most part, but sometimes they lack soul and aren't always inspired. It's a good follow up though and features some of their best songs like "Spinning Wheel", "And When I Die" and "You've Made Me So Very Happy".
There is also a neat medley of songs from the first album on here called "Blues-Part 2" which isn't blues at all; just several variations of their earlier tunes. Some of the songs really contain great big band styled setups like "Smiling Phases" (a Traffic cover) that is one of the major highlights on this album, and "More And More" which has clear rocking horns in it. Not as good as Child Is Father To Man because of its lack of really inspiring melodies, but still very worthwhile.
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I disagree. If anything, this is even better than CIFTTM. Six of the songs on it were hit singles, and another ("Smiling Phases") should have been one. Plus, surprisingly for such a "pop sell-out" album, it's kinda conceptual in structure, beginning and ending with the same track. Most of "Blues, Pt. 2" is crap, but it's got a good ending, with the gospel/soul horns kicking in and the guitar solo and Clayton Thomas howling soulfully and everything. My favorite songs are "More and More", "You've Made Me So Very Happy", "Sometimes in Winter" (almost psychedelic there), and "Smiling Phases" which shows how flawless their musical chops are, shifting effortlessly from rock to jazz to hard swing to classical in less than four minutes. If you haven't heard this album, don't be put off by all the claims of "pop sell-out" or "slick un-hip schmaltz". In its own way, this album is just as groundbreaking as the first.