RIP David Clayton-Thomas- You made ME so very happy, sir....
BS&T were an innovative and amazing sounding band, especially for their time, but that was also their problem. They were so intent on BEING innovative that they couldn't always shape their work well enough into single format for radio play. This ended up being one of the causes of them being eclipsed by their Columbia label-mates, Chicago, who actually WERE able to contort their elaborate jazz-rock tunes into AM radio friendly singles easily.
The other big reason for their decline was because they got co-opted by the American government into doing a goodwill tour of Communist countries. The first place they played they got the crowd so excited that the authorities had to sic attack dogs on the audience to calm them down! Thereafter, they were effectively ordered by the Communists to become rigid, emotionless mannequins- which did neither them nor the audiences any good. Plus the government put boilerplate words into their words in press releases that were NOT reflective of their feelings, and suddenly their street cred with the anti-establishment hippy record buyers was gone...
In a fairer world, they would have had as many hit records as Chicago did, and we wouldn't have to ask what the hell happened to them...
Well then…this remains one of my favorite albums of all time. And, I will take Sometimes in Winter over Maxwell’s Silver Hammer any day. I first heard And When I Die at a Peter, Paul & Mary concert with Mary Traver’s voice just blowing down the house. And long live Laura Nyro. Excellent review!
Thanks, Floyd! 'Sometimes in Winter' is simply beautiful - when I first heard it on the radio a long, long time ago, I was obsessed with it. And yes, long may Laura Nyro reign!
I truly wish I could listen to this album with new, fresh ears, but alas. Too much radio play, too many covers, all that bluster. I was 14 when it was released, and everyone was playing it. I enjoyed it the first few times, but the three singles were relentless.
Likewise, I would have loved to hear what Laura would have done with them, but I don't think they had the finesse she did. Laura used the arrangements to color her songs. I'm afraid BS & T would have been overkill.
Just because I loved the first record with Al Kooper didn’t mean I couldn’t also love that first record with David Clayton Thomas. I think of them has more or less different bands. That second BST record was amazing and I played the crap out of it. The only thing I would say is that all these years later, it’s easier for me to play the first one, but that’s probably because I played the second one so much and it was all over the place and those songs were all over the place. Not to mention the hundred covers of spinning wheel that we heard. So I guess I’m saying you’re right.
Robert, I was at the Cafe Au Go Go show you reference, where DCT made his debut. I remember what a burst of energy he was on stage, and his dynamic singing. He introduced me to the song "God Bless The Child" (and lead me to Billie's superior version). I wore out the second album through repeated listening.
I loved the first BST album, if only for the big bang it made in the world of rock music, and the outstanding players in the band. They and The Electric Flag were in regular rotation on my turntable. I had been a big fan of The Blues Project, so the Kooper - Katz project was a revelation. It got a lot of airplay in the underground FM radio world.
By the time BST got to Hi-De-Ho, they'd lost me. I never saw them perform again after their debut, and my big band tastes ran more toward the jazz groups like Buddy Rich's incredible gang, Duke's band, of course, and others in the more mainstream jazz genre.
Thanks for reminding of us of the spark that David Clayton-Thomas brought to the band!
RIP David Clayton-Thomas- You made ME so very happy, sir....
BS&T were an innovative and amazing sounding band, especially for their time, but that was also their problem. They were so intent on BEING innovative that they couldn't always shape their work well enough into single format for radio play. This ended up being one of the causes of them being eclipsed by their Columbia label-mates, Chicago, who actually WERE able to contort their elaborate jazz-rock tunes into AM radio friendly singles easily.
The other big reason for their decline was because they got co-opted by the American government into doing a goodwill tour of Communist countries. The first place they played they got the crowd so excited that the authorities had to sic attack dogs on the audience to calm them down! Thereafter, they were effectively ordered by the Communists to become rigid, emotionless mannequins- which did neither them nor the audiences any good. Plus the government put boilerplate words into their words in press releases that were NOT reflective of their feelings, and suddenly their street cred with the anti-establishment hippy record buyers was gone...
In a fairer world, they would have had as many hit records as Chicago did, and we wouldn't have to ask what the hell happened to them...
Well then…this remains one of my favorite albums of all time. And, I will take Sometimes in Winter over Maxwell’s Silver Hammer any day. I first heard And When I Die at a Peter, Paul & Mary concert with Mary Traver’s voice just blowing down the house. And long live Laura Nyro. Excellent review!
Thanks, Floyd! 'Sometimes in Winter' is simply beautiful - when I first heard it on the radio a long, long time ago, I was obsessed with it. And yes, long may Laura Nyro reign!
I truly wish I could listen to this album with new, fresh ears, but alas. Too much radio play, too many covers, all that bluster. I was 14 when it was released, and everyone was playing it. I enjoyed it the first few times, but the three singles were relentless.
Likewise, I would have loved to hear what Laura would have done with them, but I don't think they had the finesse she did. Laura used the arrangements to color her songs. I'm afraid BS & T would have been overkill.
You didn't mention the one great tune from the Al Kooper album that I remember: "I Can't Quit Her" which DCT also did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjO4VdtqeL4&list=RDMjO4VdtqeL4&start_radio=1
Oddly, that's Kooper's voice although DCT is in the picture.
Just because I loved the first record with Al Kooper didn’t mean I couldn’t also love that first record with David Clayton Thomas. I think of them has more or less different bands. That second BST record was amazing and I played the crap out of it. The only thing I would say is that all these years later, it’s easier for me to play the first one, but that’s probably because I played the second one so much and it was all over the place and those songs were all over the place. Not to mention the hundred covers of spinning wheel that we heard. So I guess I’m saying you’re right.
Robert, I was at the Cafe Au Go Go show you reference, where DCT made his debut. I remember what a burst of energy he was on stage, and his dynamic singing. He introduced me to the song "God Bless The Child" (and lead me to Billie's superior version). I wore out the second album through repeated listening.
I loved the first BST album, if only for the big bang it made in the world of rock music, and the outstanding players in the band. They and The Electric Flag were in regular rotation on my turntable. I had been a big fan of The Blues Project, so the Kooper - Katz project was a revelation. It got a lot of airplay in the underground FM radio world.
By the time BST got to Hi-De-Ho, they'd lost me. I never saw them perform again after their debut, and my big band tastes ran more toward the jazz groups like Buddy Rich's incredible gang, Duke's band, of course, and others in the more mainstream jazz genre.
Thanks for reminding of us of the spark that David Clayton-Thomas brought to the band!
Evocative indeed and now corrected. Thanks for pointing this out, Albert! I completely missed it.