Mike Bloomfield's career in the blues is somewhat of an enigma. A talented guitarist and a youthful prodigy that learned from some of the blues' greatest talents, Bloomfield's contributions to the moderate success and legendary status of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band are unquestionable. After leaving Butterfield's ranks, however, Bloomfield's subsequent band associations and solo work are, to be charitable, spotty and often times unremarkable.
Performing live on stage was where Bloomfield's heart seemed to lay, and where some of his best work could be heard. Assembled by noted blues producer Norm Dayron years after Bloomfield's tragic death in 1981, Live At The Waldorf collects nine songs from six different Bloomfield performances at the San Francisco blues club, most of them recorded over a period of six months 1976-77 under the rubric of "Michael Bloomfield and Friends." A solid and often spectacular collection of performances, Live At The Waldorf cements Bloomfield's musical legacy as a blues guitarist.
Mike Bloomfield's Live At The Old Waldorf
The album's "Blues Medley" is the earliest track here, dating from a 1974 FM radio broadcast and comprised of B.B. King's "Sweet Little Angle" and Earl Hines' "Jelly Jelly." Bloomfield's jazz-tinged guitarplay is accompanied by bassist Roger "Jelly Roll" Troy's smoldering vocals and some fine New Orleans-styled barrelhouse piano from former Butterfield bandmate Mark Naftalin. The song is an excellent representation of Bloomfield's six-string skills, removing any distractions (like singing) from the guitarist's shoulders and just letting him fly up and down the fretboard with reckless abandon.
Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins' "Feel So Bad" dates from March 1977, and although it includes Troy and Naftalin among Bloomfield's band members, vocals and drums are handled by the talented Bob Jones. Weaving in and out between Bloomfield's serpentine Texas blues licks, Jones' vocals meld perfectly with the guitar, making for an exciting performance. From a later 1977 show (May), Elmore James' classic "The Sky Is Cryin'" features much the same band, with Jones on the mic, but the sound here is more sparse. Bloomfield's fingers tap out a wiry, yet lonesome sound on the strings as the band provides subtle instrumentation behind Jones' strong, mournful vocals.
West Coast Blues Legend Nick Gravenities
After Bloomfield's move from Chicago to San Francisco, he hooked up with his old Windy City pal and former Electric Flag bandmate Nick Gravenites. Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Gravenites has become a bona-fide West Coast blues legend over the past thirty years, so his presence here isn't unexpected or unwelcome. The writer of the Butterfield band's best-known song, "Born In Chicago," Gravenites provides four of the songs on Live At The Old Waldorf, and provides his smoky, gruff vocals and red-hot rhythm strings to 'em all.
"Bad Luck Baby" is, perhaps the most menacing of Gravenites' contributions to Bloomfield's catalog, the song's dark nature bolstered by Bloomfield's wicked slide-guitarwork, which produces sounds you'd only hear in the blackest corner of a Louisiana swamp. With Naftalin's subtle piano flourishes and some textured brushwork courtesy of drummer Jones, the song is one bad mojo of the blues. One of Gravenites' best-known tunes may be "Buried Alive In The Blues," and Mike, Nick and the crew handle it with aplomb, nothing spectacular just craftsman-like journeyman blues. More intriguing is "Bye Bye," which features some spirited interplay between Bloomfield and Gravenites' guitars and Naftalin's piano.
The Reverend's Bottom Line
Although Bloomfield's reputation as a blues guitarist has become somewhat tarnished over time, due mostly to the uneven solo work that he recorded throughout the 1970s, the undisputable fact remains that, over the course of a mere handful of albums, he managed to influence an entire generation of blues-rock guitarists.
Bloomfield's performances on these nine live tracks range from the sublime to the amazing, especially when he slips the slide on his finger and cuts loose on the strings. Live At The Waldorf showcases Bloomfield's guitar talents in the best light, but it also displays his uncanny ability to fit his instrumental contributions into a band situation and create a great chemistry to play the blues. Underrated, but not forgotten, Live At The Waldorf shows why Bloomfield is held in such high esteem as a blues guitarist. (Sony Legacy, released September 8, 1998)
