Al Kooper - Rare & Well Done: Greatest & Obscure 64-01
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CD Details
Artist: Al KooperEdition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2001-09-18
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
- I Can't Quit Her (Home Demo)
- Somethin' Goin' On (Demo)
- Autumn Song
- I Can't Stand The Rain
- Baby Please Don't Go (Live)
- I Let Love Slip Through My Fingers
- The Earthquake Of Your Love
- Bulgarya
- Nuthin' I Wouldn't Do (For A Woman Like You)
- New York's My Home (Razz-A-Ma-Tazz) aka The Street Song (Single Version)
- Making Plans For Nigel
- I Believe To My Soul
- Went To See The Gypsy
- Rachmaninoff's Birthday
- Hey Jude (Rehearsal Tape)
- Living In My Own Religion
- The Big Chase
- They Just Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore
- A Drive Through The Old Neighborhood
- I Can't Keep From Cryin' Sometimes (Live)
- I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know
- This Diamond Ring
- Albert's Shuffle
- Bury My Body
- Season Of The Witch
- New York City (You're A Woman)
- I Can't Quit Her (Live)
- I Stand Alone
- Flute Thing
- You Never Know Who Your Friends Are
- I Got A Woman
- Brand New Day
- The Landlord: Love Theme
Music reviews of Rare & Well Done: Greatest & Obscure 64-01
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Rating: 4 Stars
This CD is really 2 separate CDs marketed together. The first CD, "Rare" is a collection of previously unreleased tracks spanning all of Al Kooper's career. The second CD, "Well Done", is sort of a greatest hits collection. Hard core fans of Al Kooper are likely to already own much of the material covered in Well Done, although it is great to have them in one disc, and will focus on the "Rare" tracks. New Kooper fans will probably want to listen first to the "Well Done" tracks. The entire collection of 33 songs highlights the musical influences on Al's songwriting, including Brian Wilson, James Brown, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, XTC, Dylan and others. Rare
This CD starts with a new studio version of I Can't Quit Her, with Al playing all of the instruments. I can understand how playing this song for 34 years may cause Al to want to record a new version. Still, I thought the BS&T version was pretty close to perfect and loved the version on Soul of a Man more than the 2001 version. I really enjoy listening to the 1964 demo of Somethin' Goin On, which Al writes was heavily influenced by James Brown At the Apollo. Other highlights for me on the Rare disc are an absolutely killer version of Ray Charles' "I Believe in My Soul" from 1970 with Mick Taylor, a bluesy "Nuthin' I Wouldn't Do (For A Woman Like You)" from 1994, and a big band Jazzy version of "Hey Jude" from 1969 with some fabulous jazz luminaries.
Well Done
I won't review the selections from Soul of A Man (my favorite album by any artist) but will focus instead on Al's 1976 version of "This Diamond Ring" which Al writes is the way he originally conceived it in contrast to the Gary Lewis version. I love the version of "Bury My Body" from 1969 which showcases Al's gospel roots. Much has already been written about the Stephen Stills - Al Kooper version of "Season of the Witch." Note for note, it is just about perfect. Well Done also includes some of my other Kooper favorites such as "New York City (You're A Woman)", "I Stand Alone," and more. The disc is aptly named.
I would be remiss in not mentioning the absolutely fabulous liner notes and insert that Al obviously spent a lot of time doing. It not only includes pithy insights from Al about each song but also includes impressions of Al from 30 top musicians including Stevie Winwood, Taj mahal, BB King, Brian Wilson, Tom Petty and others. The insert also havs terrific pictures of Al with many rock stars. Just great stuff to read.
Description of Rare & Well Done: Greatest & Obscure 64-01
All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.Al Kooper's soulful stew of blues, gospel, rock, and jazz is as American as baseball--and every bit as ironic, allegorical, surprising, and downright fun. Though best known as a sideman (that's his trademark organ riff on Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone"), songwriter (Gary Lewis's "This Diamond Ring"), band founder (the Blues Project, Blood, Sweat & Tears), and producer (everyone from B.B. King to Joe Ely to Lynyrd Skynyrd), this revealing double-disc anthology explores Kooper's rich and diverse career as a performer. Rare offers up demos, outtakes, and other rarities that wind from his first '60s single through three decades and a madly eclectic array of projects that include a down-tempo revisitation of Ann Peebles's "I Can't Stand the Rain," XTC's "Making Plans for Nigel" done as a 1900's English music-hall number (and rejected for a tribute album as too obtuse!), a glorious, pioneering horn-band take on "Hey Jude," a soundtrack outtake from the Crime Story TV series, and a couple of decades' worth of songs rife with his always unpredictable blues and pop instincts. Well Done collects better-known solo tracks and recordings from Blood, Sweat & Tears, the bestselling Super Session ("Albert's Shuffle"), and the Blues Project. Veteran journalist Jaan Uhelszki's notes manage the not-inconsiderable feat of both concisely chronicling and underscoring the import of Kooper's largely unsung legacy. This is a multidisc anthology that not only lives up to the medium's usually unfulfilled potential, but may just leave you craving more. --Jerry McCulley
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