Michael Bloomfield

A Retrospective

SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT . CD/DL A 2-CD set of the US’s first and most celebrated white blues guitarist, 1964 to 1974. Celebrations of guitarist Mike Bloomfield’s genius are usually footnoted with regrets for potential unfulfilled, via his heroin-related death. Yet his achievements were notable. This set includes only a snippet of his best-known period, with Paul Butterfield, and hence focuses on work that has, in retrospect, aged better: a concise, bluesinflected, white West Coast psychedelic soul, the perfect commemoration of this troubled Chicago Jew. A good proportion are chilling: Electric Flag’s You Don’t Realise is a slow, 6/8 burner; Stop is an otherworldly groove; You’re Killing My Love, recorded live by Nick Gravenites and Bloomfield in 1969 is spinetingling. The taut playing, heavy with horns, transcends genre, while Bloomfield thrillingly drives the song on. This is a flawed collection, with some predictable covers, and uneven sleevenotes, but still it’s a stunning reminder of a time when cross-cultural barriers were torn down, and anything seemed possible.