Two CD set. A truly unique compilation charting the history of Mike Bloomfield's career covering his work from 1964 to 1974, this set comes complete with interview segments where Bloomfield talks about his life and music and features his work both as a solo artist, his time with The Electric Flag, and his collaborations with Al Kooper, and Nick Gravenities. Also, from the Triumvirate album "It Hurts Me Too" with Dr. John and John Hammond and from The Newport Folk Festival, the amazing "Born In Chicago" with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Playing with Bloomfield across this collection we find Mama Cass, Paul Butterfield, Buddy Miles, Elvin Bishop, and Barry Goldberg.

The live attempts at recreating the seminal jam chemistry of Super Session were hit-and-miss affairs, and this one, previously unreleased, has its fair share of off-key and off-target tunes. The rhythm section is erratic, the repertoire–ranging from Simon & Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" to an Elvis-flavored "That's All Right Mama"–is a bit odd, and co-leader Al Kooper is competent but rarely inspired. Guitarist Michael Bloomfield, however, is uniformly brilliant and his graceful blues virtuosity is by itself well worth the price of admission. Bloomfield and the group are joined on B.B. King's "It's My Own Fault" by a then-unknown Johnny Winter and things get really interesting.

As the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) had done a year earlier, Super Session (1968) initially ushered in several new phases in rock & roll's concurrent transformation. In the space of months, the soundscape of rock shifted radically from short, danceable pop songs to comparatively longer works with more attention to technical and musical subtleties. Enter the unlikely all-star triumvirate of Al Kooper (piano/organ/ondioline/vocals/guitars), Mike Bloomfield (guitar), and Stephen Stills (guitar) – all of whom were concurrently "on hiatus" from their most recent engagements. Kooper had just split after masterminding the groundbreaking Child Is Father to the Man (1968) version of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Bloomfield was fresh from a stint with the likewise brass-driven Electric Flag, while Stills was late of Buffalo Springfield and still a few weeks away from a full-time commitment to David Crosby and Graham Nash. Although the trio never actually performed together, the long-player was notable for idiosyncratically featuring one side led by the team of Kooper/Bloomfield and the other by Kooper/Stills.

As the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) had done a year earlier, Super Session (1968) initially ushered in several new phases in rock & roll's concurrent transformation. In the space of months, the soundscape of rock shifted radically from short, danceable pop songs to comparatively longer works with more attention to technical and musical subtleties. Enter the unlikely all-star triumvirate of Al Kooper (piano/organ/ondioline/vocals/guitars), Mike Bloomfield (guitar), and Stephen Stills (guitar) - all of whom were concurrently "on hiatus" from their most recent engagements. Kooper had just split after masterminding the groundbreaking Child Is Father to the Man (1968) version of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Bloomfield was fresh from a stint with the likewise brass-driven Electric Flag, while Stills was late of Buffalo Springfield and still a few weeks away from a full-time commitment to David Crosby and Graham Nash…

The title is a bit of a ringer, since this isn't a collaborative effort in any way, shape, or form. Muddy & the Wolf contains a half-dozen live Muddy Waters tracks with backing from Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Otis Spann, the material culled from the Fathers & Sons sessions. The set also features tracks by Howlin' Wolf from his London sessions with Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr. File under "just OK."

The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper is a double album recorded at the Fillmore West venue; the album is a successor to the studio album Super Session, which included both Bloomfield and Kooper in addition to Stephen Stills, and had achieved commercial and critical success earlier in 1968. The performances, recordings and production cannot be described as flawless; in his sleeve notes, Kooper describes the difficulties of finding rehearsal space, Bloomfield's insomnia, and the failure of a vocal microphone during "Dear Mr Fantasy"; the track "I Wonder Who" is faded during a Bloomfield solo for no apparent reason. Nevertheless, the album remains an important, if raw, document of a live blues-rock performance of the period and, apart from its intrinsic qualities, is notable not only for one of the earliest live recordings by Carlos Santana but also for Bloomfield's debut as a vocalist. Whilst he is not historically noted in this role, in "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong", according to Kooper, "he displays consummate homage to the traditional guitar-voice trade-offs; a lesson in phrasing and understanding."

Two of Barry Goldberg's best albums from the late '60s, Reunion and Two Jews Blues, are combined on this single disc. There's some very hot playing on these two albums, particularly from Mike Bloomfield on Two Jews Blues, but they sound a little dated and don't quite burn as hot as some blues-rock albums from the late '60s. Nevertheless, this does capture Goldberg's two best records, which makes it both a good summary of his peak and a good introduction to his sound.

The celebrated blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield performs a variety of blues, R&B, and ragtime classics, including "Cherry Red," "Don't You Lie to Me," and "Walking the Floor Over You," on this accomplished and wide-ranging set. He's accompanied by the pianist Mark Naftalin and a skilful rhythm section, and though singing was never his strong point, his consummate guitar playing carries him through.

So Many Roads is Hammond's most notable mid-'60s Vanguard album, due not so much to Hammond's own singing and playing (though he's up to the task) as the yet-to-be-famous backing musicians. Three future members of the Band – Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, and Levon Helm – are among the supporting cast, along with Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, and Mike Bloomfield also contributes. It's one of the first fully realized blues-rock albums, although it's not in the same league as the best efforts of the era by the likes of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band or John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. In part that's because the repertoire is so heavy on familiar Chicago blues classics by the likes of Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, and Muddy Waters; in part that's because the interpretations are so reverent and close to the originals in arrangement; and in part it's also because Hammond's blues vocals were only okay.

New 2 CD Set, a combination of Rarities, Hits & Previously Unreleased Live Recordings. Blues Hall Of Fame and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Mike Bloomfield is ranked #22 on Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". "The Best Guitar Player I Ever Heard" Bob Dylan. "Mike Bloomfield is music on two legs" Eric Clapton. Michael Bloomfield was one of America's first great white blues guitarists, earning his reputation on the strength of his work in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. His expressive, fluid solo lines and prodigious technique graced many other projects – most notably Bob Dylan's earliest electric forays – and he also pursued a solo career, with variable results. Uncomfortable with the reverential treatment afforded a guitar hero, Bloomfield tended to shy away from the spotlight after spending just a few years in it; he maintained a lower-visibility career during the '70s due to his distaste for fame and his worsening drug problems, which claimed his life in 1981. During the late '70s, Bloomfield recorded for several smaller labels (including Takoma), usually in acoustic settings, authentic and personal. Disc 2 features a previously unreleased 1971 concert from the archives.

An Al Kooper anthology featuring Mike Bloomfield, Bob Dylan, Steve Stills, Shuggie Otis, Paul Simon. Includes live material.