Continuing to play catch-up with records I’ve purchased after I covered their section of the alphabet – which is becoming more of a problem as I get deeper into the alphabet.
As I’ve written many times before, I am a latecomer to the world of Mike Bloomfield – but once I caught on, I’ve been interested in nearly everything he was associated with. That goes in particular for his associations with Al Kooper.
Now, it happens I’m also a fan of Roger Corman’s “The Trip,” the Peter Fonda movie, and Fonda chose Bloomfield to create the soundtrack. Bloomfield was already in the process of putting together The Electric Flag, and “The Trip” was their first project. The music couldn’t have suited the movie better – it’s absolutely integral.
But still, the first time I picked up an Electric Flag record was back in 2020, when I found a Record Store Day release of “Live From California 1967-1968” at Siren Records up in Doylestown. It’s a record that has its moments, but I can’t say it went into solid rotation.
Well, this summer I was up at Sound House Records in Troy, NY, ran across this 1974 release and decided I’d give the band another shot. It’s Bloomfield, it’s Buddy Miles, it’s Nick Gravenites, there’s a healthy dose of horns – but I’ve gotta say, it just doesn’t gel. It’s fine, but not stirring. And given how much incredibly stirring music I’ve collected in the past couple of years, stuff that jumps right into my bones, I’m generally not into stuff that doesn’t catch me. So it goes.
