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| | East-West Live | | | Music Artist : | | The Paul Butterfield Blues Band | | Music Style : | | General | | Record Label : | | Winner Records | | Release Date : | | 1996-11-14 | | Store Price : | | $16.98 | | Artistopia's Price: $16.98 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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CD Tracks/Songs
Disc 11. East-West [Live Version #1][Version]
2. East-West [Live Version #2][Version]
3. East-West [Live Version #3][Version]
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Other Artist Albums
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 Showing its age and quality
Submitted on: 2008-11-12 |
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The first Paul Butterfield Blues Band album and Hard Road by John Mayall started me on a course of loving the blues. The Butterfield East-West album was memorable particularly for the best Michael Bloomfield track ever "I've got a mind to give up living" and for "Work Song" and "East-West". After 40 years, I bought this album hoping to re-capture the magic. The most memorable aspect of the original was the interplay between the members of the band.
The first rendition of East West suffered from its quality due to Paul Butterfield's harmonica hardly being heard. However, it still was fascinating to hear those guys live.
The second rendition was much more true to the studio album. However, it did not really add anything new.
The third rendition was the same but longer.
While I love the album, I still disappointed because it did not generate the same feelings as back in 1966. |
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 Use your own ears
Submitted on: 2007-11-26 |
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| The previous reviews cover a lot of ground, and show how individual Butterfield / Bloomfield fans might hear East-West Live in an entirely different way. My two cents: if poor recording technology interferes with your enjoyment of music, don't bother, but if it doesn't, and you love electric blues jams, E-WL may trigger multiple climaxes in your ears (can I say that?) Too bad nobody made a professional live recording of the PBBB with Bloomfield, but Elektra had problems getting them down right in the studio, so may not have tried. The greatest blues-jam band to ever walk the planet; only the Allmans with Duane can stand with them. |
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If you love Bloomfield...
Submitted on: 2006-07-03 |
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| The previous reviews seem to divide on the issue of sound quality. So let me say that, especially on the first track, the sound quality is about third-rate. But the music itself--first-rate. For someone like myself who has spent a good amount of time listening to music from 78 RPM records (Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, for example) the sound quality is just not an issue. If you're a casual listener, then skip this one. But if you're passionate about this kind of music, and especially if you love Bloomfield, particularly in his early years, you need this. The band is on fire throughout, caught up in that intense level of mutual exploration that is like the start of a wild affair. And like a wild affair, it burned itself out. Within a year Bloomfield had moved on and Butterfield reportedly never played the song again. But here, thanks to keyboard player Mark Naftalin, is the equivalent of some flowers pressed in a book, only the heat is still all there. |
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Bloomfield's Baby=GENIUS!!!
Submitted on: 2005-12-27 |
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If you're like me and dig jam-oriented music, then get this disc. The studio version of this song is mind-blowing, but when they played it live, it turned into a whole new monster. These live cuts are on par with the likes of Cream, John Coltrane(sorry guys, he's still gotcha beat on time!), and The Grateful Dead. I just love it when musicians can churn out this type of stuff. It says something about the caliber of musicians in the 1960's. Everyone gets hung up on the "drug" aspect of the decade, but folks, let me tell you something, the 1960's was probably the most productive decade not just for rock, but for every form of music out there. It's too bad that this great movement had to end and evolve into what we have today. Anyway, enough of my ranting.
If you're new to Butterfield, i strongly suggest you get on of his albums, or the 2-disc Elektra Years Anthology. If you want to dive off the deep end, then get this disc. Ranging from 12-16-28!!!-minutes, these three cuts show how the song developed over the course of a year. Cut 1 is from the Whiskey A Go Go in LA March or April? 1966, Cut 2 is from Poor Richard's in Chicago April or May? 1966, and Cut 3 is from The Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, CA January or February? 1967. The dates are guesswork, as the cd only lists the recording dates as seasons(ex. winter 1967). The last version is at the end of Bloomfield's tenure with the band, so you get to hear some of his last works with the group. The last version is the best. The third movement is like a whole new song. It's just mind blowing. GET IT. You won't regret it!!! |
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Groundbreaking historical performances
Submitted on: 2005-12-14 |
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When I left the Beatles and Beach Boys for other forms of rock and roll, I found the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and East-West. This album was SO good that my mother even let me play it a high volume and eventually drove me to the Fillmore to see the band when I was in 9th grade. Unfortuntely, I did not know that Bloomfield had just left the group and was about to form the Electric Flag (a group I was able to see live later in 1967). But I still had the album East-West and aquired their earlier work, which also a powerful set of songs.
If you dig the history of rock and roll and especially the evolution of the blues/rock guitar, you will like this album and you need to hear it; if you like Mike Bloomfield it is a no-brainer. Thanks to Mark Naftalin for having the sense to get some on tape during what was most likely a chaotic road experience and for preserving these recordings. I easily forgive the fidelity and deeply cherish the playing. |
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