Search - Al Kooper :: Easy Does It

Masterful Effort from a Legend

Tomato Pie | West Chester, PA USA | 04/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's a mystery to me why this LP is not available in the USA, and is not on CD. Al is in peak form, totally relaxed, in his top form. The compositions here are far more intricate and comlpex than on his better known work, the playing is superb, and the arrangements flawless. This is surely the gem recording of his fabulous career. If you can find a copy, grab it!"

Title Should Have Been Taken to Heart

A. Peters | Near Chicago, United States | 11/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Over all, a well rounded album by Al Kooper. I would have given it 4.75 stars, but Amazon deals only in whole numbers. His vocals here are better than his lifetime average. Some songs are somewhat overproduced, hence the sentiment that the title should have been taken to heart a little more often. In Kooper's own commentary on this disk, he said that he regrets, in retrospect, his covers of James Taylor's `Country Road' and John Loudermilk's `A Rose and a Baby Ruth'.

On this third solo album circa 1970, Kooper plays piano, organ, guitars, ondioline, sitar, vibes, prepared guitar, and electronic effects.

1. Brand New Day: could have been the title song to another album (remember, this was originally a double album, although it is now on one CD). A classic tale of the kids coming of age, and their parents' inability to deal with it.

2. Piano Solo Introduction: Kooper's variations on the theme of Ray Charles' 'I Got a Woman'.

3. I Got a Woman: A faithful cover of the Ray Charles classic.

4. Country Road: Somewhat overpowering horns distract you from James Taylor's original imagery. In the abstract, a very interesting interpretation, even though Kooper calls it `dreadful'.

5. I Bought You the Shoes: Features David Bromberg on pedal steel guitar. Lament over a leaving wife, something Kooper came to know well.

6. Introduction: A bit of studio goofing around, in which a saxophone seems to be answering a question with "I don't know". This sort of track always set Kooper's albums apart, making it seem as though you're in the studio with him.

7. Easy Does It: Great title track for the album. Phenomenal keyboard and horn interplay. Verses carefully done in 5/4 time. Great shout at the end (you'll hear about this again later).

8. Buckskin Boy: Lament to the treatment of native American Indians.

9. Love Theme from `The Landlord': A different version of the song Kooper wrote as part of the soundtrack for the movie, starring Beau Bridges.

10. Sad, Sad Sunshine: Written while coming down from an LSD trip, with the morning sun falling in through the hotel room window. Western melody played very well on the sitar.

11. Let the Duchess No: A Seatrain (spin off of Blues Project) song. Pete Drake on pedal steel guitar. Some Ray Charles inspired piano, too.

12. She Gets Me Where I Live: Co-written with Charlie Calello, yet arranged and conducted by Jimmie Haskell (no relation to Eddie).

13. A Rose and a Baby Ruth: Cover of John Loudermilk's 1950's classic, with David Bromberg on pedal steel guitar. While Kooper finds it regretful in retrospect, taken in context, it is quite listenable. A bit of studio chatter included at the end of the track, again keeping the listening experience more personal.

14. Baby Please Don't Go: Over 12 minutes covering Big Joe Williams' song. Done with full respect to the original, giving the piano plenty of room to shine. A few other themes rolled into the piano solos, too.

15. God Sheds His Grace on Thee: A tip of the hat to the counterculture's sentiments of the time. This track is followed by "out-takes" of the shout at the end of `Easy Does It', one with a bleep, one without. Again, Kooper was one of a few that admitted things didn't always come out exactly perfect on the first take. He may have been the only one to include his own "gag reel" in his commercial releases.

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