This CD is a national treasure
R. Richard | 01/22/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is a collection of two Mike Bloomfield albums that include an instructional album done for Guitar Player magazine in the 70's and the hard to get Bloomfield/Harris. You can forget about the hard charging sounds of Butterfield Blues/Electric Flag/Super Session. This is stripped down accoustic blues and gospel played by one of the greatest guitar players of all time.
The first 22 tracks are the instructional album "If you love those blues play 'em as you please", accoustic blues with a very interesting narrative by Mr. Bloomfield himself before each song. The remaining tracks are accoustic gospel with Woody Harris and Mike Bloomfield. The sound mix is excellent."
For Hardcore Blues Fans Only
Lee R. Toman | Rochester, NY United States | 12/19/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I have the record for "If You Love these..." so my comments are related only to that parts of the CD from that record.
Anyway, I rate this very highly but for hardcore blues fans only. Bloomfield does a great job re-creating the feel/style for each song using the style of the original artist/time period. My favorites are Mama Lion, WDIA, and Hey Foreman.
This is not your Bloomfield guitar slinger album, rather a serious study in the diverse styles of the blues. He shows why he was so great."
In a way, the best of Bloomfield.
. | Chicago, IL USA | 04/09/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Mike Bloomfield's trademark style was a foundation of BB King riffs with jazzy noodleing and raga-like easternisms in the spaces where King would simply not have played at all. When MB first hit the scene, this style shook every young guitarist up; it was no longer ok to just learn the tunes, you had to learn how to -play-. His ahead-of-the-barlines phrasing, and melodic fearlessness conveyed a sense of constant exploration. As time has passed, the original blues artists' simplicity has come to be appreciated by a mass audience, and Mike's busy style has become less in vogue. On that basis, this may be the best place to start your Bloomfield collection: because he is referencing the styles that influenced him, more than performing, the performance itself is more rooted and bluesy than much of his other work."
Track Listings (31) - Disc #1