Kooper Session

Track Listings
1. Bury My Body    
2. Double Or Nothing    
3. One Room Country Shack    
4. Lookin For A Home    
5. Slow Goonbash Blues    
6. Shuggies Old Time Dee Di Lee Di Leet Deet Slide Boogie    
7. Shuggies Shuffle    

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Remastered Japanese reissue of the folk-rock singer/songwriter's 1969 album featuring Shuggie Otis, that's out-of-print domestically, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve with 7 tracks. Sony. 2003.

Kooper Session, Music, Al Kooper, Rock/Pop
Super Session
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Blues Jazz
  • Super session
  • This was just one of those LPs
  • I don't know why it works, but it does
  • Held up over time.
Super Session
Bloomfield , Kooper , and Stills
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. Fillmore East: The Lost Concert Tapes 12/13/68
  2. East-West
  3. A Long Time Comin'
  4. Live Adventures Of Michael Bloomfield & Al Kooper
  5. Paul Butterfield Blues Band

ASIN: B00008QSA5
Release Date: 2003-04-08

Tracks:

  1. Albert's Shuffle
  2. Stop
  3. Man's Temptation
  4. His Holy Modal Majesty
  5. Really
  6. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
  7. Season Of The Witch
  8. You Don't Love Me
  9. Harvey's Tune
  10. Albert's Shuffle (2002 Remix w/o Horns)
  11. Season Of The Witch (2002 Remix w/o Horns)
  12. Blues For Nothing
  13. Fat Grey Cloud (Live)

Album Description

Those familiar with the Live Adventures album these two recorded at the Fillmore West know how brilliant they could be on stage, and here's another gem, recorded at the Fillmore East this time and featuring 'One Way Out,' 'It's My Own Fault' (with Bloomfield trading licks with Johnny Winter...Johnny was signed to Columbia after this gig!). Newly remastered & now with 4 bonus tracks, 'Albert's Shuffle' (2002 Remix w/o Horns), 'Season of the Witch.' (2002 Remix w/o Horns), 'Blues For Nothing' (Studio Outtake) & 'Fat Grey Cloud' Previously Unreleased Live Track). Features 12-page booklet with unpublished photos from the recording session, new liner notes by Al Kooper & the Rolling Stone Hall Of Fame review by David Fricke. 60 scintillating minutes! 13 tracks. Colunbia/Legacy. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Blues Jazz.......2007-07-18

The solos are great in this CD along with the rest of the music. Great buy if you like jazz or blues .Out of over a hundred people only one does not like this CD.He is more into Pop.Anyways this is a great CD, I hope you like.

4 out of 5 stars Super session .......2007-05-12

this is a sixties album and you need a interest in the blues to enjoy this album.

5 out of 5 stars This was just one of those LPs.......2007-05-07

that came out of nowhere, and with nearly everyone playing it, deservedly became a stone/d classic. Other than that it was an alleged jam recorded during spare studio time, with as after thought horns dubbed on, then released, it has stood the test of time as one of the best "blues" recordings of the year 1968. Put it up there with Blood, Sweat & Tears' "Child is Father to Man" for that year; few other blues releases for that year, if any, are up there with it.

4 out of 5 stars I don't know why it works, but it does.......2007-05-01

I can't give this album a full 5 stars, but it's close, and certainly a classic of its type. Not many artists could pull off a rather loose "jam" session and have it hold up as well as this has. It just shows how much class and talent Al Kooper has. Tough enough, but how about when Mike Bloomfield fails to show on the 2nd day of the sessions, and Al has to recruit Steve Stills at literally the last minute. All things considered, it's amazing that this album even saw the light of day, much less that it is considered a sort of classic of its type.

But let's explore that. Among jazz musicians, jam sessions are quite normal, but it's usually a bit different for rock musicians. In this case, Al was as much of a jazz afficiando as he was blues, soul and rock, so he probably relished the idea to get Bloomfield and a good rhythm section, a couple of tunes he and Mike wanted to cover, and see what would happen. They did exactly that (at least for one day) and the results are pretty impressive. There are a few miscues: The phasing on "You Don't Love Me" is very dated and gets annoying quickly.

But still, if you can overlook the quirks and the obvious holes that are inevitably going to be there, there is a great spirit to this set. Sometimes living dangerously brings out what playing it safe could never get you, and I think that's what happens here. The adventure outweighs the lack of preparation, and the results are a truly unique listening experience.

5 out of 5 stars Held up over time........2007-02-17

The amazing thing about this album is that it have held up over the last 38 years. This originally was planned as Bloomfield/Kooper album. However when Bloomfield was unable to show up and finish it due to drug issues, they went out and had Steven Stills fill in. It is for all intent and purpose a great blue album by three white guys that was largely unknown at the time. This was recorded three years before Stills made a name for himself at Woodstock. No I have not forgotten the Buffalo Springfield. It was also shortly after Kooper left the Blood Sweet and Tears. Bloomfield was fresh out of the shadows of Paul Butterfield and Elvin Bishops.

The album started off fast and hard with Albet Shuffle and keep up the pace for 8 more tracks, including a remix of Donavon "Season of the Witch".

There are four "Bonus"tracks that neither added or subtracted anything to the overall experience.

This album is a gem.
Kooper Session: Super Session, Vol. 2
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • enjoyable romp from an unlikely duo!
Kooper Session: Super Session, Vol. 2
Al Kooper
Manufacturer: Acadia Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. Shuggie's Boogie: Shuggie Otis Plays the Blues
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  3. At the Kabuki Theatre
  4. My Labors
  5. Black Coffee

ASIN: B000M4RDKE
Release Date: 2007-02-05

Tracks:

  1. Bury My Body
  2. Double or Nothing
  3. One Room Country Shack
  4. Lookin' for a Home
  5. 12.15 Slow Goonbash Blues
  6. Shuggie's Old Time (Dee-Di-Lee-Di-Leet-Deet) Slide Boogie
  7. Shuggie's Shuffle

Album Description

Al Kooper has a rock pedigree that goes way back to the `60s when he came to fame by playing on Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde. AL has played with The Blues Project, Blood Sweat And Tears, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and The Who. His Super Sessions albums recorded in the late `60s with Stephen Stills and Mike Bloomfield were two of the best selling rock albums of that period. Kooper Sessions Vol 2 was recorded with the legendary Shuggie Otis.

Album Details

Re-issued, Re-mastered and Re-packaged.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars enjoyable romp from an unlikely duo!.......2007-04-10

Al kooper's previous album(supersession)set the standard for superstar jam albums so this record,released just one year later,was bound to be overlooked.However,since most of shuggie otis' discography has been reissued in recent years it only seemed natural that eventually they would dust off this little gem.The record is broken into two sides:side one consists of concise readings of more tradionally based blues material while side two is where shuggie and al decide to stretch out in the form of three lenghty jams.All and all this album is a nice little record that if you dig shuggie otis is well worth forking over the ten or twelve bucks for the experience.
Super Session
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Interesting Session
  • A Classic
  • Full Bloom!
  • Hooray for Harvey
  • Mired in 1968?
Super Session
Michael Bloomfield , Al Kooper , and Steve Stills
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  1. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
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ASIN: B0000024U8
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

  1. Albert's Shuffle - Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper
  2. Stop - Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper
  3. Man's Temptation - Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper
  4. His Holy Modal Majesty - Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper
  5. Really - Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper
  6. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry - Al Kooper/Steve Stills
  7. Season Of The Witch - Al Kooper/Steve Stills
  8. You Don't Love Me - Al Kooper/Steve Stills
  9. Harvey's Tune - Al Kooper/Steve Stills

Amazon.com

Nothing on this 1968 album approaches the best work of any of the three principals involved. What's more, the record sounds hopelessly mired in 1968. On the other hand, it's one of the original, groovy jam-rock statements, a spontaneous session filled with enjoyable but dispensable noodling. The first half showcases Bloomfield's piercing, edgy guitar on three blues instrumentals and one modal-jazz extravaganza. The cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Man's Temptation" falls into comic-relief territory, however. Stills and Kooper engage in a countrified Dylan cover and a rambling 11-minute version of Donovan's "Season of the Witch." Ironically, the album's appeal and its ultimate downfall lie in the "tossed-off" vibe. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Interesting Session.......2007-03-27

Of course, Kooper and Butterfield did greater work backing Dylan's recordings but this is a very interesting combo of styles. Stills has worked with so many other musicians but his work here is worthy of praise. Worth getting if you want something to take you back to the 60s.

4 out of 5 stars A Classic.......2003-08-28

In the absence of any intelligible listener reviews (such as the well written entry by BluesDuke below) I usually defer to Amazon's editorial reviews for guidance on unfamiliar music. As I am well familiar with the music on this disc I find Mr. Greilsamer's comments to be pretty far off the mark. What he dismisses as "enjoyable but dispensible noodling" I have for almost the last three decades considered to be some of the finest electric blues guitar playing I have ever heard. Indispensible. Opinions in music vary widely to be sure but to provide a more founded perspective than the editor who either listened to this disc only once or has no real insight into the music he's reviewing I have been studying guitar for 30 years and have found Mike Bloomfield's playing on this disc to be some of the finest I have ever heard, unqualified. In attempting to learn the craft of blues guitar improvisation I have learned more from "Albert's Shuffle" and "Really" than most all other albums combined. From what I have derived over the years, many other listeners and guitar players alike share this opinion. I'm a little concerned when I read supposedly authoritative reviews by people who have no more than a superficial knowledge of the genre and the music they are panning.

4 out of 5 stars Full Bloom!.......2003-08-20

If you want Bloomfield's best blues, and jazziest, most soulful, most lyrical album, then this is your Holy Grail. With the passage of time some things wear thin, like Kooper's vocals on "Man's Tempation", the tape-whoosh dual-flanger effect on "You Don't Love Me," and the overkill of the 15-minute "Season of the Witch," but "Harvey's Tune" (with no guitar!) is a beautiful, soulful, lovely jewel of a song, and Stills' guitar-work on "It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" and "You Don't Love Me" are first-rate, with Stills sounding an awful lot like Jimi Hendrix on the latter tune, which really deserves that treatment. In the end though, the more you listen to it, the more beautiful Bloomfield's playing becomes on soulful tunes like "Really" (and if you like this tune you should buy Barry Goldberg's Two Jews Blues just for "Blues For Barry And" with Bloomfield on it). Bloomfield's best straight-ahead blues is "Albert's Shuffle," and the beauty and creative lyricism (as well as the speed) of his jazz improvisation on "His Holy Modal Majesty" is breathtaking--it absolutely must be heard to be believed. And on every second of this album, Kooper's organ is just as beautiful, exquisite and soulful as Bloomfield's guitar. His organ playing is truly one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It's such a dirty rotten shame that this didn't turn out to be Bloomfield's first solo album, as Kooper had planned it. But considering each side of the album was cut with in only one day with Bloomfield and only one day with Stills, this album is a genuine miracle!

4 out of 5 stars Hooray for Harvey.......2003-06-07

This is an album composed almost entirely of blues, with a little soul (Man's Temptation) and jazz (Harvey's Tune) thrown in. It is Al Kooper's creation, and his keyboards (mostly organ, some electric piano) anchor the entire effort. Mike Bloomfield lays down sizzling lead guitar jams, but only on four instrumental tracks. Steven Stills fills that role less inspiringly on the subsequent, less guitar-driven tracks. Horns provide backup throughout, but never take the lead until the last track (Harvey's Tune), indicating that after being booted from Blood Sweat and Tears, Al backed off the idea of horn-based rock. Although Mike's solos merit a close listen, the album as a whole rates better as background music to a late night party than it does as a front and center event. It definitely has the feel of a "session", a very good one, but hardly "super", and you can get bored if you try to focus all your attention on it! So why 4 stars instead of 3? Simply because the 2-minute jazz masterpiece "Harvey's Tune", written by bassist Harvey Brooks, brings the whole album up one notch. As jazz, it doesn't even belong here, and would have been much more fitting on the occasionally jazzy Blood Sweat and Tears debut album "Child is Father to the Man". It has a gorgeous major-minor melody (sax in the lead), exquisite harmonies and counterpoint from trumpet and trombone, and Al's electric piano brilliantly defining the theme and the complex chord progression. It is moody and sophisticated and utterly beautiful - and much too short! So give the album 4 stars, and hooray for Harvey!

5 out of 5 stars Mired in 1968?.......2003-05-12

Sure it is mired in 1968. Would you expect that an album(vinyl)be made to today's standards? I bought this when it first came out on vinyl and rebought it on CD when I saw it. It gives the raw and spontaneous art for which much of today's music is lacking. Mike Bloomfield was a legend and this album shows him in great form. It also gives a portrait of Stills as he was backed up by musicians he was unfamiliar with. Let the album be what it is and not what you would like it to be. Listen and enjoy great musicians enjoying the music and not worrying about polish.
Super Session
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • A CD that never should finds its way into a witch's ditch
  • The Peak
  • Groovy, man...
Super Session
Al Kooper , and Michael Bloomfield
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00009KMDF
Release Date: 2003-06-18

Tracks:

  1. Albert's Shuffle
  2. Stop
  3. Man's Temptation
  4. His Holy Modal Majesty
  5. Really
  6. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
  7. Season Of The Witch
  8. You Don't Love Me
  9. Harvey's Tune
  10. Albert's Shuffle ( 2002 Remix Horns)
  11. Season Of The Witch ( 2002 Remix Horns )
  12. Blues For Nothing
  13. Fat Grey Cloud

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars A CD that never should finds its way into a witch's ditch.......2006-10-19

This CD is a remastered and expanded reissue of a special and quite successful album released in 1968 by what was effectively a "super group", which might explain the album's title. The sound quality is greatly improved compared to the early, standard CD issue. It is a particular delight to hear Harvey Brooks powerful bass notes sounding more upfront and with such clarity. On the other end, Eddie Hoh's drumming remains mostly under mixed to my taste. He plays tastefully though.

The original project, masterminded by multi-instrumentalist and singer Al Kooper, was small-scale even by the standards of the times (two days of recording and three hours of horns overdubs). Kooper's purpose was to jam in the studio with Michael Bloomfield and some talented sidekicks including session musicians Harvey Brooks (electric bass), Eddie Hoh (drums) and Barry Goldberg (who plays electric piano on tracks 1, 2 and 11, although his contribution is under mixed). Kooper would patch everything together afterwards.

The original album was a critical and commercial success. It entered the Top 100 pop LP charts on August 31, 1968 and stayed there for a 37-week period, peaking at # 12 and going gold in the process.

Bloomfield, Brooks and Kooper had famously backed Bob Dylan on his seminal "Highway 61 Revisited" LP (1965). Barry Goldberg played piano in Dylan's band at the latter's famous Newport appearance on July 25, 1965. He had also previously played on earlier recording sessions with Bloomfield.

Bloomfield was originally a blues player through and through. However, the guitarist also liked rock and had already shown much more adventurous leanings with the fresh and formidable mix of blues, jazz, eastern music and psychedelic rock he displayed on tracks such as "East/West" from the second Paul Butterfield Blues Band LP.
This trend continued during his stint with the Electric Flag, which he had just left. The latter band used horns and displayed soul influences.

Kooper and Brooks had a more eclectic background but were well acquainted with the blues idiom as well. Kooper had, among other things, experienced successfully with horns and string arrangements on the first, superb "Blood Sweat and Tears" album. He had just quit that band. Brooks had also recently played in the Electric Flag alongside Bloomfield.

However, Bloomfield's drugs use prevented him to play on the second recording date. Kooper then contacted Stephen Stills - fresh out of the Buffalo Springfield - to play guitar on the second side of the LP.

Stills, on the other hand, whilst also adept at blues playing, was originally a folkie who had moved on to folk-rock, hard rock and psychedelic music with the freshly disintegrated Buffalo Springfield.

Tracks 1-2 and 4-5 highlight the interplay between Kooper and Bloomfield as it appeared on the first side of the original LP.

Bloomfield plays in a flowing, elegant, lyrical style that also shows some jazz leanings. The playing is totally removed from the raw, frenzied contributions he made to the first Paul Butterfield Blues Band LP. No slide guitar here, no sir!
The prevailing influence is definitely the smoother style of B. B. King and T-Bone Walker but with a thinner, drier guitar tone. I think that, to get this tone, Bloomfield must have made more use of his neck pickup than from his bridge pickup.

On "Albert's Shuffle", Bloomfield plays like a slightly speeded-up B. B. King and Kooper plays the organ masterfully. Track 10 is a remixed version sans the overdubbed horns. I actually prefer the original version.

Bloomfield comes more into his own on the instrumental cover of the Jerry Ragavoy-Mort Shuman composition "Stop" (a minor hit single for Howard Tate in February 1968), whilst Kooper runs all around him with groovy, soulful organ vamps and this is my favourite track.

Curtis Mayfield's "Men's Temptation comes next and features a full horn arrangement and smooth, overdubbed Al Kooper vocals. It is a departure from the first two tracks, being more akin to a "Blood, Sweat and Tears" track in style and sound. The guitar part is mixed way down low and it is my guess that Kooper may have recorded it by himself. I am very fond of this track.

I have always felt that the nine-minute plus "His Holy Modal Majesty" was marred by Kooper's use of the - IMO - awful sounding ondioline. I guess Kooper wanted to experiment with some modal, eastern-sounding tonalities but ended up meandering instead. Bloomfield plays superb cool and liquid lines that are best appreciated when Kooper thankfully switches back to organ.

On "Really", the organ has a more jazzy sound while the guitar has a more cutting edge to it.
Another nice track.

Tracks 6 to 9, which feature Stills with Kooper, appeared originally on the second side of the original LP. These tracks are made of a very different musical clothe than the four previous Bloomfield-Kooper collaborations.

Dylan's "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" is taken at breakneck speed and is not very convincing. There is some overdubbed ondioline at the very end of the track, but I fail to hear any keyboard playing. Kooper plays, I think, at least one acoustic guitar part. Although overdubbed, his vocals here are definitely strained while trying to follow the pace. Still's guitar style and tone are unmistakably there but they sound distant, like he had been recorded through a wall of gaze. This is quite surprising for someone conversant with his playing with the Buffalo Springfield (or the soon to be born "Crosby, Stills and Nash"). Overall, I consider this track very weak.

The eleven-minutes plus cover of Donovan's "Season of the Witch" sounds much more interesting. The original's tempo is retained and Kooper's vocals are much more up to the task here. He also returns to playing the organ and scats along during the instrumental passages. Stills' guitar is the real focus of attention here, proving quite inventive, especially with its tasteful use of the wah-wah pedal. The drumming is much more to the fore here, as it should. However, I always felt that the overdubbed horns detracted - rather than complemented - the music. I feel vindicated when listening to the remixed "bonus" version without the horns. Very good, at long last!

Next comes a cover of blues harp player Willie Cobbs' oft-covered "You Don't Love Me Baby".
A blues this version is not, however. The track serves as a template for lots of psychedelic phasing. I note, in passing, that the Small Faces' influential (and heavily phased) "Itchycoo Park" had been a US Top 16 single in January 1968. It seems like Kooper heard it! This is a real period piece. I find it faintly pleasant if repetitive (or hypnotic, according to your taste).

The last of the original LP tracks is "Harvey's Tune" credited to bassist Harvey Brooks. Completely at odds, once again, with the rest of the album, it is an instrumental mood piece wherein horn arranger Joe Scott's role was certainly preponderant. Originally, I did not think much of it but now I find it more than pleasing indeed.

The third bonus track has already been issued on the "Gold" remastered CD released in 1995. It is a simple, enjoyable early take of "Albert's shuffle". No horns around here.

The fourth bonus track, which closes this CD, is titled "Fat Grey Cloud". It was recorded live at the Fillmore West. It probably comes from the same recording sessions that gave birth to the "Live Adventures of Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield". It is typical of this album anyway: a bluesy romp with Bloomfield playing with a lot more bite and distortion than on the studio tracks. Not bad, but not essential either. I find that the rhythm section sounds a bit leaden, especially the bassist (possibly John Kahn on an off night).

In conclusion, and contrary to a commonly expressed view, I think it is not quite accurate to categorize the original album as a blues-rock one, although there is a lot of bluesy playing involved. The musicians use many influences to explore various styles of music that they were into at the time. As such, I feel it remains a good album, without being a real milestone. My major criticism is that, due to the circumstances, this album lacks cohesion.
I rate this album three and a half star on an objective level, but I also credit it with one half star more for the memories it still brings (I bought the original LP not long after its UK release.)

5 out of 5 stars The Peak.......2006-08-17

It will sound Corny, but in 1968 this 12" vinyl LP changed my life.
"Super Session" is a "One of a Kind". it features Mike Bloomfield { Guitar on tracks 1 - 5 } and Stephen Stills { Guitar on tracks 6 - 9 } Al Kooper is present on the whole thing on Keyboards & Vocals.
Listen to Michael Bloomfield from the opening notes of " Albert's Shuffle " right through to the fade out of track 5 " Really"... you don't get Guitar this good very often, it's Blues, Jazz, Space & Soul all mixed up in one package, and there is not ONE wasted note played anywhere.
The Numbers featuring Steve Stills are a WAH WAH Pedal Gore Fest, Stephen was learning Lead Guitar from Jimi Hendrix at the time and it does show... it's Good but not as Good as Bloomfield and it shows it's age more as a "Period Piece" because of all that Wah Wha Effect.
As for Mr. Kooper, He's Good on this one, his keyboards add great color to "Super Session" and he plays something like a Synthesiser before synthesisers were in the hands of Rock Musicians ( "His Holy Modal Highness" ).
There is a bit of conflict over the Horns being added on to many of the tunes, so as a Bonus " Albert's Shuffle " & "Season of the Witch" are both presented here in versions without the Brass so you can be the judge of what sounds better.
Two more bonus tracks "Blues for Nothing" & "Fat Grey Cloud" are yanked from the Vaults. They are O.K. jams but nothing to phone your Ma about.
The sound on this Edition is Excellant, this Release has never sounded better and that says alot because this classic has been Redone and Reissued many times over.
Few people reach the "Peak" but Bloomfield, Kooper & Stills did get up there and it's all right here... FIVE STARS

4 out of 5 stars Groovy, man..........2005-05-03

This album is quite an ecclectic mix, with a distinct style difference with each artist which helps break up the album nicely. The Bob Dylan cover 'It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry' gets a tempo change and the Donovan classic 'Season Of The Witch' also gets a great treatment! This album opened my eyes, and made me appreciate music a whole lot more...
Kooper Session: Super Session, Vol. 2
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Kooper Session: Super Session, Vol. 2
    Al Kooper
    Manufacturer: Sony/Columbia
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    Similar Items:
    1. Super Session
    2. Fillmore East: The Lost Concert Tapes 12/13/68
    3. A Long Time Comin'
    4. Black Coffee
    5. New York City (You're a Woman)

    ASIN: B000AO8C3S
    Release Date: 2005-11-07

    Tracks:

    1. Bury My Body
    2. Double or Nothing
    3. One Room Country Shack
    4. Lookin' for a Home
    5. 12.15 Slow Goonbash Blues
    6. Shuggie's Old Time (Dee-Di-Lee-Di-Leet-Deet) Slide Boogie
    7. Shuggie's Shuffle

    Album Description

    Blues-rock from 1992 featuring Shuggie Otis on guitar. 7tracks including 'Bury My Body', 'Double Or Nothing', & 'Lookin' For A Home'. Japanese only.
    Kooper Session: Super Session, Vol. 2
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Kooper Session: Al Kooper introduces Shuggie Otis
    • French magazine praise for Kooper Session
    • small correction - Shuggie Otis is NOT dead
    • Great US Released Album !!!
    • Anybody here, seen my old friend Shuggie?
    Kooper Session: Super Session, Vol. 2
    Al Kooper
    Manufacturer: Mvp Japan
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    ASIN: B0000087RA
    Release Date: 1999-12-28

    Tracks:

    1. Bury My Body
    2. Double or Nothing
    3. One Room Country Shack
    4. Lookin' for a Home
    5. 12.15 Slow Goonbash Blues
    6. Shuggie's Old Time (Dee-Di-Lee-Di-Leet-Deet) Slide Boogie
    7. Shuggie's Shuffle

    Album Description

    Blues-rock from 1992 featuring Shuggie Otis on guitar. 7 tracks including 'Bury My Body', 'Double Or Nothing', & 'Lookin' For A Home'. Japanese only.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Kooper Session: Al Kooper introduces Shuggie Otis.......2007-06-14

    That is what the original album was called and it was issued in the US in 1968 or 1969. Otis was born in 1953 and if he was fifteen (as stated on the case notes) that would make it 1968. I still have the original LP and would love to get it on CD. When I graduated from college I sold most of my albums but I kept this one and some others. It was/is a special album and if anything were to inspire the purchase of a USB phonograph, this would be it. Outstanding, exciting, creative and original, I can't think of anything else quite like it. Even my old copy, with all its wear and tear would only add to "Shuggie's Old Time...Slide Boogie" a tremendous cut! One side is labeled "The Songs" and has 4 cuts, the other side is labeled "The Blues" and has three cuts. I can't understand why it hasn't been issued as a CD in the US.

    4 out of 5 stars French magazine praise for Kooper Session.......2005-02-27

    "Kooper Session" was released in France in late 1969 or early 1970 by CBS Records. It was reviewed in Rock&Folk in their March 1970 issue. The conclusion of the review translates as follows: "If you have any doubt concerning Al Kooper's talent, this album should make you change your mind."

    5 out of 5 stars small correction - Shuggie Otis is NOT dead.......2002-08-31

    In spite of the previous review - Shuggie is not dead.

    5 out of 5 stars Great US Released Album !!!.......2001-04-11

    Early reviews state that this album was not released before in the US. This is a mistake. It was released either in the late sixties or early seventies (the album does not show any date) by Columbia Records, Catalogue number CS 9951. It was also released in many other countries around the world, including Venezuela where I live. I must say also, that in here this album became so popular, that till this date, track 4 LOOKIN' FOR A HOME, is still heard at many local radio stations, regarded as an old time favorite. What I cannot understand, is that this album may not have been released in the US in CD form, or is it that Amazon does not carry it?

    Someone stated that there were no more Shuggie Otis recordings. Regretably, he died very young.

    4 out of 5 stars Anybody here, seen my old friend Shuggie?.......2000-09-29

    This japanese import sounds great, and as far as I know, there are no domestic releases. I still have the LP, but it's virtually unplayable. However, this CD, complete with japanese liner notes, sounds so good, you can even hear Shuggies pick on the strings. Al Koopers organ/electric piano also sounds wonderful. My two favorites are #'s 5 and 7, the lengthy "12:15 Goonbash Blues" and "Shuggies Shuffle", respectively, an absolute MUST for any blues or blues/rock lover.
    Super Session
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Interesting Session
    • A Classic
    • Full Bloom!
    • Hooray for Harvey
    • Mired in 1968?
    Super Session
    Michael Bloomfield , Al Kooper , and Steve Stills
    Manufacturer: Sony
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    ASIN: B000002A9Z
    Release Date: 1995-06-13

    Tracks:

    1. Albert's Shuffle - Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper
    2. Stop - Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper
    3. Man's Temptation - Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper
    4. His Holy Modal Majesty - Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper
    5. Really - Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper
    6. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry - Al Kooper/Steve Stills
    7. Season Of The Witch - Al Kooper/Steve Stills
    8. You Don't Love Me - Al Kooper/Steve Stills
    9. Harvey's Tune - Al Kooper/Steve Stills
    10. Blues For Nothing - Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper

    Amazon.com

    Nothing on this 1968 album approaches the best work of any of the three principals involved. What's more, the record sounds hopelessly mired in 1968. On the other hand, it's one of the original, groovy jam-rock statements, a spontaneous session filled with enjoyable but dispensable noodling. The first half showcases Bloomfield's piercing, edgy guitar on three blues instrumentals and one modal-jazz extravaganza. The cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Man's Temptation" falls into comic-relief territory, however. Stills and Kooper engage in a countrified Dylan cover and a rambling 11-minute version of Donovan's "Season of the Witch." Ironically, the album's appeal and its ultimate downfall lie in the "tossed-off" vibe. --Marc Greilsamer

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Interesting Session.......2007-03-27

    Of course, Kooper and Butterfield did greater work backing Dylan's recordings but this is a very interesting combo of styles. Stills has worked with so many other musicians but his work here is worthy of praise. Worth getting if you want something to take you back to the 60s.

    4 out of 5 stars A Classic.......2003-08-28

    In the absence of any intelligible listener reviews (such as the well written entry by BluesDuke below) I usually defer to Amazon's editorial reviews for guidance on unfamiliar music. As I am well familiar with the music on this disc I find Mr. Greilsamer's comments to be pretty far off the mark. What he dismisses as "enjoyable but dispensible noodling" I have for almost the last three decades considered to be some of the finest electric blues guitar playing I have ever heard. Indispensible. Opinions in music vary widely to be sure but to provide a more founded perspective than the editor who either listened to this disc only once or has no real insight into the music he's reviewing I have been studying guitar for 30 years and have found Mike Bloomfield's playing on this disc to be some of the finest I have ever heard, unqualified. In attempting to learn the craft of blues guitar improvisation I have learned more from "Albert's Shuffle" and "Really" than most all other albums combined. From what I have derived over the years, many other listeners and guitar players alike share this opinion. I'm a little concerned when I read supposedly authoritative reviews by people who have no more than a superficial knowledge of the genre and the music they are panning.

    4 out of 5 stars Full Bloom!.......2003-08-20

    If you want Bloomfield's best blues, and jazziest, most soulful, most lyrical album, then this is your Holy Grail. With the passage of time some things wear thin, like Kooper's vocals on "Man's Tempation", the tape-whoosh dual-flanger effect on "You Don't Love Me," and the overkill of the 15-minute "Season of the Witch," but "Harvey's Tune" (with no guitar!) is a beautiful, soulful, lovely jewel of a song, and Stills' guitar-work on "It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" and "You Don't Love Me" are first-rate, with Stills sounding an awful lot like Jimi Hendrix on the latter tune, which really deserves that treatment. In the end though, the more you listen to it, the more beautiful Bloomfield's playing becomes on soulful tunes like "Really" (and if you like this tune you should buy Barry Goldberg's Two Jews Blues just for "Blues For Barry And" with Bloomfield on it). Bloomfield's best straight-ahead blues is "Albert's Shuffle," and the beauty and creative lyricism (as well as the speed) of his jazz improvisation on "His Holy Modal Majesty" is breathtaking--it absolutely must be heard to be believed. And on every second of this album, Kooper's organ is just as beautiful, exquisite and soulful as Bloomfield's guitar. His organ playing is truly one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It's such a dirty rotten shame that this didn't turn out to be Bloomfield's first solo album, as Kooper had planned it. But considering each side of the album was cut with in only one day with Bloomfield and only one day with Stills, this album is a genuine miracle!

    4 out of 5 stars Hooray for Harvey.......2003-06-07

    This is an album composed almost entirely of blues, with a little soul (Man's Temptation) and jazz (Harvey's Tune) thrown in. It is Al Kooper's creation, and his keyboards (mostly organ, some electric piano) anchor the entire effort. Mike Bloomfield lays down sizzling lead guitar jams, but only on four instrumental tracks. Steven Stills fills that role less inspiringly on the subsequent, less guitar-driven tracks. Horns provide backup throughout, but never take the lead until the last track (Harvey's Tune), indicating that after being booted from Blood Sweat and Tears, Al backed off the idea of horn-based rock. Although Mike's solos merit a close listen, the album as a whole rates better as background music to a late night party than it does as a front and center event. It definitely has the feel of a "session", a very good one, but hardly "super", and you can get bored if you try to focus all your attention on it! So why 4 stars instead of 3? Simply because the 2-minute jazz masterpiece "Harvey's Tune", written by bassist Harvey Brooks, brings the whole album up one notch. As jazz, it doesn't even belong here, and would have been much more fitting on the occasionally jazzy Blood Sweat and Tears debut album "Child is Father to the Man". It has a gorgeous major-minor melody (sax in the lead), exquisite harmonies and counterpoint from trumpet and trombone, and Al's electric piano brilliantly defining the theme and the complex chord progression. It is moody and sophisticated and utterly beautiful - and much too short! So give the album 4 stars, and hooray for Harvey!

    5 out of 5 stars Mired in 1968?.......2003-05-12

    Sure it is mired in 1968. Would you expect that an album(vinyl)be made to today's standards? I bought this when it first came out on vinyl and rebought it on CD when I saw it. It gives the raw and spontaneous art for which much of today's music is lacking. Mike Bloomfield was a legend and this album shows him in great form. It also gives a portrait of Stills as he was backed up by musicians he was unfamiliar with. Let the album be what it is and not what you would like it to be. Listen and enjoy great musicians enjoying the music and not worrying about polish.
    Super Session
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Super Session
      Michael Bloomfield , Al Kooper , and Steve Stills
      Manufacturer: Columbia
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

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      ASIN: B00005G8R5
      Release Date: 1968-01-01

      Tracks:

      1. Albert's Shuffle - Michael Bloomfield, Al Kooper
      2. Stop - Michael Bloomfield, Al Kooper
      3. Man's Temptation - Michael Bloomfield, Al Kooper
      4. His Holy Modal Majesty - Michael Bloomfield, Al Kooper
      5. Really - Michael Bloomfield, Al Kooper
      6. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry - Al Kooper, Steve Stills
      7. Season of the Witch - Al Kooper, Steve Stills
      8. You Don't Love Me - Al Kooper, Stephen Stills
      9. Harvey's Tune - Al Kooper, Steve Stills

      Album Details

      Same as USA Version.
      Kooper Session: Super Session, Vol. 2
      Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
      • Al Kooper Discovers Shuggie Otis
      Kooper Session: Super Session, Vol. 2
      Al Kooper
      Manufacturer: Sony/Columbia
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

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      ASIN: B00008PT58
      Release Date: 2003-06-17

      Tracks:

      1. Bury My Body
      2. Double or Nothing
      3. One Room Country Shack
      4. Lookin' for a Home
      5. 12:15 Slow Goonbash Blues
      6. Shuggie's Old Time (Dee-Di-Lee-Di-Leet-Deet) Slide Boogie
      7. Shuggie's Shuffle

      Album Description

      Remastered Japanese reissue of the folk-rock singer/songwriter's 1969 album featuring Shuggie Otis, that's out-of-print domestically, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve with 7 tracks. Sony. 2003.

      Album Details

      Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

      Customer Reviews:

      5 out of 5 stars Al Kooper Discovers Shuggie Otis.......2006-07-23

      It's a shame this album isn't yet available on CD. I have the original LP where Al Kooper instinctively creates the setting to allow Shuggie Otis to perform at his most amazing best. Each track shows off Shuggie's comfort level with various types of blues and soul genres. Although the guitar playing is heartfelt and truely world class it seems that much more incredible when Al Kooper casually reveals in the last line of the liner notes, "Oh one more thing, Shuggie is only fifteeen years old."
      Super Session
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Super Session
        Al Kooper , and Michael Bloomfield
        Manufacturer: Columbia
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD

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        ASIN: B00008PT56
        Release Date: 2003-06-17

        Tracks:

        1. Alberts Shuffle
        2. Stop
        3. Mans Temptation
        4. His Holy Model Majesty
        5. Really
        6. It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry
        7. Season Of The Witch
        8. You Dont Love Me
        9. Harveys Tune
        10. Alberts Shuffle (2002 Remix Without Horns)
        11. Blues For Nothing
        12. Fat Grey Cloud

        Album Description

        Remastered Japanese reissue of the folk-rock singer/songwriter's 1968 album, that's unavailable domestically, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve, features 13 tracks including four bonus tracks, 'Albert's Shuffle' (2002 Remix w/o Horns), 'Season Of The Witc

        Album Details

        Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

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