Blood, Sweat & Tears – Somethin’ Going On

17th July 2021 · 1960s, 1968, Blues, Jazz, Music, Soul

Whoever said white men can’t sing the blues (or play them) had clearly never heard this tune by Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Al Kooper should, be rights, be regarded as one of the giants of Sixties rock, not far behind Bob Dylan and Paul Simon in terms of importance. Don’t take my word for it: that’s the verdict of the primary source of record, Allmusic.

Although he’s never had a solo hit, literally tens of millions of records bear his stamp as singer, songwriter, keyboard player, guitarist, producer and talent scout (he discovered Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Zombies).

He startedr out as a session man, playing organ on Like A Rolling Stone and piano – and French horn – on You Can’t Always Get What You Want, before forming the Blues Project in the mid-Sixties.

It was his next band – Blood, Sweat & Tears – who best represented his vision. Their 1968 debut album, Child Is Father To The Man, blends rock with R&B, soul and jazz, folk and even classical elements.

The album really should be recognised as one of the landmark recordings of the decade alongside Sgt Pepper, Pet Sounds and Astral Weeks. The only duff note is a whimsical excursion into prog with the ultra-proggy title The Modern Adventures Of Plato, Diogenes And Freud, for which I’m guessing psychedelic drugs were to blame.

I could post pretty much any track but the searing I Love You More Than I Ever Know is just pipped for me by the rolling blues of Somethin’ Going On, with its Dylan-referencing lyric (Ballad Of A Thin Man) and boogie-woogie piano, Steve Katz’s fluid guitar – and the horns of Randy Brecker and Fred Lipsius, Jerry Weiss and Dick Halligan.