Listen to the Byrds' performances during the Monterey International Pop Festival, and you'll hear David Crosby rambling on between songs, something to the effect of (I don't have the disc at arm's length):
"If you didn't catch Mike Bloomfield's band this afternoon, man, you're really out of it!"
We can conjecture if David might have been a bit out of it himself at the time. But Bloomfield's set was one of the most anticipated events of the seminal June 1967 festival. Certainly, performances by Jimi, Janis and the Who have come down in history as landmarks. But those future legends were relatively unknown in this country in mid-'67 (Joplin's band, Big Brother & the Holding Co., was pretty much unknown outside of San Francisco).
Bloomfield, on the other hand, had staked out the reputation at the time as THE American rock guitarist. His groundbreaking work on the Les Paul with the Butterfield Blues Band established a template that others would strive to follow as the '60s brought exciting new players to the forefront. His sonic explorations on his instrumental composition "East-West" still send chills up the spine almost 40 years after the studio version was cut. And thanks to Butterfield keyboard player Mark Naftalin, a collection of three live versions is available - raw recordings, to be sure. But as an extremely musical knowledgeable friend remarked the first time he listened, "That's some of the most intense stuff I've heard in a long time."
By the time of Monterey, Bloomfield had staked out on his own, forming a band that would play the single gig at Monterey and split, according to contemporary reports. But that aggregation - which also included Nick Gravenites on vocals, Buddy Miles on drums, Harvey Brooks on bass and a horn section - decided to keep going, taking as a name the Electric Flag (subtitled "An American Music Band": They apparently set out to define the new sound of this nation).
The Flag cut a soundtrack album for a film called "The Trip" (wonder what that was about), then released its proper debut in 1968, appropriately titled "A Long Time Comin'." The opening grooves of the LP feature the voice of one Lyndon Baines Johnson, a bit of crowd noise, then the blast of the horn section. Out of all that comes Bloomfield's guitar, screaming out the theme of a rollicking version of Howlin' Wolf's "Killin' Floor."
It's a great start, and although the album has its ups and down, it indeed shows a new way, integrating the blues-band-with-horns concept into the rock world. A couple of fellow Columbia Records artists followed suit: Al Kooper with Blood, Sweat & Tears, and a guitar whiz named Terry Kath and a bunch of his cohorts calling themselves Chicago Transit Authority.
None of it lasted. The Flag was the first to go, as Bloomfield departed shortly after the release of "A Long Time Comin'." He joined forces with Kooper after he parted ways with his band, playing on the hit "Super Session" together (at least until Bloomfield couldn't continue and Stephen Stills finished the gig).
BS&T recruited new lead singer David Clayton-Thomas, scored several hits on an album that sold in the stratosphere, but the band's popularity wasn't sustained.
As for the third band with horns, after one exceptional album as Chicago Transit Authority, it shortened its name, released one more really stellar record, then followed up the next three-and-a-half decades with ... well, everyone has his own opinion. Most of it has been without Kath, who died of an accidentally inflicted gunshot wound in 1978.
Bloomfield's tale also is sad. The man who was so highly regarded in '67 was practically ignored by '70, as some solo work for Columbia didn't sell too well. Other projects during the decade included a short-lived reunion of the Flag, an equally short-lived collaboration with John Hammond Jr. and Dr. John called Triumvirate, and solo albums on some minor labels.
Shortly after the release of one such effort, called "Cruisin' for a Bruisin'," Michael Bernard Bloomfield was found dead in the seat of a car. He was 37.
But check out his work, especially on the first two albums by the Butterfield Blues Band. That way, David Crosby won't think you're out of it.
"If you didn't catch Mike Bloomfield's band this afternoon, man, you're really out of it!"
We can conjecture if David might have been a bit out of it himself at the time. But Bloomfield's set was one of the most anticipated events of the seminal June 1967 festival. Certainly, performances by Jimi, Janis and the Who have come down in history as landmarks. But those future legends were relatively unknown in this country in mid-'67 (Joplin's band, Big Brother & the Holding Co., was pretty much unknown outside of San Francisco).
Bloomfield, on the other hand, had staked out the reputation at the time as THE American rock guitarist. His groundbreaking work on the Les Paul with the Butterfield Blues Band established a template that others would strive to follow as the '60s brought exciting new players to the forefront. His sonic explorations on his instrumental composition "East-West" still send chills up the spine almost 40 years after the studio version was cut. And thanks to Butterfield keyboard player Mark Naftalin, a collection of three live versions is available - raw recordings, to be sure. But as an extremely musical knowledgeable friend remarked the first time he listened, "That's some of the most intense stuff I've heard in a long time."
By the time of Monterey, Bloomfield had staked out on his own, forming a band that would play the single gig at Monterey and split, according to contemporary reports. But that aggregation - which also included Nick Gravenites on vocals, Buddy Miles on drums, Harvey Brooks on bass and a horn section - decided to keep going, taking as a name the Electric Flag (subtitled "An American Music Band": They apparently set out to define the new sound of this nation).
The Flag cut a soundtrack album for a film called "The Trip" (wonder what that was about), then released its proper debut in 1968, appropriately titled "A Long Time Comin'." The opening grooves of the LP feature the voice of one Lyndon Baines Johnson, a bit of crowd noise, then the blast of the horn section. Out of all that comes Bloomfield's guitar, screaming out the theme of a rollicking version of Howlin' Wolf's "Killin' Floor."
It's a great start, and although the album has its ups and down, it indeed shows a new way, integrating the blues-band-with-horns concept into the rock world. A couple of fellow Columbia Records artists followed suit: Al Kooper with Blood, Sweat & Tears, and a guitar whiz named Terry Kath and a bunch of his cohorts calling themselves Chicago Transit Authority.
None of it lasted. The Flag was the first to go, as Bloomfield departed shortly after the release of "A Long Time Comin'." He joined forces with Kooper after he parted ways with his band, playing on the hit "Super Session" together (at least until Bloomfield couldn't continue and Stephen Stills finished the gig).
BS&T recruited new lead singer David Clayton-Thomas, scored several hits on an album that sold in the stratosphere, but the band's popularity wasn't sustained.
As for the third band with horns, after one exceptional album as Chicago Transit Authority, it shortened its name, released one more really stellar record, then followed up the next three-and-a-half decades with ... well, everyone has his own opinion. Most of it has been without Kath, who died of an accidentally inflicted gunshot wound in 1978.
Bloomfield's tale also is sad. The man who was so highly regarded in '67 was practically ignored by '70, as some solo work for Columbia didn't sell too well. Other projects during the decade included a short-lived reunion of the Flag, an equally short-lived collaboration with John Hammond Jr. and Dr. John called Triumvirate, and solo albums on some minor labels.
Shortly after the release of one such effort, called "Cruisin' for a Bruisin'," Michael Bernard Bloomfield was found dead in the seat of a car. He was 37.
But check out his work, especially on the first two albums by the Butterfield Blues Band. That way, David Crosby won't think you're out of it.
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