The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (1965 us, superb prime blues rock)

Even after his death, Paul Butterfield's music didn't receive the accolades that were so deserved. Outputting styles adopted from Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters among other blues greats, Butterfield became one of the first white singers to rekindle blues music through the course of the mid-'60s. 

His debut album, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, saw him teaming up with guitarists Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield, with Jerome Arnold on bass, Sam Lay on drums, and Mark Naftalin playing organ. The result was a wonderfully messy and boisterous display of American-styled blues, with intensity and pure passion derived from every bent note. In front of all these instruments is Butterfield's harmonica, beautifully dictating a mood and a genuine feel that is no longer existent, even in today's blues music. 

Each song captures the essence of Chicago blues in a different way, from the back-alley feel of "Born in Chicago" to the melting ease of Willie Dixon's "Mellow Down Easy" to the authentic devotion that emanates from Bishop and Butterfield's "Our Love Is Drifting." "Shake Your Money Maker," "Blues With a Feeling," and "I Got My Mojo Working" (with Lay on vocals) are all equally moving pieces performed with a raw adoration for blues music. 

Best of all, the music that pours from this album is unfiltered...blared, clamored, and let loose, like blues music is supposed to be released. A year later, 1966's East West carried on with the same type of brash blues sound partnered with a jazzier feel, giving greater to attention to Bishop's and Bloomfield's instrumental talents.

by Mike DeGagne

Tracks
1. Born in Chicago (Nick Gravenites) – 2:55
2. Shake Your Moneymaker (Elmore James) – 2:27
3. Blues With a Feeling  (Walter Jacobs) – 4:20
4. Thank You Mr. Poobah  (Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, Mark Naftalin) – 4:05
5. I Got My Mojo Working (Muddy Waters) – 3:30
6. Mellow Down Easy  (Willie Dixon) – 2:48
7. Screamin'  (Bloomfield) – 4:30
8. Our Love Is Drifting  (Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop) – 3:25
9. Mystery Train  (Junior Parker, Sam Phillips) – 2:45
10.Last Night  (Jacobs) – 4:15
11.Look Over Yonders Wall (James Clark) – 2:23

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
*Paul Butterfield – Harmonica, Vocals
*Mike Bloomfield – Guitar
*Elvin Bishop – Guitar
*Mark Naftalin – Organ
*Jerome Arnold – Bass
*Sam Lay – Drums, Lead Vocal on "I Got My Mojo Working"

Paul Butterfield's mosaic
1966  East West
1966-68  Strawberry Jam
1967  The Resurrection Of The Pigboy Crabshaw
1968  In My Own Dream
1969  Keep On Moving
1970  Live 
1971  Sometimes I Just Feel Like Smilin'
1973  Paul Butterfield's Better Days
1973  It All Comes Back (Japan Edition)
1976  Put It In Your Ear

Elvin Bishop
1969-70/72  Party Till The Cows Come Home
1974  Elvin Bishop - Let It Flow
1977  Live! Raisin' Hell (2012 remaster)

Mike Bloomfield's tapestry
1967  Electric Flag - The Trip
1968-69  Electric Flag - An American Music Band / A Long Time Comin'  
196?-7?  The Electric Flag - Live
1968  Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield - The Lost Concert Tapes, Filmore East
1969  Mike Bloomfield And Al Kooper - The Live Adventures
1969  Michael Bloomfield with Nick Gravenites & Friends - Live At Bill Graham's Fillmore West
1969  Nick Gravenites - My Labors
1973  Bloomfield, Hammond, Dr.John - Triumvirate (Japan remaster)
1976  KGB - KGB
1976-77  Michael Bloomfield - Live at the Old Waldorf
1977  Prescription For The Blues

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