Rare & Well Done: The Greatest & Most Obscure Recordings 1964-2001

Performer: Al Kooper
Artist: The Blues Project; Blood, Sweat & Tears; Mike Bloomfield; Stephen Stills
Engineer: Clarke Schleicher; Don Puluse; Fred Catero; Richard McIntosh; Al Kooper; Kooster McAllister; Neil Wilburn; Pete Weiss; Roy Segal; Steve Rosenthal; Sy Mitchell; Bill Szymcyzk
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: All tracks on Disc 1 are previously unreleased except "New York's My Home (Razz-A-Ma-Tazz) (aka The Street Song)". Personnel includes: Al Kooper (vocals, guitar, piano, Clavinet, melloton, organ, synthesizer, bass); Mike Bloomfield, Shuggie Otis, Stephen Stills, Caleb Quaye, Jimmy Vivino, Jerry Kennedy, Wayne Moss, Charlie Daniels, Stu Scharff, Ralph Casale, Mick Taylor (guitar); Fred Lipsius, Randy Brecker, Lew Soloff, Tom Malone (horns); Barry Goldberg (electric piano); Paul GRiffin (keyborads); Harvey Brooks, Stu Woods, Herbie Flowers, Will Lee, Charlie McCoy, John Miller, Neil Stubenhaus, Bobby West (bass); Eddie Hoh, Wells Kelly, Roger Pope, Anton Fig, Kenneth Buttrey, Rick Marotta, Al Rogers, Vince Colaiuta, Paul Humphries (drums); The Blossoms, Rita Coolidge (background vocals); The Blues Project; Blood, Sweat & Tears. Producers include: Tom Wilson, John Simon, Al Kooper, Charles Calello. Compilation producer: Al Kooper. Recorded between 1964 and 2001. Includes liner notes by Jaan Uhlelszki and song annotations by Al Kooper. Digitally remastered by Allan Tucker (Fotthill Digital, New York, New York). Personnel: Al Kooper (vocals, guitar, flute, piano, celesta, organ, Mellotron, keyboards, synthesizer, vibraphone); Clydie King, Albertine Robinson, Donna Weiss, Dorothy Morrison, Fred Bliffert, Sherryl Marshall, Katherine Russell, Maretha Stewart, Gene Morford, Michael Gately, John Cowan, Liza Strike, Lou Christie, Madeline Bell, Melba Moore, Oren Waters, Rita Coolidge, Robert John, The Blossoms, Bill Lloyd, Tom Bahler, Valerie Simpson, Venetta Fields, Barry St. John, Hilda Harris, Etta Britt, Claudia Lennear, Eileen Gilbert (vocals); Jimmy Vivino (guitar, organ); Danny Kalb, Tom Cosgrove, Ralph Casale, Jerry Kennedy, Michael Bloomfield, Shuggie Otis, Stephen Stills, Steve Katz, Wayne Moss, Caleb Quaye, Charlie Daniels (guitar); Ed King (slide guitar); Jerry Douglas (lap steel guitar); John Simon (strings); Andy Kulberg (flute); Jellyroll S. Kirk Johnson (harmonica); Joe Farrell (tenor saxophone, horns); Ernie Royal, Jeff Stout, Bernie Glow (trumpet); Jerry Weiss, Dick Halligan, Fred Lipsius, Ray DeSio, Jimmy Knepper, Marvin Stamm, Randy Brecker, Seldon Powell, Sol Schlinger, Tony Studd (horns); Barry Goldberg (piano); Paul Griffin (keyboards); Walter E. Sear (synthesizer, Theremin); Paul Humphries, Buddy Salzman, Roy Blumenfeld, Al Rogers, Tubby Zeigler, Fast Eddie Hoh, Kenneth A. Buttrey, Anton Fig, Rick Marotta, Roger Pope, Roy Markowitz, Wells Kelly, Belton Evans, Bobby Colomby, John Gardner, Vinnie Colaiuta (drums). Audio Remixers: Al Kooper; Mick Taylor ; Bill Szymczyk. Liner Note Author: Jaan Uhelszki. Recording information: Columbia Studios, Los Angeles, CA (1964-2001); Homesick Studios, Somerville, MA (1964-2001); Redwing Studios, Los Angeles, CA (1964-2001); Regent Sound Studios (1964-2001); Sound Emporium, Nashville, TN (1964-2001); Subterranean Homesick Studios, Green Hills, TN (1964-2001); The Bottom Line, New York, NY (1964-2001); The Cellar Door, Washington DC (1964-2001); The Enterprise, North Hollywood, CA (1964-2001); The Slammer, North Hollywood, CA (1964-2001); TK Studios, Hialeah, FL (1964-2001); Trident Studios, London, England (1964-2001). Editor: Al Kooper. Photographers: Gary Nichamin; Jim Scherer; Sam Emerson; Alice Ochs; John Byrne Cooke. Arrangers: Joe Scott ; Fred Lipsius; John Simon ; Al Kooper; Artie Butler; Charles Calello. Using an uncommon format, this two-CD set is divided into a rarities disc and a kind of best-of disc. It features primarily solo material, but also throws in some cuts from his group projects with Blood, Sweat, & Tears, the Blues Project, and '60s collaborations/jam sessions with Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. As either a rarities compilation or a best-of collection, this anthology has its shortcomings. Those who want the rare stuff may already have much of the best-of disc; the interest of those who want the best-of section might not extend to rarities; and either way, one will have to pay for two discs, which might be more material than desired. The rare component is quite erratic, and his material from after the early '70s on that disc is far inferior to the tracks from 1964-1972. Some goodies are unearthed, like his 1964 "Somethin' Goin' On" gospel/blues demo, his quirky 1965 solo single "New York's My Home (Razz-A-Ma-Tazz)" (aka "The Street Song"), a 1971 live version of "Baby Please Don't Go," and a 1970 cover of Bob Dylan's "Went to See the Gypsy," which Kooper had in mind as an arrangement for Dylan's own version. Yet these are outweighed by tracks of more later vintage that offset his intact knack for gospel/pop/blues/jazz-rock songwriting with inappropriately heartless modern keyboards, drums, and production. The well-done section avoids that problem by taking all but three of its selections from the 1966-1971 era, including such highlights as the Blues Project's "Flute Thing," Blood, Sweat, & Tears' "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know," and the title cut of his I Stand Alone album. It also has some tracks that even those fairly familiar with Kooper might have overlooked, like 1969's "Bury My Body" (with Shuggie Otis on guitar). ~ Jimmy James

Entertainment Weekly (9/21/01, p.85) - "...Kooper made grandiose pop and white soul that occasionally capsized from its own ambitions...when it works few were better at pulling together such disparate strains..." - Rating: B

Had Al Kooper only ever played the universally recognizable organ part in Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone," his place in rock history would be assured. But Kooper's credits as a session player (on guitar and organ), producer, and songwriter are much more extensive. In addition to touring with Dylan in 1965, he also played with Mike Bloomfield, the Rolling Stones, B.B. King, Cream, and the Who, and formed the bands The Blues Project and Blood, Sweat, & Tears. As a producer for Columbia Records Kooper signed the Zombies, and later Lynyrd Skynyrd, whose first three records he also produced. Kooper has appeared on hundreds of albums, and his original music, such as Blood, Sweat, & Tears' debut, THE CHILD IS FATHER TO THE MAN, and SUPER SESSION (featuring Stephen Stills) are considered classics by rock intelligentsia.

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