Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Some recent threads lately got me to remembering the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. I’m sure some of you know about them but for those who don’t, Paul was a great blues harp player. Around the time of the early Stones, Paul formed a band with Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop and some of Howlin’ Wolf’s sidemen.

They had two great albums; the first was a more straight ahead Chicago blues style LP. The follow up LP was called East/West and was produced by the same guy working the Doors. It’s an almost jazzy style of blues with a little bit of sitar style even thrown in. I’ve always loved them and just wanted to share a little bit of them.

First LP
Butterfield First

East/West
East West

Marv Peck

Y'all remember that rubber legged boy

butterfield always a fave - he did some great albums after mike left, too....his two Better Days albums are great. got to see him a couple of times - once in 79 with Danko (and blondie chaplie on gtr) and later in the 80's, a couple of years before his untimely death. maybe the greatest harp player i've ever seen....

with the possible exception of Van Morrison's great version of 'Caravan', IMO Butterfield's performance of 'Mystery Train' (where he duetted with Levon Helm) absolutely upstaged that of everyone else on 'The Last Waltz'.

a vote here for clapton on bland's further up the road - where robbie finishes ec's solo after the former's string broke....but mystery train is a close second, with muddy's riveting vsn of mannish boy showing....

Perhaps the first raucous, unapologetic, unreverent (not irreverent)(made that word up) white blues band. Bloomfield is one of favorite guitar players.

Speaking of The Last Waltz, it was on TV last night. What an intimate, beautiful looking movie! Scorsese had a focus there that SAL lacked.

unreverent you say? i say very disreverent....

This is a great performance from The Last Waltz. If you notice, Butterfield holds the note throughout the song, using a technique where he plays the same note while inhaling/exhaling with no gaps. Fantastic.