Notes & Personnel Info |  | Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Paul Butterfield (vocals, harmonica); Elvin Bishop, Mike Bloomfield (guitar); David Sanborn (alto saxophone); Gene Dinwiddie (tenor saxophone); Keith Johnson (trumpet); Mark Naftalin (keyboards); Jerome Arnold, Bugsy Maugh (bass); Billy Davenport, Phillip Wilson (drums). | | Recorded live at Whisky A Go-Go, Hollywood, California; Golden Bear, Huntington Beach, California; New Penelope, Montreal, Canada; JD's, Tempe, Arizona between 1966 and 1968. Includes liner notes by Dick Shurman. | | These are live recordings made between 1966 and '67, captured on portable home recorders by keyboardist Mark Naftalin. The selections are split pretty much evenly between the group's five-piece EAST-WEST incarnation (with guitar hero Mike Bloomfield) and the later big band with horns featured on THE RESURRECTION OF PIGBOY CRABSHAW. | | Some of the songs, such as "Born in Chicago," and "Mystery Train," are album favorites, others, such as the long bluesy title track, and the self-descriptive "Cha Cha in Blues," were unrecorded live staples. The band is in fine form throughout, with lots of surprises in the arrangements , including a brief, almost psychedelic jam in the middle of "One More Heartache"; and the sound is primitive but listenable. If you're unfamiliar with Butterfield and company you'd probably be better off checking out the studio albums first. Longtime fans, however, will find STRAWBERRY JAM a fine addition to the group's discography. |
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