Impex Records
Child Is Father to the Man is keyboard player/singer/arranger Al Kooper's finest work, an album on which he moves the folk-blues-rock amalgamation of the Blues Project into even wider pastures, taking in classical and jazz elements (including strings and horns), all without losing the pop essence that makes the hybrid work. This is one of the great albums of the eclectic post-Sgt. Pepper era of the late '60s, a time when you could borrow styles from Greenwich Village contemporary folk to San Francisco acid rock and mix them into what seemed to have the potential to become a new American musical form.
It's Kooper's bluesy songs, such as "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" and "I Can't Quit Her," and his singing that are the primary focus, but the album is an aural delight; listen to the way the bass guitar interacts with the horns on "My Days Are Numbered" or the charming arrangement and Steve Katz's vocal on Tim Buckley's "Morning Glory." Then Kooper sings Harry Nilsson's "Without Her" over a delicate, jazzy backing with flügelhorn/alto saxophone interplay by Randy Brecker and Fred Lipsius. This is the sound of a group of virtuosos enjoying itself in the newly open possibilities of pop music. Maybe it couldn't have lasted; anyway, it didn't.
--William Ruhlmann, All Music.com
Impex's newly remastered Gold CD of this great work was made from the original master tapes (not a digital copy) to bring out all the warmth and magic of the sessions. Included are additional mono demos (which show just how well-rehearsed and spot-on the band was), an essay by Al Kooper, complete lyrics and production credits and new artwork just for this release.
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Rated 266/500!
BS&T began as an Al Kooper project in 1968, as a part of a move toward "bigger" rock sounds. The album introduced the idea of the big band to rock and roll and paved the way for such groups as Chicago. Child, the only album made under Kooper's direction, is important not only because its jazz and art-song aspects expanded the scope of the rock for both audience and musicians, but also because it was one of the most perfectly listenable pop albums of its era.
The Al Kooper-helmed Blood, Sweat and Tears created the 60's big horn, big city rock sound, earning this inventive, soulful record a place on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums list.
Mastered by Kevin Gray from meticulously captured hi resolution digital files transferred from the original master tapes, and including four bonus tracks, this is as close as you'll ever get to Kooper and Co's singular vision.
"This is one of the great albums of the eclectic post-Sgt. Pepper era of the late '60s, a time when you could borrow styles from Greenwich Village contemporary folk to San Francisco acid rock and mix them into what seemed to have the potential to become a new American musical form... This is the sound of a group of virtuosos enjoying itself in the newly open possibilities of pop music." - William Ruhlmann, allmusic.com
"The music on this album is less the pop-rock-jazz melding of the subsequent groups musical leanings and more of the time in which it was recorded. Ergo, its a rock album, but it had one very unique element, especially for the time, that helped it stand out as not just another rock album: a full-fledged horn section... The music shows influences as diverse as straight-ahead rock, Donovan-inspired folk-rock and electrified blues -- all supported and enhanced by that wonderful horn section... The tone and timbre seem pretty close to right (always hard to tell completely when electronic instruments are involved), and the excellent separation of the instruments makes each one pop out of the mix with startling clarity. Dynamics are also excellent for the period... The version to buy, for both the music and sound." - John Crossett, theaudiobeat.com, 4/5 Music, 3.5/5 Sound
Features:
Mastered by Kevin Gray & Robert Pincus from the Original Master Tapes
24K Gold CD
Includes 4 Bonus Tracks of Original Demos