At first glance, you might mistake this for unused material from the same late-1968 concerts that supplied the material for
The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield & Al Kooper. But no, this was recorded about two and a half months later at a different venue, and with a different backup band (
Paul Harris on piano,
Jerry Jemmott on bass, and
John Cresci on drums). There's still some similarity to the repertoire, though, and a good deal of similarity to the music, which is
blues-rock with a late-'60s
improvisational heaviness. And to be honest, it hasn't dated well, the undisputed instrumental talents of
Bloomfield and
Kooper notwithstanding. Why? Well, little original material was offered, the only song falling into that category being
Bloomfield's
"(Please) Tell Me Partner," a routine and (at ten minutes) overlong
blues. The
soul-
pop cover
"Together Till the End of Time" comes off the best, in part because of its relative economy at four and a half minutes in length, and the cover of
Sonny Boy Williamson's
"One Way Out" isn't bad. But the band isn't too tight (particularly the rhythm section), the lead vocals aren't strong, and the interpretations (including a nine-minute
"Season of the Witch," which
Kooper and
Stephen Stills had done on the popular
Bloomfield-
Kooper-
Stills Super Session album) are too long and not terribly imaginative. This disc does preserve a historic moment of sorts, when
Bloomfield introduces then-unknown guest guitarist
Johnny Winter, who takes some of the guitar duties on
"It's My Own Fault." This was the appearance that, according to
Kooper's liner notes, alerted
Columbia to
Winter, after which the label quickly offered him a contract. ~ Richie Unterberger