Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Paul Butterfield was the first white harmonica player to develop a style original and powerful enough to place him in the pantheon of true blues greats. It's impossible to overestimate the importance of the doors Butterfield opened: before he came to prominence, white American musicians treated the blues with cautious respect, afraid of coming off as inauthentic. Not only did Butterfield clear the way for white musicians to build upon blues tradition (instead of merely replicating it), but his storming sound was a major catalyst in bringing electric Chicago blues to white audiences who'd previously considered acoustic Delta blues the only really genuine article.

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band teamed him up with guitarists Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield, with Jerome Arnold on bass, Sam Lay on drums, and Mark Naftalin playing organ. The result was a wonderfully messy and boisterous display of American-styled blues, with intensity and pure passion derived from every bent note. In front of all these instruments is Butterfield's harmonica, beautifully dictating a mood and a genuine feel that is no longer existent, even in today's blues music.

The music that pours from this album is unfiltered...blared, clamored, and let loose, like blues music is supposed to be released. It also paved the way for experimentation that is still being explored today. This came, in the title track, in the form of an extended blues-rock solo (some 13 minutes) -- a real fusion of jazz and blues inspired by the Indian raga. This groundbreaking instrumental was the first of its kind and marks the root from which the acid rock tradition emerged.

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: East - West
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