Walkin’ Blues/Get Out Of My Life Woman/I Got A Mind To Give Up Living/All These Blues/Work Song/Mary Mary/Two Trains Running/Never Say No/East West
East-West was a quick follow up from the influential blues rock group The Butterfield Blues Band. It was one of the first albums to include Indian influences. (US:65)
“Released shortly after the debut album, East-West builds on the evolving blues sound of the group. It has been said that this album was one of the first to introduce psychedelic rock. True or not, the psychedelic elements on this album are certainly undeniable. East-West ventures into, as the title suggests, a blues/rock/eastern hybrid musical genre, creating a fantastically original album.”
“East-West is arguably one of the best blues-rock albums ever. The atmosphere, the bluesy spirit of Bloomfield's guitar and powerful voice are unique and brilliant.”
“Mike Bloomfield's guitar work is a joy to hear throughout. The title track, an extended instrumental, is a lot more experimental than the rest of the record, and perhaps not as successful, but still somewhat ahead of its time. The first overt Indian influences in Western pop music had only just begun to appear.”
“It's a superb record of blues, jazz-blues fusion and not a little soul, but has a wonderful 60s feel to it. This record is an absolute classic which explored new ground as well as giving a freshness to some old standards. If you love the blues and don't have it, there is a gap in your collection.”
“In contrast to the relatively routine, rock and roll style blues music, East-West is as inventive as it is fierce, and its sound does not suffer by modern standards, being as dense as is needed at all times. All in all, though, East-West fully lives up to his reputation as a must have album: its power and melody set standards that were copied long after jam rock had gone completely out of fashion.”
“East-West is in the top of the top league. Paul Butterfield had an amazing band, featuring Michael Bloomfield, arguably the best pure blues axe man of the era. What Butterfield did on this album was to take numerous styles and run a Chicago blues thread through them. A classic from some of the great young blues players coming out of Chicago in the early sixties.”
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