Albert’s Session/Stop/Man’s Temptation/His Holy Modal Majesty/Really/It Tales A Lot To Laugh/Season Of The Witch/You Don’t Love Me/Harvey’s Tune
Al Kooper, formerly of Blood Sweat & Tears, gets it together with Mike Bloomfield, formerly of Electric Flag, to record a jam session. However, Bloomfield dropped out, and Kooper hastily recruited Stephen Stills, formerly of Buffalo Springfield, to complete Super Session. (US:12)
"Super Session still sounds fresh and exciting after four decades. What makes the album great is the guitar playing - Mike Bloomfield for the first half, and Stephen Stills for the rest. Al Kooper's keyboards and vocals supply the continuity in sound. Bloomfield's playing is among his best recorded work. He sounds like a jazzy B.B. King with his precise, melodic solos. Overall, this is an excellent album, revealing Bloomfield at a high point in his playing. Stills' fine guitar playing is also a revelation. And Kooper never had a finer hour on record."
"What this record represents is two jam sessions, both of which feature Kooper but only one of each features Bloomfield and Stills - separately, so the title could be a bit misleading. Their point is simply to have a good time by playing whatever they wish - but Bloomfield is more on the hardcore blues side, while Stills is more on the psychedelic side, so the two sides sound nothing like each other."
"There is a diversity of material here, making it somewhat difficult to pigeon-hole. The major theme is blues based improvisations, but there are plenty of jazz influences as well. I feel the horns detract from the rock edge, but the majority of the album is rather laid back."
"There is a lot of blues and soul pop on the first side and much of psychedelic and folk elements on the second side."
"Not many artists could pull off a rather loose 'jam' session and have it hold up as well as this has. It just shows how much class and talent Al Kooper has."
"Fantastic album. It has some minor flaws, but the good far outweighs the bad. Stop, Really and Season Of The Witch are great funk songs, and Albert's Shuffle is an amazing display of the definition of blues. I would highly recommend this album."
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