Yesterday's music (Blood Sweat & Tears) (LP 755 - 759)

Blood Sweat & Tears  New City (Vinyl, CBS/Sony Records, 1975) *** 

Blood Sweat & Tears  More Than Ever (Vinyl, CBS, 1976) ***

Blood Sweat & Tears  In Concert (Vinyl, CBS/Sony Records, 1976) ****

Blood Sweat & Tears  Brand New Day  (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1977) *** 

Blood Sweat & Tears  Nuclear Blues (Vinyl, MCA Records, 1980) ****

Genre: Jazz rock/Jazz fusion 

Places I remember: Mixture of Real Groovy Records, Slow Boat Records, Vinyl Countdown.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: I'll Love You More Than You'll Ever Know (In Concert)

Gear costume:  Unit Seven (In Concert); Agitato (Nuclear Blues)

Active compensatory factors: The strap line on the cover of New City tells you that BS&T now features David Clayton-Thomas. Yes - he was back in the group and features on each of these albums.

New City is a funky/ disco oriented BS&T - which may or may not be your thing. It's not really mine. I do like electric piano though and this album has quite a lot of keyboards, as well as the BS&T horn ensemble.

Their version of McCartney's Got To Get You Into My Life is on this one.

The new pop/RnB direction solidified on More Than Ever with Bob James producing/ arranging and playing on the album along with a stellar group of jazz/rock musicians like Richard Tee, Eric Gale, Hugh McCracken, Eric Weissberg, Jon Faddis, and Patti Austen on some vocals (I Love You More Than Ever is their attempt at a power ballad - doesn't quite come off but at least they gave it a college try). 

I like it, but then I like Bob James. So this one is modern jazz cool fused with a funky beat. David Clayton-Thomas' vocals tie the sound to the BS&T past which works for me as well. A one off!

The live BS&T experience is a lottery - as I've indicated with a 2 star rating for their 1977 release - Live in New York 1977. In Concert has songs taken from a variety of sources during 1976, but it manages to maintain quality and intensity pretty well over four sides. It opens with a dynamic Spinning Wheel and the version of I Love You...from their debut album just builds into a beast of a blues song.

Although that intensity is at times disrupted by various solos (Dave Bargeron's tuba solo does nothing for me), they stop just short of self-indulgencies. Just.

Brand New Day is an okay album - I can't remember them doing a completely terrible album - apart from that Live in New York one I linked to above. I don't recall them ever using strings before as they do on Don't Explain - there's a reason for that guys!

By Nuclear Blues I was buying their albums to complete the set. The omens weren't good - no original members and that cover. But...against the odds this turns into the most enjoyable album of the reunited Clayton-Thomas years.

Helps that it's brilliantly produced and played throughout. The almost side long Spanish Wine suite really flies!

Where do they all belong? All things come to an end. What I like about collecting BS&T is that I can trace their evolution from their debut album to their last - which doesn't feature any original members!