Paul Butterfield Blues Band " EAST WEST " Live Part 1

[syncoph]

you know, Bloomfield was really different from Hendrix. If you listen you'll understand that there are a lot of differences in their MINDS! Bloomfield was mostly connected with chicago blues style, and never used a lot of effects, and, moreover, Bloomfield used to play solos during songs, the real Hendrix revolution was about the rhythm style, completely different from any other at that time, much more than the solos style

[Dorkmister]

There is only so much Butter, Peace and Love!!

[aubreyaardvark]

mike bloomfield, yes...and by the photo, elvin bishop as well

[MsKathy567]

i like this video.this is the best line up ever in a blues rock band

[historyguyish]

@MsKathy567

[drumier]

originalfunkyfry also jimi hendrix is another issue all by itself him playing in r&b bands then hanging in greenwich villiage , going to england and creating are you experienced / axis bold as love.

[drumier]

contd, someone mentioned surf music which makes me think of the instrumental" miserlou" that concept in minor scales could be stretched out and out and out.

john coltrane wrote giant steps and maxed out everybody's head playing through those changes. then he turned around and simplified his concept playing 45 minutes or better on no changes, something was in the air back then people,america the beautiful!

[drumier]

originalfunkyfry

i hear ya , the greatful deads viola lee blues which they were working up in 65-66 might be a tribute to this concept. then their next record anthem of the sun explodes with creativity in all directions.

great innovations in music are usually a fusion of what has gone before, the middle eight in the beatles i want to hold your hand is the same as the middle eight in roy orbison's pretty woman,uncanny!

[DazedConfused1969]

@drumier I always thought Viola Lee Blues was a eric clapton influence lol

[khagyunut]

I was 15 when the East-West album came out in 1966 . It stunned me. I thought then and believe now that THIS was the greatest and most American rock music of the Sixties. East-West was ahead of its name, but beyond that, it's fabulous music with a great groove and serious intelligence behind it. With its hard-edge, it also anticipated the 1968 sad and quickly tragaic crash of the rainbow-flowers-peace hippie dream.

[tonychef1]

what happened to these guys. why aren't they still around, for god's sake?

[52appaZ]

@tonychef1 ?!?drugs

[doneddaddy]

When I moved to Texas in 1975 I brought along some PBBB records. Many were unfamilier with this group. One guy asked me "What is this.... some kind of garage band or something"? I said " Yes, can't you smell the oil, the grease, and the grime while these guys are playing?" It doesn't get any better than this! I just wish the entire song was on this live track.

[FrequentlyFried]

The Jefferson Airplane's Marty Balin talked about how Paul Butterfield gave him a joint of amazing weed then went up to his hotel room, smoked it and sat down and wrote Comin' Back To Me from Surrealistic Pillow.. then hurried across the street to record it lol. He also said when they got a chance to play in the Chicago "blues scene" it was probably from the help of Paul and Mike Bloomfield because they had played with them in New York.

[woodsy1405]

Mighty fine jammin



[raymind1313]

Cream opened up for them(minus Michael) @ the Fillmore in 67 and then opened up Micheal's new band Electric Flag the next weekend. Butterfield was god in San Francisco then, rightfully so. Whenever I'm able to turn someone on to them the real great ears go bonkers and thank me profusely. And this version of East-West I got to get, having never seeing the Butterfield band with Michael, who is still one of my all-time favorite guitarist THANK YOU SO MUCH!.

[1953gking]

In 1966 it was called The Fillmore Auditorium in the Fillmore District of San Francisco. Later the Fillmore East opened in NYC. After that, the old Fillmore in SF closed and reopened at another location (Market St & Van Ness Ave) as the Fillmore West.

[wildemouse]

@1953gking right on!

[0362868]

Coltrane started this Indian music craze..

[pietroanania]

best guitar solo never heard on this piece!

[silversurfer2002]

agreed, great period and one of the best surf and road sounds ever...

[splaticon5]

Love Bloomfields guitar sound in this one. Anyone knows what guitar he used in this particular recording? Most likely it's his gold top, but it could also be a tele on the neck pickup into a loud fender (or two). Whatever it is, I hear that classic single coil neck pickup sound from 1:36. I've managed to get a similar sound using the neck pickup on a tele, into a silverface princeton reverb on 10.

Also, that sound around 0:58. How does he do that? Reminds me of the opening chords of "L.A Woman".

[TheoBurke]

this track shows why Paul Butterfield is one of the four or five greatest blues harmonica players in history.

[MrManchel]

it wasn't the fillmore west in 66', or what!!!

[youaretheblues]

Midnight bluesman to psychedelic cowboy.

[09jackstraw]

Amazing stuff!! Supposedly composed/conceived on LSD. This is also a HUGE influence on Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd. The influence of Indian music--the ragas--can certainly be heard here as well. It just doesn't get any better than this!

[oldbump]

Obviously Bloomfield's guitar work is amazing but listen to the bass line. Simple, yet it drives the piece.

[Motleychick91]

I'm digging it and yes i agree big influence for future rockstars to come..one man influenced by Paul Butterfield Blues Band was Mick Mars(guitarist for Motley Crue).

[devabarry]

Sorry to disagree, but this version falls far short in brilliance to the album version. The rhythm section and keys are spot on, but not so much the guitar and harp solos. Just sayin'.

[SupernalOne]

Note: songs starts at 1:23 - skip ahead to it

[blaudrogist]

During this part, Bishop shows how well he can play. The rythmn section of Bill Davenport and Jerome Arnold underscore the whole thing with real skill.

[asthmaticwheeze]

Incredible version - such clear sound for then! Wow..

Oh I know about wearing out this album. Such joys..

[asthmaticwheeze]

Whew - outstanding!

Am learning guitar theory as an old man and want to know what he did that made his guitar work so sweet (e.g. "I Got A Mind To GIve Up LIving").

What a genius! Loved how he and Elvin played as an organism - as Dickey Betts/Duane Allman, Peter Green-the under-rated Danny Kirwin). Saw Elvin alone in 1980 and this 2nd guitar was amazing - surprisingly.

Peace.

[TheQuicksilverdog]

This was so far ahead of it's time & no one has caught up to it yet.

[ratherfam]

..when musicians could actually rock it and play...

[CadillacL]

VERY under-rated influence on the psychedelic scene.

[12347771]

Elvin's guitar is sizzling here. Such a contrast with Bloomfield's. The East West lp really showed them off as individual voices..........

[pete1wray]

In '68, my high school english teacher brought in a film (16 mm) that was sort of an impressionistic, jumpcut piece that had East West as the soundtrack. The film was called East West. Was living near Antioch College, Yellow Springs Ohio at the time and seem to recall that it might have been produced there. Anyone ever heard of this?

[kingpleasure]

@pete1wray

That sounds familiar to me as a film made by a friend of mine at the University of Wisconsin. Do you remember any of the images in it? Was there a long shot of soap bubbles floating against the sky pavement and the sky with all the rainbow colors shimmering in the light and a short section of some stoned looking people spinning on one of those kids' playground merry-go-rounds? If so I can tell you more about it.

[pete1wray]

@kingpleasure Man, it's hard to remember specific images from that long ago. I can only recall a lot of jump-cut images timed to major and minor shifts in the tempo of E-W. I suspect it all might look like corny psychedia now. There was an arts and political documentary film distribution company out of Yellow Springs, OH called something like Newsreel (or Newsreal) that might have supplied it.

[kingpleasure]

@pete1wray Yeah. I myself don't remember much other than those couple of images, probably because I was one of the people in the film and saw it a bunch of times. It seems to have been shown in festivals around the country because a friend in NYC told me they saw me in this film. But I remember it being more atmospheric than quick jerky cuts....the soap bubbles scene at least....it was a long slow one although still psychedelic in intent and effect. The guy who made it was Ira Schneider.

[LateNotes]

Bloomfield inventing a new way to rock back in the day. thanks for posting.

[flaggfly]

Lesson one in change in the sixties....

[bluesatbirth]

catwhisper--See drugs tell the tale --you can't even spell ! You say no excuses--and are you implying I have no balls ? More balls and BRAINS then you'll ever have. We lost Butterfield & Bloomfield because of drugs --you are an ASS. I knew both of them--as well as the rest of the band. It's so sad when someone has no value for their own life. We are here on this earth for such a short time ! Have the balls to say NO--just walk away. Music is an EMOTION that should come from within !

[zoetmb]

I agree that a lot of the 60s generation blew it because of drug and alcohol abuse. I don' t know what was driving Butterfield, but Bloomfield was probably driven mad by his father - today we'd call it child abuse.  He obviously influenced many, but if anyone has really picked up the his mantle, it's Jimmy Vivino. IMO, the 1st three Butter albums: the BBB, East-West, and the Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw are among the best rock/blues albums ever recorded and still sound incredible today.

[Jenscool]

Talked with the family, still they are getting shafted by Warners!!! What a crook of shit, they could have posted this! TX again T!

[johnjstage]

Wow this is great.... did not know it was recorded LIVE..... can you point me to the disc or where you got this!!!

Thanks

John

[bigguy4570]

I have this on cd what a great song

[6749er]

One of the All-Timers but Bill Graham didn't move to what he named The Fillmore West till 1968. So, ihis would be at the original Fillmore Aud, in 1966. Two different places, .Thanks for posting. Historical classic and great.They blew into town and blew everybody away.

[eslmc]

Great photo. Didn't recognize Elvin at first. So young.

So glad to have lived thru these times.

[0362868]

I heard this album when it came out and it changed my life

[joeshittheragman1]

I believe it was THE Filmore, not Filmore west if my faded brain serves me right. whew.

[GlenDoll]

@joeshittheragman1 I the THE Filmore was in in S.F.  Filmore East was the 2nd coming. (I spent time in S.F. back in those days)

[hoz49]

A seminal work and a big influence on my playing. East West still holds up today.

[Baddoggone]

One of the greatest instrumentals of all time & my favorite. It's a shame you can't get the whole song without dividing it in two.

[maak657]

I was just at the museum of science and industry last week, where the band took the picture for this album.we can't enter from that spot anymore.but i did look outside the door and couldn't help to think about the band.RIP,Paul,And Mike

[lazur1]

I hope everyone continued on to Part 2, because Mike's solo hasn't even started on part 1.

[lazur1]

Why does this bootleg sound so much better than the version ,(original PBBB pianist) , Mark Naftalin sells?

[ZINEDINE05]

I know what you mean....I think he mentions in the liner notes that they were personal recordings from a simple tape recorder. Obviously not a soundboard recording.

[pacnwcomre]

@lazur1 I cannot tel you how many times we tripped and partied at Berkeley listening to this song.......Bloomfield was amaing but Butterfield's harmonica was timelessssssss....

[bluesatbirth]

@pacnwcomre --Here's a thought for you---I shared tunes, tales, pretzels & beers with these guys every time they came east to F---2 of the greatest ARE GONE---WHY ? You should get " HIGH " on the music--not drugs. Look how many have left us because of------life is too short to just have no care for your own. GET HIGH ON MUSIC--NOT DRUGS !

[pacnwcomre]

@bluesatbirth well, you have to realize that this was over 40 years ago. I graduated from Berkeley in 1972 and drugs were everywhere, mostly pot nd psychedelics. The Echo Boomer and X generation people got hung up on meth which is destructive..coacain was not much better for us then but most of those I knew dabbled in coke and did not get hooked too much to it because it was expensive and most college people I knew dsi not have the money.

[bluesatbirth]

@pacnwcomre -Sorry--no excuse. I've been in--and still in this business for 54 yrs. Drugs have been all around me--I just walked away. I was once asked by someone in the audience who commented about my playing what I was high on--I just looked him in the eye and said--MY MUSIC--he asked me again--I replied with the same answer--he just stood there in disbelief. Music should come from with in--" EMOTION "---

[TheCatwhisper]

@bluesatbirth no exuses,no balls

[tebanas1]

@bluesatbirth I cannot agree with you more. In my early days I too believed that most of the musicians of the day were heavy drug users. And that in order to produce such beautiful music, they just had to be. But that was naive of me. I now believe that in order to keep this sort of music going with such integrity there is no way a person could be continuously high on something or other. It sounded good back then but not very realistic. I think we were just trying to justify our own use.

[airsoft25g]

look up the song touch me

[drumier]

what year 66 ?

this stuff was the meat of the psych jam that the frisco bands latch onto,very influential.

[ZINEDINE05]

Well said....their influence on the frisco music scene was huge.They don't get the credit they deserve.

[nerblebun]

@ZINEDINE05 This could be the same show I went to in 66. If it is....an unknown band at the time played just before PBBB....... Santana. The other band playing that night were...Hello People.... a bunch of singing mimes. lol

[AwaTu]

@ZINEDINE05 True enough —But, just to give you a heads-up —If you're ever visiting here, people bristle when folks refer to San Francisco, as "Frisco" —Just call it "The City" and you'll blend right in :-o)

[originalfunkyfry]

@drumier How much do you want to bet the Grateful Dead and all those cats were at this show taking lessons? Not to diss them, because it's beautiful that they took their own music to the next level in the years after the emergence of Bloomfield and Hendrix and those guys, and the attention they paid to the SF scene was well-deserved and well reciprocated.

[wesgreen11]

is there any video of this band during this period other than the dylan at newport 65' ?

[MaabudZ]

Back in the days of vinyl I completely wore out my first copy of the first Butterfield album and bought a second. I bought the 2 CD set of the first 2 albums and still play them frequently

I had the good fortune to see them numerous times in the old Filmore sitting on the floor in front.

Jerry Garcia was a huge Bloomfield fan. He used to rave about him in the music store where he worked in Menlo Park, CA.

[MaabudZ]

I suspect this was not the "Fillmore West" but the original Fillmore on the corner of Geary and Fillmore. The "Fillmore West"was the conversion of the old Carousel ballroom and by the time that opened this configuration of the Butterfield band no longer existed.

[leadzeppbelly]

Yeah i've got that same set. Those first two Paul Butterfield albums with Bloomfield are unbelivable

[strandwolf]

@MaabudZ Guitars Unlimited! What a place...

[MaabudZ]

@strandwolf Wow, someone who remembers "Guitars Unlimited!" I spent a lot of time there in '64-'66. Many good memories of those days. I made the mistake of selling an old Martin there which would be worth thousands now. I bought a Gibson there which can be seen being played by Chris Franck of the Red Clay Ramblers now.

[jfp718]

oh man, this song hits the me right in the aeorta. Miss Mike terribly when i hear his musical genius and talent. it was too short a time as usual. I wish he coulda gotten the help he needed in time. My heart goes out to those who new him well. Peace to all the gentle giants of the blues. May Michael rest in peace.

[sfpw]

Go easy with the dipshit and bitches comments! Come on people, if you are on this site you realize how special the PBBB was and still is. Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield were undoubtedly 2 of the GREATEST bluesmen of their time and for ALL TIME. I firmly believe that 1967-1973 were the greatest years of Rock and Roll, there is not another 8 year period that I know of with the likes of Quicksilver Mesnger, Mountain, Uriah Heep, Traffic, early Stevie Miller...WOW!!!

[waylo4526]

HELLLLLLLLL YEAH!!!! I AGREE100%

[Lucasisdemon]

True that man. I apologize. Sorry folks! haha

[tomcatha]

i think that was because say a decade later those people would make metal instead.

[BLUESMANRONCHICAGO]

@sfpw paul was my idol growing up, i started playing "harp" in 67, still playing and always pay tribute to him by playing "born in Chicago" and Gotta mind to give up living, i worked out cool harmonica solo for the latter, paul didn'r play harp on that track for East West, which is still a classic, along with next album "resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw" aka Elvin Bishop

[durgaaa]

@sfpw OOOOH, yeahhhhh, you are right on with that one! Thee VERY best music of all time, really...all of the 20th Century for sure ! ! ! ! !



[oatstao]

@sfpw Why do you only cite white, mostly jewish african american inspired bands as the Greatest? ?

Did no one buy you records with someone with darker skin on the cover?

Hey big daddy with the grumpy commentary? You have to be careful you spew dipshit all over! And 67-73 were great years undoubtably, but what about '53-57!!

That's where these kids got their licks from, but just extending ti forth with more powerful amps..

Jeesh.

[diatroptoff94]

@sfpw please dont forget peter green, i feel nothing really compares to him

[00RockyAngel00]

@sfpw  Very true!

[MrCKinsley]

And what was The Band doing in 1966 - playing with Dylan. Then Big Pink in 1968.

[Lucasisdemon]

Is there a way I can get this recording?

[DeuceWayne420]

yeah buy the east west album dumbass

[LymonAP]

Umm.....no. you're talking about the studio version, dipshit.

Im talking about THIS specific recording.

[DeuceWayne420]

i'll dip your shit, bitch

[Lucasisdemon]

Wow. Good one.

[DeuceWayne420]

PWND.

[ZINEDINE05]

This is from a bootleg called "droppin in with PBBB".I found it on ebay a few years ago.

[noahf67]

One of the most undisputed roof-blowers

in music history.

[Lucasisdemon]

This is one of my all time favorite songs. thanks for posting this. Its cool to hear a live recording of it.

[ZINEDINE05]

Youre welcome !

[yashodara888]

Bloomfield in this song and Jerry Garcia in Dark Star : the best !!

[soltisimba]

Shawn P: Of course you're right, but don't misunderstand the the fact that the music then and into the 70's was more "real" if I might use that term. The period of about 1965-69 was extremely important in a historical sense if you know the history of rock. Having your sarcastic comment here on this YouTube audio kind of cheapens the fact the "East-West" is one of the most important pieces of music ever recorded or played live, but I won't let it bother me. Can you get into East-West?

[posthumanhero]

blues project could've given them a run for the money if they were produced better.......oh , maybe not

[noahf67]

The Project was actually a bit different in their repotoire, not quite as purist in nature, more a fusion of folk, rock and blues. This might have been what allowed the two to play on the same bill at times.

[posthumanhero]

so it's said....i'd soon as say both emraced purist and and non purist elements to about the same degree....this sounds a bit wild than anything i could readily think of by blues project, come to think about it.

[noahf67]

Both had their departures. The Blues Project had "Flute Thing".

[posthumanhero]

"Flute Thing" is an excellent piece. I prefer both groups at their most 'impure'. Blues can be drag. Forinstance, "Two Trains" done by either group came off as more than a bit pretentious.....especially blues Projects' version. The Stones were already writing things like "Paint it black' by 1966.....you'd think Americian bands would've taken their cues from that anbd just revamped their format.

[noahf67]

Among the best Blues Project "live" offerings I've encountered were those

on the "Town Hall" album, like that

"Wake Me Shake Me" finale.

[posthumanhero]

get the box set.......it's got the town hall plus a bunch of other live recordings, 45's, the projections album and unreleased 45s and other dormant songs........you'd really .like that.

[noahf67]

Got it. Yes, it's great. It led me to track down Danny's "Lazarus" album from the 70's. Quite good.

[posthumanhero]

i got the live double from 1970 which is actually very good too.

[ShawnPallier]

Yes, lord knows, the 60's didn't have any acts that were all poppy and stylish. The Archies, The Monkees, all the bands like that just never existed. Tragic, just tragic what music has become.

[ZINEDINE05]

Youre very welcome !

[ZINEDINE05]

Youre very welcome !

[CadillacL]

I was SO born in the wrong era (1971) You just don't hear music this intense anymore. Very RAW! Radio is way too formated & ALL the group sound alike. Jazz, Blues, that's where its at. This is some of THE best around.

[ZINEDINE05]

I know how you feel Cadillac.

[DragoneFilms]

So Intense at 4:20. Gives me the chills.

[ZINEDINE05]

This performance is 43 yrs old and still blows our minds !

[MarioMoreno]

420? xD

[FunnyHaHaFunnyHaHa]

this track started a revolution

[Baddoggone]

This is the greatest instrumental of all time. Great picture.

[Rich915]

WOW...Thx for the uploads Zinedine! Amazing band that laid the groundwork for modern blues. Grew-up in my teens listening to East/West. Hard to believe that music today can't even scratch the surface of what was laid down 40 years ago.

[ZINEDINE05]

youre very welcome!

[DS10Dominator]

so good

[waylo4526]

what thehell happened to awesome music like this !? eddie vanhalen don't have shit on THESE GUYS BLOOMFIELD WAS AMAZING THIS SONG WAS JAWDROPPING!!

[Jenscool]

That's electric being taken a step ahead, RAW! from THE days!

[hippyd50]

To steel a phrase "videos killed the music" Most of the musicians i remember did not look like britney spears etc...

[sam19851]

Thank you T.

Down right groovy!

[heelnail]

Thanks again! 1966.  Just amazing!! His guitar tone just cuts right through the rest of the band. Sounds great!!!!!!!

[Jenscool]

All-rite!