Blood, Sweat & Tears

This one's a bit of a mess but enjoyable overall, I think. It sure seems like the band wasn't sure what kind of band they wanted to be so the album bounces from genre to genre, never settling into a groove. Is it rock? Is it proto-disco? Is it pre-funk? Is it big band? Is it lounge-lizard soft pop? I really couldn't tell you. There are a few bright spots. Jim Fielder, the bassist does some serious work on this whole album. That fella is a BEAST and single-handedly carries several of these tracks. And, obviously, "Spinning Wheel" is a jam. But it's also the single most coherent track on the album. Which is saying something because that song is kinda wild. Unfortunately, there aren't enough bright spots to tip the scales into a positive score. I have to dock the album a star for the weird instrumental tracks that really don't fit. Had "Variations on a Theme" and "Blues, Pt. 2" been omitted from the album, it would have felt so much more cohesive. But they're there. And they're awful. And so "Blood, Sweat, & Tears" earns a middle-of-the-road 3 stars.

Wow dude. This is what I'm fucking talking ABOUT. Any hint of cheese that this might possess is instantly negated by the unflagging tightness prevalent across every single track. What an absolute ripper.

There's a track that shows they know how to play the piano and jam but the music is very AM sounding psychedelic that didn't age well. This sounds like the soundtrack from an Austin Powers movie.

In 1969, I turned 19 &, still living at home, also held the first backyard party where I invited everyone I knew. I seem to remember that this album was a large part of the soundtrack to that bash. I’s copped a lot of criticism over the years for being too mainstream, particularly when compared to the band’s debut album. I just played them back-to-back & the fact is they are both great but totally different. The debut album was half written by Al Kooper, who was essentially the band’s creator, but also highlighted a bunch of songwriters who had yet to make their mark as performers - Nillson, Randy Newman, Tim Buckley. Then Al left the band & his somewhat weak vocal was replaced by David Clayton-Thomas. You could not get 2 more different voices. But the thing I’m forever grateful for are the song choices the band took on the second lp. They introduced me to such great music - I had never heard of Erik Satie. The opening cover of a Satie variation is a piece of music I’ve heard so often over the years, but this was where I heard it first. I had never heard Billie Holiday, let alone God Bless The Child. I’d never heard Laura Nyro’s And When I Die. I’d never heard the Motown classic, You’ve Made Me So Very Happy. Not to say that there wasn’t great original material here as well - especially Spinning Wheel - covered by so many artists over the years. Anyone whose ever had a child in a school choir in the last 50 years knows that song. You can hear the band’s live set from Woodstock (1969) on youtube. I do love this record.

Lot of fun on this album. I'm surprised the genre only says rock because the content feels very prog to me. Definitely will re-listen to this album later.

Extremely unfocused, but when they decide to have fun, it's a blast. Best track: You've Made Me So Very Happy

Rock organ and horns? Sign me up! What I like is that it sounds natural/folk and experimental/progressive all at the same time.

Well that was an absolute belter. Never heard of this band before and had no idea what we were in for but this was great. Blues, funky, rocky , it's got it all!

I am a big fan of the Jazz/Rock bands of this era and BST is one of the best

Never heard a band like this that fuses jazz and rock so well. Liked almost every single track. Thank you to this list for showing me this album. Rating: 4.8

well this is a new all-time favorite too good to rate

Rollicking bass and organ with jazzy horns, the perfect friend to David Clayton-Thomas’ incredible voice. This is my favourite iteration of BS&T and this one is a perfect album, simple as that.

So I have commented numerous times, that most bands have their good tracks spread out over a number of albums, so it is much rarer when you come across one that is loaded up with goodness… The “Blood Sweat & Tears” album is just one of those, as it seems like their most well-known tracks are on this album… First off, the quality of the recording for 1968 is exceptional, as I have listened a number of albums from the late 60’s – and many of them just don’t have a solid audio quality to them at all – but this one was excellent… As for the songs themselves – not sure what the purpose was for the opening and closing “Variations” tracks, but they kinda felt out of place to be honest… Best songs on the album IMO were the run of – “And When I Die “ – 6-stars out of 7 “God Bless The Child” – 5-stars out of 7 “Spinning Wheel” – 5-stars out of 7 “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” – 5-stars out of 7 “Blues – Part II” is also a very interesting track with multiple sections – 0:00-3:00 – The organ intro section reminded me of early ELP (i.e. maybe something off of Tarkus?) 3:00-4:30 – The obligatory bass and drum solos – ugh… 4:30-8:00 – Was a great sax-led jam, and the best part of the song… 8:00-8:50 – Was a reprise of Cream’s “Sunshine Of Your Love” – not sure why that was on here… 8:50- End – Was the only blues singing on this track – which was fine, but suddenly ends – very odd… Wish this had been more of a 6-8 minute song of that great sax-led instrumental – or perhaps the organ opening, followed by the sax-led jam – but the rest really didn’t fit – but that’s just me… This is better than a 3, but not quite a 4 – but if I could, I’d give it a 3.50 for sure - but I can't, so it's a 3…

Much needed vibrs after all the rock albums

TRes bon, je ne connaissais que de nom et j'ai été époustouflé surtout pour l'année. Je réécoute certainement. un 5

Marvellous

5-

The first time I listened to this album must have caught me on a bad day, because I feel like I've fallen in love this time. I can do without the Variation tracks, but understand their inclusion. But the energy, swing, and soul on all the other ones are fantastic. Favorite track: Blues, Pt. 2

Nice 60s jazz and r&b and folk rock.

Really varied album, lot of jazz elements, good lyrics, bluesy, great fills. A surprisingly great listen. It’s my kind of all over the place.

This is such a weird album. Wikipedia categorizes it as jazz-rock but I feel most songs aren’t the intersection of the two genres but instead different sections that alternate between classic rock and jazzy horn solos. More jazz and rock than jazz-rock. And the album is bookended by variations on a classical piece. In the end, a decently fun listen. 7/10

This was actually really fun, I'm surprised I'd never heard of them before this

Pretty good. Some radio rock staples but overall it's just not something I could find myself reqply getting into.

Swell throughout. The closing Variations of a Theme sounded like The Legend of Zelda, which I enjoyed.

Blood, Sweat & Tears Variations on a Theme sounds pretty schizophrenic, which sort of encapsulates the whole album. It's messy, but not in a totally uncharming or unpleasant way, although it never quite seems to catch fire and fuse all its disparate parts into a fully realised whole. The cover of Smiling Phases starts off as a fun bit of rolling rock/soul, but then it descends into some kind of prog rock jazz club, with a A LOT going on, before picking the first bit back up. Sometimes in Winter feels vaguely out of place, it has the same jazz elements, but feels more like lounge music, and the vocals are quite nondescript in comparison to the normal lead singer, although again its not without a kind of slightly gentle charm. More and More is fun in a funky jazz way, And When I Die’s riff feels quite Sesame Street, especially with its stop start nature, definitely something slightly children’s entertainment about it. I’m not familiar with the original so not sure if it sounds similar? God Bless the Child’s horn arrangement in the intro sounds a bit like the Welsh National Anthem and He Ain’t Heavy, but it’s a nice enough version even if musically a bit heavy handed. Very nice and controlled vocal though. Spinning Wheel is probably the standout. I only know Shirley Bassey’s version, but it's a great bit of blue eyed soul with a nice tight arrangement. You’ve Made Me So Very Happy is a lovely song, and again, this is a nice version, particularly the more upbeat parts. Blues Part II, not sure about this, p robably a bit too much prog jazz and just too much happening in 11 minutes to get any sense of it, although I do like the Sunshine of Your Love bit, and it’s better than some of the Yes type songs we’ve had. Overall there’s a lot going on in pretty much every song, which although fun, does make you wonder what this would be like with a more focused approach. But then on the flipside the jumping around, time changes and jazz excess (Jazzcess?) seem to be done out of a sense of fun and enjoyment rather than po faced seriousness, so it might lose the appeal it does have. A nice little oddity that I enjoyed, but will probably not come back to - 3. 🩸🥵😢 Playlist submission: Spinning Wheel

One is all for jazz flavorings in rock and supports outright fusion, but this is unsubtle in the extreme. The Satie opener and closers only add to one's wonderment that this was a top-seller and Grammy winner. It's fine, if too loud, too effortful and over-emoted. The primary strength – the lead vocals – are also its greatest weakness (or annoyance). Dude had a great voice but way oversells it. "God Bless the Child" is the most interesting cut, if only because it's the one least bulldozed by too brassy brass and least bludgeoned over-the-top vocals.

This one was all over the place, I think I liked 2 songs maybe? 3 tops? The fact that I can't remember sums up my opinion. I'd give it a 1 but thanks to M.I.A. my standard for a one has plummeted.

Ugh! Pop jazz. BS&T and Chicago - hated the sound and the instrumentation then, still sucks pond water today. Not sure there was a good reason for me to listen to this - again. But I did.

This was quite familiar, although not in a particularly good way. Almost as if someone decided to make a record satirizing the hoariest blues, jazz and '60s musical cliches all together at once. Not bad really in a technical sense, but not very enjoyable either. ELP without a sense of humor, in some parts

Broadway jazz rock is not my bag, but I hope it enriches others here. The chunk of “Sunshine of Your Love” indicates how big a deal that riff was to that generation - Hendrix kept throwing it into sets, Skip Spence savaged it for his terrifying outro to “War On Peace”, and I’m pretty sure most guitarists coming after that generation learned that riff first. There’s also the amazing funk cover. Requiscat Jack Bruce.

Blood, sweat, tears & shite. Mostly shite.

Blood, Sweat & Tears is one of the best bands of this productive age of music that combined so many influences. Their debut is also one of their best albums. While you don't really need the Satie variations (so many did them before and after it), the original tracks are amazing. 'Spinning Wheel' is just full of energy and 'You Make Me So Very Happy' too. These songs just want to makes the biggest loner have a big party with his family and friends on a long summer evening.

This album is quite interesting. Sort of a jazzy feel mixed with 70s. Instrumentals include horns, which is a big plus for me. Some of the instrumentals even give me the feels of Christmas instrumentals, but that might just be because of the jazz sound in it 😁 They even got a jazz flute!! 😃 Hey what do you know?! I know some of their songs (Spinning Wheel & You've Made Me So Very Happy) 🥰

Great

Those horns! This is fantastic! Great example of how well Jazz and Rock go together so well! Standouts: And When I Die, Spinning Wheel, You've Made Me So Very Happy, Smiling Phases, God Bless The Child, Blues Part II, 4.5

Groovy and fun. Really loved this listen!

Fantastic

Búin að hlusta þrisvar í gegn í dag og var farin að skæla af fullkomnuninni í lokin. Þetta ættu öll að hlusta á, og virkilega *hlusta á*. Ég meina það.

Blood, Sweat & Tears isn’t a group I know outside of the hits, but I always love their groovy intensity. This album is no exception. I dig the horns and organ, and those deeply urgent vocals. And When I Die, Spinning Wheel and You’ve Made Me So Very Happy deserve their hit status and are brilliant! But I also loved songs like Sometimes In Winter, More and More that showed some other sides to this band. Great stuff!

Thoroughly enjoyed this one even though I was sometimes flummoxed by unexpected changes in tone. (A salsa break in the middle of God Bless the Child? OK...) BS&T has a unique sound and interesting takes on other folks' stuff.

Excellent!! No question that I will listen to this one again.

Another interesting, eclectic album. I quite enjoyed this mix, both the music that was new to me and the wonderful classic hits.

Thanks for reminding me about this great album

Oh, this opens with one of my favorite musical pieces ever. Okay. (I wake up to Satie's Gymnopedies every morning and haven't gotten sick of it.) I've never thought of myself as a jazz rock person, but I can dig this. It's fun and a bit campy, almost dramatic in moments. It reminded me of musical theatre a bit, in moments. And the horns sound great. I'm honestly a little surprised by how much I like this album. Highlights: Smiling Phases, Sometimes in Winter, More and More, And When I Die, Spinning Wheel, You've Made Me So Very Happy

Version of Smiling Faces too long but other than that it is a great album

This one really hit the spot for me. I love this era of music. I love how passionate each song sounds. I love the structure of the album, with the instrumental intro and outro, really giving it a sense of completeness.

Genre: Rock, jazz rock 1968 What a sound! Standouts: And When I Die, Spinning Wheel, You've Made Me So Very Happy, God Bless the Child, Smiling Phases, Blues Part II 4.5/5

Amazing! 4.5

Groovy. The Erik Satie cover is cool

I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this. This was amazing.

Loved it, loved it all. Great blend of rock and jazz elements. The Satie bookends are beautiful, can’t go wrong there. 4.8/5

That first track is just the tip of the iceberg. Great album.

When I Die, Spinning Wheel &’You Made Me So Very Happy are favorites of mine- going way back.

Excellent

Not perfect, but really good. I'd rate it 4.5-stars if I could. Jazzy. I love the horns. Grew up playing trumpet, so makes sense.

Lovely. A little bit of everything. We love the blood, sweat, and tears.

Truly magnificent. This was a mixture of like 5 genres?? Folk, jazz, rock, bluegrass, soul? I LOVED IT

Probably one of the best bands that you've never heard of

HOLY SMOKES. I had extremely low expectations for this album. The band doesn't have many monthly listeners, which has previously meant that the album really isn't worth it. BUT!! WE ARE FOOLS!! This album is SO good. I loved every minute of it.

Hell, I'm so burnt out on indistinguishable 4-piece rock groups from this era that even if this album was just an hour of some guy playing a mildly-impressive kazoo, I'd still be looking up vinyl prices right now.

Finally another album where I know some of the songs! I figured this would be "Spinning Wheel," "And When I Die," "You've Made Me So Very Happy" and the rest filler. Nope, I'm very surprised how solid this was besides the first couple of boring minutes and the last couple. Really jazzy, I loved the drumming especially. The one song where the other guy sang wasn't as good as the rest. The main singer has a Tom Jones quality to his voice, so it might sound a bit lounge singer-like, but I like it. The three songs I knew all made me feel all warm and nostalgic, and that's surely going to bring my rating up. This album made me so very happy.

What did I just listen to? I mean that in the best possible way. Trying to define this by an established genre feels impossible. Classical? Not entirely? Jazz? For some parts, sure. Rock? Definitely in there. Gospel? You could argue. Folk? I think that’s mostly the underlying theme here. I loved this. I loved it for its complexity, its variety, and its soul. I loved it for the tightness of the band and for their clear love of music, for its energy, and for the sheer force of will that is David Clayton-Thomas’s voice. I don’t even know what to say. This is an easy five stars. Just absolutely fantastic. A masterclass in feel and variety, in band tightness and togetherness. I even listened to the live tracks at the end because I had to hear how they were live and they didn’t disappoint. They’re the real deal. I must heard more. Standout Tracks: Smiling Phases, More and More, And When I Die, Spinning Wheel, Blues, pt. 2

Ok, right back round to the subject of Jazz and Prog. Because this album is a GREAT way of showing how to make music that's sophisticated and smart and yet perfectly accessible to normal people like me. The songs are all over the place but they always return to a central idea and make it easy for me to go oh yeah, that's the song. Full of passion and variety and dynamic songwriting and performances. This was a 5 star album. It's dated in the best way. You can hear it came from the 60s, but it still sounds fresh and vibrant and alive. If it came out today it would just be called retro. The vocals were a particular standout. Makes me want to step my own singing game up. WOW.

Have to give this one a 5 just to acknowledge the sheer ambition of it. Jazz, rock, classical...this album has it all. DCT was a stellar vocalist and the band was so talented, horns and rhythm section. Great songs including "Spinning Wheel", "And When I Die" and "You've Made Me So Very Happy" compensate foe the digressing and diversions.

Really good album. Great vocals and playing. Horns in rock is a plus for me. And, if you played Woodstock you're in the eternal pantheon of badass.

10/10 Among the other albums I've already listened to there this one is a pure joy. So many sounds, instruments, expressions. It really impressed me, absolute glory. Blues, Variations and God bless found place in my heart!

Holy cow. I just have to note that sunshine of your love is buried within Blues Pt 2. This is the album I was waiting for. An out of the blue banger. I was listening while working and really enjoyed Smiling Phases and then my ears perked up at And When I Die, existential song wrapped in folksy cowboy ragtime. I loved the genuine lyrics on You’ve Made Me So Very Happy, sent that one to my wife. And then I had to pause because I had some presentations today at work. Now here I am in the evening and started back up on Blues pt 2 and got lost in it, had no idea it was 11 mins, I was so concerned it was part of the deluxe version because it felt so out there but that song is on the regular album so that just catapulted this one for me. Jazz, 60’s pop rock. A mix of mountain music CCR and Dave Brubeck and blues too! God Bless this Child has western harmonica moments along with a giant Tito puente jazz fusion number. Been a while since I’ve done a 5 star but this needs it.

satie

Good mix of jazz and proper 60s r&B. Heavy on the horn section.

Jazz rock. Me ha gustado. Un 4.

The time in the late 60's where the jazz audience, the cool soul frogs, the blues birds and the hippies all came together and listened to a very stoned David Clayton-Thomas. Because there are so many styles on this album and it jumps from compact jumpy songs to long experimental instrumentals, the album does have a somewhat ambivalent character. But there's something for everyone to be found on this album.

really good and cool with the mix of genres

7/10. Kinda jazzy, kinda rocky, kinda enjoyable. Played an obscure Donald Fagen song I hadn't heard on the Spotify mix afterwards, so that's a plus.

Another band I never knew existed until this album popped up on my screen, but I'm happy they do exist. There's some real crap in here, I'll be real with you. But if you ignore the 12 minutes of Blues, Pt. 2 then it's a very solid album. You've Made Me So Very Happy is one of my new favorite songs, the vocals are actually a very interesting gravelly sound that fits with the jazzy orchestra sound behind. The surprise factor always helps with the rating in these cases, and I'm eager to come back to the album at a later time.

verta ja hikeä ja kyyneliä ja pissaa ja paskaa ja räkää ja mutaa ja kuraa ja spermaa ja sylkeä ja liejua ja mömmöä ja sohjoa ja hyytelöä ja mätää ja mömmöä ja visvaa ja smegmaa ja likaa ja tököttiä ja limaa ja tahmaa ja mönjää ja loskaa ja blues pt 2

Klinkt origineel en vernieuwend, goed geproduceerd, totaal onverwacht deze. Niet alle nummers waren even sterk.

I have listened to this twice because I can’t decide if it’s brilliant or awful. It’s so so strange. I am going to give it a 4 because I’ve thought more about this than most things we have listened to.

Pretty insane. This was definitely the most interesting record we’ve had in a while. I wouldn’t necessarily come back to this record but it’s so well done I feel like it deserves a high score. The conception, arrangements and production are top tier and the band and singer all sound great.

Great band, good rhythm section and horn arrangements. I really like the singers voice- reminds me of something but I can’t place it. The music has a lot of cool transitions and was not predictable. Kind of theatrical, and proggy but soulful too. I feel like they succeeded in recording something different.

Lovely atmosphere, sounded great listening to it in the morning. Just the right balance of technicality and emotion

I forgot about this album! I do really enjoy it. But the secret they won’t tell you is that they are a jazz group masquerading as a 60s rock act.

Jammin' all over the place

The compositions - really, the whole composition - has a thrown-together quality that is hard to shake, even with the deft early piano and late fades. It also works, in the way good live jazz recordings can. This isn't that, near as can tell: Plenty of artifice. But it's Canadian artifice in service of something compelling.

Good mix of sounds coming together as one.

Enjoyed

I was familiar with the song "Spinning Wheel" before this album came up on my list. I enjoyed the varied styles that this band devised for the album. Pretty cool.

An incredible group. I’m deeply familiar with two of the singles, the incredible spinning wheel and if I die, which is a song you don’t expect them to do but it’s magnificent. The rest of the album is a strong album. Liked side one in particular. Side two is pretty great though.

varied and interesting, doesn't always hit the mark, but does often enough. 3.7

4.25

Never heard of these guys but oooo this first song is pretty jazzy towards the end. Just realized the first side is all covers besides one song. Jazzy muufuggin covers. Ok I know Spinning Wheel this song fucks. You Make Me So Very Happy is also a jam that I've heard before. WHERE IS BLUES PT. I???? Should be the anthem for Blues games. If jazz and psychedelic music met and had a baby, and meanwhile rock and r&b met and had a baby. By some miracle if those two babies met and fucked, this would be the shit they birthed.

Crazy unique album that I had no idea where it was going to go after the first song. Really like the jazzy symphony beginning that then turned into sounding like Deep Purple. Then finished off with the absolute banger of Blues pt2. The drum solo and jazz mix was awesome and I think there was even a Cream sample thrown in

I was not expecting peaceful, orchestral music from the get go. Definitely settles more into a jaunty big-room style of music that I love. Some parts remind me of Final Fantasy. This was a very unique album. I really love the genres that it covered. I want to give this one a 4.5, but will settle for a 4.

Oh hell to the yes. Can't fault this album for variety, energy, or virtuosity. Starts with that cool Gymnopedie cover, then the rock kicks in. Fun fact: the band toured with Jason Paige as their lead singer; he's best known for singing the theme song to Pokémon.

Well this is an utterly bonkers album, moving from some awesome funk to I don't know what, passing through rock opera just for funsies in the middle. While I don't particularly object to any one of these genres, the album is just way too much of a mish-mash... As I type we've just launched into some Latin merengue which then dissolves into an organ lament. On first listen it is just tiring. The funk is beautiful. The jazzy stuff is beautiful. Blues part 2 is beautiful. There's so much to love here, but it just doesn't seem to hang together properly as an album. I don't know. Do I want to look past the oversaturation of styles? Lordy, it's a tough choice.

Album 103 of 1001 Blood, Sweat & Tears - Blood, Sweat & Tears Rating : 4 / 5 Favorite Track : Spinning Wheel A personal favorite. I really wanted to put a 5 on it, but there are some weaker moments. If I were producing, I would have probably put the songs in a different order so as to grab the listener a little quicker and also cut back on the 12 minute "Blues" track. It could have started and ended a bit stronger. Fun album. Little rock, little jazz. Is it this or is it that? Some good tunes.

I liked this

Realized as I started listening to this that it was one of these bands I had in my head as a thing with no clear or examined idea of what they were actually about. Just a disconnected name. If you'd played me the two well-known songs off this LP blind I couldn't have told you who they were by. Anyway pretty odd, maybe. Little too show-tuney quite often for my tastes, but I generally liked it, and an extra point for unabashed wierdness.

A fun weird one that kept me on my toes.

A firm entry into the Dad Classics genre. Rock and jazz together, you say? I'm there! Literally my only complaint is that Lucretia Macevil isn't on here.

Good album with some great tracks. Did feel they were trying to find their sound