Electric Flag
When guitarist Mike Bloomfield left the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1967, he wanted to form a band that combined blues, rock, soul, psychedelia, and jazz into something new. He knew for sure that he wanted a horn section in the band, which he began forming with a couple of friends, keyboardist Barry Goldberg and singer Nick Gravenites. Although the three were all veterans of the Chicago music scene, the group based itself in the San Francisco area. Bloomfield, Goldberg, and Gravenites were in turn bolstered by a rhythm section of bassist Harvey Brooks (who had played on some of Bob Dylan's mid-'60s records) and drummer Buddy Miles; on top of them came a horn section.
Oddly, before even playing any live concerts, Electric Flag recorded the soundtrack for the 1967 psychedelic exploitation movie The Trip, which afforded them the opportunity to experiment with some of their ideas without much pressure. Their live debut was at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival (although they didn't make it into the documentary film of the event; they do appear in the bonus footage on the DVD version), but their first proper studio album didn't come out until the spring of 1968.
A Long Time Comin' predated Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago's big-band rock sound, mixing it as they did with jazz-rock but also soul-rock-psychedelia that sometimes (but not always) employed prominent horns. There was enough promise on the album to merit further exploration, but it had hardly been released before the Flag began to droop. Goldberg left, followed shortly by Bloomfield, the most important component of the group's vision. A fragmented band recorded an inferior follow-up, but by 1969 Electric Flag had split up. They did reunite (with Bloomfield) in 1974 for a Jerry Wexler-produced album titled The Band Kept Playing that got little notice. The group went their separate ways once again and only played together one more time at a 2007 concert celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
Discographie
9 album(s) • Trié par Meilleures ventes
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An American Music Band
Rock - Paru chez Classic Music Vault le 1 déc. 1968
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Trip (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Bandes originales de films - Paru chez Sidewalk Records le 1 juill. 1967
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Trip (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Selected Tracks)
Bandes originales de films - Paru chez Curb Records le 1 juill. 1967
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Electric Flag Live
Rock - Paru chez Classic Music Vault le 26 juin 2000
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Small Town Blues
Blues - Paru chez Synergie OMP le 1 janv. 1983
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Funk Grooves: Best Of
Rock - Paru chez CLASSIC WORLD ENTERTAINMENT le 26 mars 2002
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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Electric Flag Live (Live)
Blues - Paru chez StarPointe Records le 10 nov. 2016
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Electric Flag Live! (Live)
Rock - Paru chez RockBeat Records le 22 avr. 2017
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo