Blood, Sweat & Tears - Bloodlines

 

Blood, Sweat & Tears — Bloodlines

Analogue Productions box set tells the story behind the groundbreaking horn band!

Four album 45 RPM set includes

Child Is Father To The Man
Blood, Sweat & Tears Self-Titled
Blood, Sweat & Tears 3
Blood, Sweat & Tears 4

In-depth essay by lead singer David Clayton-Thomas highlights booklet with rare photos

LPs mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original master tapes

Quality Record Pressings plating by Gary Salstrom, pressed on 200-gram audiophile vinyl

Housed in a custom designed lift-off lid box

"There you have it! The first four BS&T records cut by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the master tapes and pressed on 200g vinyl at QRP. I thought a 1A pressing of the first album couldn't be bettered but that was wrong. This one does. ... I did compare the second album here to the double 45 from ORG cut by Bernie Grundman from a copy of the master and it's somewhat warmer and softer, particularly in the mid-bass but I prefered this newest version. The other two (albums) are equally good compared to nothing because I don't have originals. ... That said, this boxed set gives you the first four albums packaged better than ever with gatefold jackets containing great photographs and as best as I can tell, also sounding better than ever as best as I can tell. Ryan K. Smith did a great job here for sure." Music = 8/11; Sound = 10/11 - Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. Read the whole review here.

David Clayton-Thomas landed in New York City in 1966, drawn from his native Canada to appear on the NBC network TV show "Hullabaloo" as a guest of fellow Canadian Paul Anka. Anka wanted a Canadian band to feature on the show and Clayton-Thomas fronted a jazz/rock band called The Bossmen — "we had the number one record in Canada at the time."

Clayton-Thomas returned to Toronto after the show but the creative scene in the Big Apple beckoned. He got a NYC gig playing guitar for John Lee Hooker — and in the funky clubs of Greenwich Village he met several founding members of what was to become a chart-dominating jazz fusion band with an utterly distinctive sound — Blood, Sweat & Tears.

For a brief period at the end of the 1960s and the start of the 1970s, Blood, Sweat & Tears, which fused a rock 'n' roll rhythm section to a horn section, stormed the pop charts. Clayton-Thomas joined this stellar group of musicians in 1969, bringing a handful of new songs as they delivered the monumental Grammy Album of the Year Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Now hear the music and read the complete story about how this legendary band succeeded, from the ultimate BS&T insider — David Clayton-Thomas himself! Bloodlines, from Analogue Productions captures the BS&T sound as never before, on four remastered LPs — Child Is Father To The Man, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 and Blood, Sweat & Tears 4. Each album was remastered from the original master tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound in New York, and each was plated and pressed on deluxe 200-gram heavyweight vinyl at our own Quality Record Pressings, maker of the world's finest-sounding LPs. The jackets - from Stoughton Printing - are top-of-the-line, old-style tip-on showcasing immaculately reproduced artwork. The whole set comes in a custom-designed deluxe slipcase.

For this special box set, David Clayton-Thomas was gracious enough to contribute a wonderfully-written essay telling the whole history of the band and its origins. The eight-piece band signed to Columbia Records and recorded Blood, Sweat & Tears' debut album, Child Is Father to the Man, which was released in February 1968. Cofounder Al Kooper then departed, and the group was reorganized. Singer David Clayton-Thomas was added, trombonist Dick Halligan moved to the keyboards, and trumpeters Chuck Winfield and Lew Soloff replaced Randy Brecker and Jerry Weiss, with Jerry Hyman being added on trombone. This nine-piece unit, working with producer James William Guercio, made Blood, Sweat & Tears' self-titled second album, released in January 1969.

Blood, Sweat & Tears was a runaway hit, spawning three gold-selling Top 10 singles, "You've Made Me So Very Happy," "Spinning Wheel," and "And When I Die," selling 3 million copies and winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Guercio left afterward to work on a similar musical concept with Chicago Transit Authority, and Blood, Sweat & Tears increasingly became a backup group for Clayton-Thomas. Nevertheless, the third album, Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 (1970), and the fourth, Blood, Sweat & Tears 4 (1971), were substantial hits.

This is a momentous box set presenting a historically-significant band in the deluxe fashion that it deserves. Like all of our Analogue Productions reissues, we've painstakingly sweated the details to bring you the utmost listening experience. Now you can listen to these cherished album favorites in the highest quality, as you gain insights into the band and its recordings from Clayton-Thomas' informative account of the band's history.

Music

Sound

Child Is The Father To The Man

1. Overture

2. I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know

3. Morning Glory

4. My Days Are Numbered

5. Without Her

6. Just One Smile

7. I Can't Quit Her

8. Meagan's Gypsy Eyes

9. Somethin’ Goin’ On

10. House In The Country

11. The Modern Adventures Of Plato, Diogenes And Freud

12. So Much Love / Underture

Blood, Sweat & Tears

1. Variations On A Theme By Erik Satie (1st And 2nd Movements)

2. Smiling Phases

3. Sometimes In Winter

4. More And More

5. And When I Die

6. God Bless The Child

7. Spinning Wheel

8. You’ve Made Me So Very Happy

9. Blues - Part II

10. Variation On A Theme By Erik Satie (1st Movement)

Blood, Sweat & Tears 3

1. Hi-De-Ho

2. The Battle

3. Lucretia Mac Evil

4. Lucretia’s Reprise

5. Fire And Rain

6. Lonesome Suzie

7. Symphony For The Devil

8. He’s A Runner

9. Somethin’ Comin’ On

10. 40,000 Headmen

Blood, Sweat & Tears 4

1. Go Down Gamblin’

2. Cowboys And Indians

3. John The Baptist (Holy John)

4. Redemption

5. Lisa, Listen To Me

6. A Look To My Heart (Instrumental)

7. High On A Mountain

8. Valentine’s Day

9. Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)

10. For My Lady

11. Mama Gets High

12. A Look To My Heart

Customer Reviews (5.00 Stars) 1 person(s) rated this product.

The best way to listen to BS&T Music! posted on 11/25/2017 5 Stars Reviewer: TheSturt Simply put, this is the best format to hear the genius that is Blood Sweat & Tears. The only pressing I've heard that was as good as these is ORG's 45 RPM remaster of Blood Sweat & Tears from 2013. Now the first 4 albums get the same treatment and are presented here with uncompromising sound. If you are a fan in search of the best sounding versions of these albums, the 45 RPM version of Bloodlines is the ticket. Bravo Analog Productions, BRAVO!

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