Best of Electric Flag / An American Music Band

Sad reminder that the super talented Mike Bloomfield, who surrounded himself with a group of outstanding musicians, somehow did not make it big time. I have a feeling the failure of this group to become a super success contributed to his demise. Even Bob Dylan tried to save his life. This album is a good reflection of what should have been. Great U.S. blues.

Very good music from the period. Mike Bloomfield shines.

Mike Bloomfield had a great idea that almost worked. After PBBB, he set out to create an authentic American big band, interracial, with strong horns and tight rhythms. This best of captures all of the highs and lows of his 18 month long experiment. There are some standout tracks on this but too few. Buddy Miles, then only 21, is one hell of a drummer, and when he sings, the band is on a higher level. As for MB, well, he is just great on many of the tracks, showing that Chicago blues can be played by a white, Jewish boy from the city, not just those white boys from England. He is fast, fluid, imaginative and well, pretty great.But the material lets the Flag down. It is great on the classic blues numbers, good on the Stax like numbers, and poor on the 1960's San Francisco numbers. The weakest element besides the hippy dippy tracks (Grooving is Easy -Echhh!) is Nick G's voice. It is too indistinct to love or hate. It is not the right voice. If Buddy Miles sang all the songs, this would be better. The self destructive MB lost faith in the project, and within 18 months, Buddy Miles had the Buddy Miles Express.I desperately wanted to love this album and while the Killing Floor and other blues tracks are still good, the album as a whole shows you why the Flag didn't really fly.

A good album with some classic tracks

Hatte nicht lange Bestand, war aber beachtlich, was in der Kürze der Schaffensperiode für Niveau dieser großen Musiker! Leider keine große, umfassende Sammlung möglich, aber ein Dokument in einer tollen Zeit!