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"...Double Or Nothing..."
An impossibly cool album from
the beginnings of 1970 (recorded in 1969) - and one that’s too bleeding
difficult by far to find on original vinyl LP anyway – this fantastic CD
reissue comes to our Bluesy rescue in 2014.
Originally released July 2007
(reissued 2014) - "Kooper Session: Al Kooper Introduces Shuggie Otis"
by ALL KOOPER and SHUGGIE OTIS on Repertoire RES 2336 (Barcode 40009910233627)
comes in natty CD card digipak repro sleeve and breaks down as follows (40:46
minutes):
THE SONGS (Side 1):
1. Bury My Body [Al Kooper
song] - Al Kooper on Organ, Piano & Lead Vocals, Shuggie Otis On Guitar,
The Harris Robinson Singers on Backing Vocals
2. Double Or Nothing
[Instrumental cover of a Booker T. & The M.G.'s song from 1967] - Al Kooper
on Organ, Mark "Moogy" Klingman on Piano, Shuggie Otis On Guitar
3. One Room Country Shack
[Cover of a 1949 Blues song on Specialty Records by Mercy Dee Walton] - Al
Kooper on Organ, Guitar & Lead Vocals, Shuggie Otis On Guitar
4. Lookin' For A Home [Cover
of a 1961 Blues Song by 'Little Buster' Forehand]
THE BLUES (Side 2):
1. 12:15 Slow Goonbash Blues
[Al Kooper & Shuggie Otis song] - Al Kooper on Organ and Piano, Mark
"Moogy" Klingman on Piano, Shuggie Otis On Guitar
2. Shuggie's Old Time
Dee-Di-Lee-Di-Leet-Deet Slide Boogie [Al Kooper & Shuggie Otis song] - Al
Kooper on Piano, Shuggie Otis On Guitar
3. Shuggie's Shuffle [Al
Kooper & Shuggie Otis song] - Al Kooper on Organ and Piano, Mark
"Moogy" Klingman on Piano, Shuggie Otis On Guitar
Tracks 1 to 7 are the album
"Kooper Session - Al Kooper Introduces Shuggie Otis" which was first
released in January 1970 in the USA on Columbia Records CS-9951 and a few
months later on CBS Records S 63979 in the UK.
"Kooper Session"
featured a sensational new guitar prodigy called Johnny "Shuggie"
Otis Jnr - son of the Fifties Rhythm 'n' Blues legend Johnny Otis - playing
alongside Al Kooper and a group of complementary blues musicians (see credits
above).
Capitalizing on his success
with Stephen Stills, Mike Bloomfield and the first Blood, Sweat & Tears LP,
Al Kooper was not only able to get the 15-year old Shuggie signed to a major
label - he then produced and played on his debut album - and used his more
famous name to get Shuggie noticed. Loose and even ramshackle in places, the
record showcased the young wire-haired Californian guitar player and his
extraordinarily accomplished playing. And it was hip and bluesy too...
The inner-flap of the digipak
reproduces the Al Kooper liner notes on the rear of the original American
album, while the 8-page booklet features in-the-studio photos of the session
with new notes by respected UK music-writer CHRIS WELCH.
Side One was called "The
Songs" and featured structured tunes - mostly blues covers - but Side Two
called "The Blues" was instrumental loose jams (you can literally
hear Shuggie say "...Take 1..." at the beginning of the superb
instrumental "12:15 Slow Goonbash Blues"). Stu Woods from the group
ARS NOVA played Bass, while Mark Klingman played organ and piano (would later
become "Moogy" Klingman in TODD RUNDGREN'S UTOPIA) - but most of the
time it was a duet guitar/vocal blues battle between Al Kooper and Shuggie
Otis. The false 78" crackle added onto to National Steel Guitar blues of
"Shuggie's Old Time..." may have seemed like a good idea at the time,
but it sounds gimmicky now and gets in the way of hearing the great guitar
chops on show...
It doesn't say who did the
remaster, but the sound is superb - full and none too trebled to the nines for
effect. One or two of the tracks on Side 1 are a little hissy but I suspect
that reflects the loose nature of the original recordings. Stateside they even
tried a 7" single edit of "Bury My Body" (lyrics above) with
"One Room Country Shack" as its B-side - but it made little headway.
The album was well received though and paved the way for his solo debut proper
- 1970's superlative "Here Comes Shuggie Otis".
"Kooper Session" is
a good bluesy-based album and this reissue is a very reasonable way of getting
a now hard-to-find vinyl album (especially in the UK)...
