Michael Bloomfield - Blues on a West Side

Live at Bill Graham's Fillmore West- 1969

[@claudiocerioli729]

Not in the Top 10 but TOP 5 Blues i have ever heard . Great ......

[@ronvolpe4750]

I had a beer with him at the ambassador hotel in Los Angeles. We were there to see b.b. king & Bobby bland. One hell of a nite. Ron v.

[@thomasfisher5742]

mike was ...still is up there with the best influenced people like E.C....peter green. Such a sad life ending

[@johnmanning4339]

Man, we thought Bloomfield was the best when I was a kid. Still think he's one of the best, ever !

[@thomasfisher5742]

bought this in probably 1970... just for this track. Your right BLOOMFIELD was up there with anybody in the last 60 yrs. taken from us far to young by HEROIN ADDICTION ..stay well

[@squeakeththewheel]

@@thomasfisher5742 Yes, the greatest (for me). I saw him and Mark Naftlin in a small club in 1978 and he was only OK sounding by then. A few years later when he played as a guest with Dylan he was not playing well based on the KZbin video.

[@thomasfisher5742]

@@squeakeththewheel thank u...👌

[@w4447]

No one played or plays like this anymore. A true artist.

[@mjrlormans]

Michael Bloomfield & Nick Gravenites = Dream Team

[@Jonathan-L]

Michael Bloomfield's musical phrasing was really special ... a tribute to T-Bone Walker & BB King ... but Mike had his signature style. He made the guitar speak.

[@8kenjacob]

Albert King was big influence

[@AdiosMoFo]

@@8kenjacob This song is T-Bone through and through....

[@fffrtyrty123]

Speak and sing.

[@alanogilvie4504]

I am indeed blessed. I'm a Brit Blues man transplanted in Sacramento CA for the past 7 years or so. Capitol Radio is the local NPR radio station and Saturday afternoon belongs to Mick Martins Blues Party which has been going strong for over 25 years. 4 hours of top quality blues, accompanying stories and a show dedicated to keeping the Blues alive in it's myriad forms. Mike Bloomfield In his various incarnations ia frequent feature. Can't recommend the show highly enough for any Blues afficianado. I've lived here for 35 years and it's the best blues show I've ever heard.

[@chiquiinfinite7028]

Dang I wish there was a way I can tune in. I’m down here in Dallas, would love to tune into that!

[@sharontalley2155]

In my younger days I was so into Michael Bloomfield! He's been my favorite forever. Love the way he plays the guitar.

[@christophermarshall]

After one year, I return! Just to say, this song is exquisitely awesomely still one of the greatest blues tracks ever recorded! Utterly beautiful!

[@rodney4266]

Most interesting blues man ever sweet tone Supersession album blew my mind at 15 and still at 67.

[@squeakeththewheel]

I was 17. Same.

[@JHelak]

Just gotta wonder - right now as I write 11 people gave this track a "thumbs down". WTF why? This is what a slow blues is. This song, the playing, the lyrics, the singing, defines what a slow blues is. I guess some people will never have soul.

[@rodney4266]

J Helak you r right man

[@thomasfisher5742]

they caught COVID....it affected their TASTE...So sad lol

[@solymar68]

For me, an unsurpassed example of blues guitar playing with endless invention AND feeling. MB, one of a kind. RIP.

[@JodyMcGurr]

Mike Bloomfield continues to entrance me every time I hear him play. I never saw him in person. I'm an amateur drummer , not a guitar player. I was lucky to live in SF from 05 to 10, and I played with a bassist who once hung with Bloomfield. I can't talk about tone or phrasing like a guitarist can. Bloomfield was a seeker, a lover of the music, and he cut his teeth on the South Side with Muddy, the Wolf and Spann. He will never be forgotten. He moves me todo los dias.

[@chauntzu]

Another drummer that appreciated what Bloomfield brought to the music! Nice to know other drummers could really hear Mike's beauty as a player.

[@ronvolpe4750]

I sat with him at the bar in the ambassador hotel. We had a beer, and were there to see b.b King & Bobby bland, a night to remember !!.

[@pamholly5096]

In my opinion, one of the all time best.

[@ktviking]

This deserves a million views!

[@whocares1694]

The greatest blues is these guys.

[@lallenak2101]

People have no idea how good this is.....

[@theossideris62]

fuckin true mate..masterpiece

[@wordsmith9124]

This guitar sound is as pure as tears. Slow blues is being played in heaven right now!

[@claraglatthaar998]

“The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long." ~Lao Tzu

[@thomasfisher5742]

@@claraglatthaar998 what a lovely sentiment... must remember that one

[@claraglatthaar998]

@thomasfisher5742 It certainly applies to Michael. He said he would be content if only he could play and sound like BB King. I think Michael did have the pure, clean, honest, simple, and beautifully soulful, otherwise completely inimitable, sound of BB King.

[@thomasfisher5742]

@@claraglatthaar998 content to sound to sound like BB......JOB DONE

[@wordsmith9124]

@@claraglatthaar998 Your "Best of Bloomfield" is a great collection of his best solos, Clara! I've been listening all afternoon. Thanks

[@orlandooftheriver]

It's 2021 nearing 2022 and I am still obsessed with this track.

[@aliensporebomb]

I still need to thank my pops for gifting me this record when I was 7 years old on Valentines Day coming back from a business trip. I graduated from kiddie music (which I'd already started to do) but went full on into the guitar world and never looked back.

[@michaelsawbridge8991]

Just rediscovered Mike Bloomfield. F--------g brilliant guitarist. Has me in tears of joy.

[@gingervytis]

Check out Albert's Shuffle: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJPTeIB8aceWmLc&start_radio=1

[@AFaceintheCrowd01]

Wait ‘til you hear Peter Green, hun.

[@sheddski2942]

@@AFaceintheCrowd01 Peter Greene was great untill that bad acid trip .

[@dominiquepaul6877]

@@AFaceintheCrowd01 Bloomfield, Peter Green and please listen to Stan Webb Chicken shack

[@hollygolightly7475]

Puts everyone to shame my ears are in heaven🌿🌺🌿

[@terri-b7492]

God’s very own guitarist RIP Michael xx

[@AdiosMoFo]

More like T-Bone's

[@jessepodroskey5372]

My favorite blues guitar player! Just so sweet

[@zenzen1916]

Mike was too good for this world, musical genius. ✡️☮️💫

[@zenzen1916]

Stop the Hate 🥀💔✡️

[@billdarnell5650]

I forgot how much I liked listening to Mike Bloomfield.

[@evansgate]

me too. he was a hero of mine when I was 20 and it's nice to revisit old heroes and remind yourself you were into some good stuff back in the day

[@RobHollanderMusic]

The most soulful and accomplished blues guitar playing I've ever heard.

[@bhanwarguphasucks]

Heartbreakingly beautiful playing, makes me cry

[@claraglatthaar998]

@@bhanwarguphasucks same here

[@robertrobles4028]

Michael was one of the most inventive electric blues guitarists ever.

[@RobHollanderMusic]

This track features some of the best blues playing I have ever heard, the perfect fusion of feeling and technique. The master.

[@AdiosMoFo]

Thank T-Bone

[@mccurryburg]

the timing & the tone

[@chriscobbblues]

Best Bloomers playing slow blues, right here!!

[@JamesFolkers]

GOOD LORD! This is absolutely stunning…

[@TR-yi8up]

This and that Sweet Little Angel/Jelly Jelly medley from Live at the Old Waldorf are as good as any blues recordings ever.

[@jamesmarcussolzan5490]

Literally cut my blues teeth listening to Mike Bloomfield.

[@judylea1671]

Saw him live at the Fillmore West back in the day might have even been to this show not sure saw him more than once. He just touched my soul he had the "magic". Miss him lived in San Francisco when the news came of his passing sad day.

[@chiquiinfinite7028]

Currently have my epiphone Sheraton II out. Trying to mimic some of these licks. This guy cannot be replicated. This is from the soul. I feel bad for even trying to do this but it’s a start. No one could ever compare!! Bloomfield for life!!

[@Jonathan-L]

So true what you say ... I doubt that anyone will sound like Mike Bloomfield.

[@SDPickups]

Michael used 13 gauge strings. That and Twin Reverb with JBL speakers. Its not possible to get that sound from any modern Gibson Les Pauls, because they are nothing like the original Les Pauls. His riffs are very simple and can be learned with practice. In fact, he is a good artist to learn from because his note choices are simple and predictable. He learned from the black blues Masters, all the really good white blues players did the same thing.

[@fffrtyrty123]

Never feel bad for trying. Trying is what makes a Bodhisattva.

[@detweilcny]

My all time favorite guitarist. He had the perfect tone and he played the notes that the song needed and nothing more

[@barbaravanwhy4564]

Why am I just discovering this man all I can say is wow

[@FanOblues51]

So glad you found Mike Bloomfield. I found him in high school & I'm now 71 years old.

[@fermincorrea2849]

Man they sure put out some great blues music back then Good ol Mike Bluemfield and company.

[@andysimpson6595]

what a night - Bloomfield was out there - eyes closed - every once in a while he would open his eyes and check things out then close them again and just kill it sooooo sweet the sound - god i miss him !

[@cathsalazar9930]

Me too!..............💜

[@jamesbuda7753]

played it over and over when it came out, thanx you tube I'm listening now.

[@Evil-Jesus]

Bloomfield had more Soul than the 10 best Shredders..

[@VBForbes]

He could shred when required He took Johnny Winter to school on the 1968 Filmore lost live album "It's My Own Fault"

[@chriscurtis8344]

Yes Paul. Waaay more soul.

[@TedBurke]

@@VBForbes More likely they schooled each other in equal measure. Introducing Johnny at the Fillmore East, Bloomfield said that Winter was "..the BADDEST motherfucker...this cat can PLAY..." It's all right here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/foewZI2YjJd4Y5o

[@elegantlywasted4580]

Feeling it, it's unbelievable. Thanks Mike

[@alessandrociapica5180]

In every style there are genuine soulfull players. I love both Bloomfield and Bettencourt, Green and Timmons, Junior Watson and Steve Vai

[@christophermarshall]

For the umpteenth time, once again as I start my work at my place of work, Second Chance, I am in love with this beautiful, powerful and wonderful guitar solo on "Blues On A Westside" played by Michael Bloomfield, from the masterpiece of an album, "Live At Bill Graham's "! Oh God!

[@ronwood355]

One of the very best blues guitar players

[@johnosborne2989]

Mike has been and always will be a blues superstar 💙

[@jonpitt8504]

I picked up this album second-hand in '72, and this track in particular blew me away completely. Mike's blues tone was, and still is, unsurpassed by any of the greats .. and that's saying something. But what makes this track such a gem is the way it builds at the beginning and grabs you by the throat until it finally lets go at 8.45. Then Mike smooths everything out with some of the sweetest, most sensitive and tasty choruses humanly possible, before finally handing back to NG for the vocal finale. I've heard lots of Mike's stuff, and this is without a doubt the very best. Absolutely sublime throughout. So sad he had to leave us when he did.

[@larrygeetar9309]

He was his own worst enemy. Paul Butterfiled and Bloomfield had the greatest combi- nation of vocal / harp / and guitar playing ever, in my opinion. And they're both gone, due to their own demons. Such a shame.

[@albertbruin4384]

What did you expect them to die from? Hoping and feeling too much? They internalized the pain of the "underclass" beginning with field hollers of masters and slaves. Jews wear their pain on the inside while Aframs wear it on the outside. Guilt??? White Man's burden? "You are a better man than I, Gunga Din". Let's get real!!

[@albertbruin4384]

Blues on the Westside was written as they lived it. Epic. Love it. Best friend went down when I was 17. Stole a couple watermelons, chased by Deputy, car rolled, ejected, the end. RIP Butch. 🕊️

[@jaredwren9304]

Couldn't agree more. Mike had min/maxxed his tone by the time he went from the Tele for the Burst. There is a reason he was recognized by all the legends. Sublime. Transcendent. Eternal. Simple. Complex. Human. Major, Minor. The Blues.

[@lostchord702]

@@albertbruin4384 So well said !

[@reggiechavez1747]

I bought this album, when it first came out at a Tower record store in San Francisco. When I got home, and played it, there was no doubt that this was Bloomfield at his finest.. I love that they kept in the fall start on It Takes Time. The band missed the downbeat. Many of the cuts can also be found on Nick Gravenites album, My Labors.

[@blusmahn]

................and a few more on Blues at the Fillmore !

[@aliensporebomb]

Plus, this reissue was good but the Japanese mini LP sleeve versions has the full versions of all of this (with the false start on "It Takes Time") as well as more of the banter between tunes from the musicians. And extra tracks. Same goes for the Nick Gravenites "My Labors" - extra tracks, mini LP sleeve. It's weird, I must have bought this record half a dozen times now but I keep looking for more material from that magic night - they were ALL firing on all cylinders that evening.

[@arthuroneau5077]

Brilliant and solid ! Unique. Certainly the best !

[@ivanmcpcpherson2407]

Bloomfields vocabulary and pronunciation on his Les Paul is in a class by itself.

[@richardcollacchi351]

nobody and i mean nobody will ever play like this guy sad is that we all loose when they are gone

[@RogerSteinbrinkh2oBrother]

Listening to MB on a Sunday morning. We have an economic disaster, a pandemic, civil unrest, and a tropical storm coming. I'm sitting on my porch, drinking beer at 9:00 a.m. listening to Mike, and the approaching storm. Why the hell not? Can't go nowhere 'cause my truck died yesterday. Thanks, Mike. It's all good.

[@bobjones9600]

How's the dog? And the wife?

[@livingadreamlife1428]

You have the ingredients of a country song there

[@georgerodda4405]

Loved Broomfield electric flag east west first amplified recording many firsts luv ❤ him him and the cat's are jamming on the big stage

[@frankdardano3182]

Tone?! This is what most people mean when they talk BLOOMFILD.HE IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING HIS TOGGLE SWITCH.THE SUPER SESSIONS ALBUM HE REALLY MADE HIS ICONIC BLOOMFIELD SOUND.INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE.SWEET,CUTTING,CLEAR TONE.AS A FORMER RETIRED GUITARIST, I UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO IMPROVISE WITH SLOW BLUES. THERE IS NO PLACE TO HIDE..BLOOMFIELD IS THE MASTER OF PLAYING THE BLUES.CLAPTON CALLED HIM A SOUL BROTHER,DYLAN SAID BEST HE EVER PLAYED WITH. I OFTEN WONDER HOW VAN HALEN WOULD HAVE PLAYED BLUES,WITHOUT TAP TRICKS A WALL OF AMPS,PEDALS ETC.THE ONLY THING A MODERN GUITAR Player does is imitate old links then get bored,because they know it's not authentic.then slow blues is something that they are not into.bloomfield forgot more links than most players learn.He died at 37!!!

[@TheJudgeandtheJury]

What a song! The solo is amazing!

[@njpaddler]

Smokin', 'nuff said.

[@milesofentertainment]

Bob Dylan said he's the best guitar player he ever heard. "Only the good die young" dates back to Greece, circa 445 BC, and was a hit song for Billy Joel but rings so true when looking at guitar players. Bloomfield, Hendrix, Duane Allman, Randy Rhoades, Hillel Slovak, Jeff Buckley, Brian Jones, Buddy Holly, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Danny Gatton all left us too soon. But Jimi is jamming with some serious talent in the next life.

[@hondomckee.8232]

Tone to die for. The best.

[@billystandridge3609]

A real gifted guitarist.

[@davem5308]

Keep this up, and I'm gonna get depressed! Get it man?

[@GEA955]

Pure magic !

[@SA-gu3ed]

What an intro!

[@terrycollins9736]

Some of the best blues I've ever heard

[@danielclergeau5504]

magique !! amour aux étoiles !! merci mike !!respects éternels !

[@andreadichiara1280]

THE REAL KING OF BLUES! NOT ANYONE LIKE BLOOMFIELD IN THE BLUES GUITAR!

[@stickylizardbabyangel]

Peter Green.

[@pinballeric]

André Borges is

[@fredt5396]

Mayby Duane Allman

[@frankdardano3182]

Bloomfield has forgot more than most players will ever learn.damn he is good and you just can't getting any cleaner. No pedals,no nothing! He just plugged in the Amp straight like 1949.listen to the endless stream of notes,effortlessly being fired at you, or the breath taking beautifull slow blues that showed the world this is how its done.RIP mike,and thanks!

[@carilann]

so sweet I could listen to Bloomy all day long and still not get enough

[@mikebloomfirld66]

bloomy could rip the paint off of a wall with that tone...

[@ESD2814GLC]

metalmike66 Today's players are generally frightened of that upper mid lower treble howl that Bloomfield and a few others used to devastating effect. I love it myself.

[@VBForbes]

me too!

[@johanenmaayalos3096]

Emile Dalkey :

[@andysimpson6595]

@@mikebloomfirld66 NOTHING LIKE A LES PAUL PUMPED A FENDER TWIN REVERB BEING PLAYED BY MIKE BLOOMFIELD - T U R N I T U P !

[@partyrock9946]

Now I know where my blues have been all my life.

[@chiquiinfinite7028]

That face says it all. My god Bloomfield, you will never be forgotten. His power through music will always thrive on and influence others. From his head, to his heart, to his hands.

[@mikebloomfirld66]

mike bloomfield...the best there ever was...

[@randalmcmurphy1893]

he surely was. truly spoken.

[@VBForbes]

me too

[@randalmcmurphy1893]

Bloomers was the best. Listen to allof his stuff and he could do what anyone else could but he was a gentleman and never sought to upstage or get the better of anyone else. an all found good person

[@tjaardtenhove8930]

It's not his technique, it's straight from the heart, nothing can beat that.

[@petegilgan4058]

A great blues player - but not as great as the young Peter Green...

[@rmis32]

Great art comes out of pain. On this one, I feel the pain and I hear blues greatness.

[@christophermarshall]

Absolutely wonderful! A masterpiece. Great singing by Nick Gravenites as well. Genius at work, dear God. And the horn section is right on.

[@jimallen8]

Any idea who the horn players were?

[@thetangleedgelegacysoffici3348]

@@jimallen8 Snooky Flowers - baritone sax, Noel Jewkes - Tenor sax, John Wilmeth - trumpet,

[@ramonsanchez7961]

The Blues Man gave his Soul to the Blues no one can mscht it 🎸

[@joebarriga-9945]

this jewish boy appreciated the genre of black musics and its black musicians. he was open to the black culture and its beauty of the blues. he learned from the best. and made it his own...

[@michaelwest5692]

It's like having a curl-up-on-the-couch cry. If you felt down and needed to let out all the "she-done-me-really-bad-and-I can't-pull-out" gut wrench, well then - if you had a guitar, this is what you'd be trying to play. Just beautiful.....

[@danielsuarez1431]

No one is better than the other , everyone gave their true art in the blues world.

[@jesselucier7251]

I'm 22 and have been emerging myself with as much of the blues as possible man I wish I woulda found Mike sooner💙

[@davidseriff711]

Check out a guy named Chris Cain.

[@shadowplay2801]

Rory Gallagher

[@pharmerdavid1432]

Magnificent Maestro Blooms again!

[@davidranger13]

Chicago Slow Blues... the Best👍😎

[@kokadkokis]

THX for posting this - great Greetings from Sweden

[@jantrieger4500]

play me some BLUES, MIKE, man you had that feeling. RIP.

[@patrickcostine]

Go Mike - you sure knew the blues!

[@mariebrigittesevaistre2310]

never enough, never... this GEM+++ ! !

[@lanes58]

The best electric blues player ever…even to this day.

[@billcyr3932]

I can remember when Michael would visit my home in Vermont and jam in the living room...my heart broke when I got that phone call in 1984.

[@dominickarruzzo197]

You got called 3 years after he died?

[@billcyr3932]

Dominick Arruzzo I’m 69 and not always remember exact dates. Thanks for re-energizing my brain.

[@dominickarruzzo197]

@@billcyr3932 I know what you mean. I'm right behind you.

[@billcyr3932]

Dominick Arruzzo at 69 years young my memory isn’t that good when it comes to dates. Thanx for the correction.

[@FKKramer]

MASTERPIECE...absolutely magnificent!

[@bokehintheussr5033]

Bloomfield hit his peak in '69 recording and touring with Gravenites. The stuff those two guys did together outside Electric Flag is waaaay better than the stuff they did in that band.

[@peonwarrior]

Man, I couldn’t agree more!

[@muskymike1885]

love the slow blues

[@8kenjacob]

I saw him play several times at Fillmore West with Paul Butterfield in the late 60's. To get another fix on Mike, you could try listening to his soundtrack of The Trip which he played with his band The Electric Flag. It's outstanding and gives you an idea of a much larger range of guitar playing and style than you typically hear from him.

[@kathleengrimes1816]

I have The Trip soundtrack. I love it too !!!

[@ericswenson322]

I think I was there also..ha!

[@billw1266]

Great soundtrack. Forgot all about it. Thanks!

[@carolynzaremba5469]

I sure wish I'd attended this show. I was living in a commune in Berkeley in 1969 and we went to many shows at Fillmore West. But not this one. Damn! 50 years ago!

[@danburns6558]

takes me back to my army days when I was away , and the band played on. Mike

[@RobertTousignantRRHF]

NY in the 60,s Now everyone is running around so fast they missed this low down dirty blues tune...Slow down ya,all ..

[@msaintpc]

Love hearing my old friend Taj sing the blues.

[@teamlotus13]

That’s Nick Gravenites singing here. Taj sang on a couple other songs from the sames shows

[@RogerSteinbrinkh2oBrother]

Saw Bloomfield Memorial Day weekend 1970 Fillmore West, recently returned from Maui. Wow! Didn't need no Wowie. Mike provided that!

[@sheilabarron7206]

SO SMOOTH and RELAXING hits the Mind Body and Soul Mike Bloomfield is So Amazing 🖤💙

[@EasyAce1955]

I hope the day comes when someone decides to pair this with remasterings of several other key performances from those concerts (February 1969, two weekends) and issues as complete a "Live at Bill Graham's Fillmore West 1969" as can be issued . . .

[@donnylawson9014]

Such a great loss a great great loss

[@michaelward9880]

Excellent idea! With today's technology, it wouldn't be that difficult or expensive to do.

[@teamlotus13]

Yep, absolutely.. Between this album, Nick Gravenites’ My Labors and the known bootlegs of outtakes and alternate versions, many of which are here on KZbin, it could be a marvelous 3-4 disc length set. Some of the non- commercially released songs, including another version of Blues On A Westside, are clearly not of this quality but would still be of interest.

[@beachdog67]

@@teamlotus13 would you be referring to this track kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKLddWBvjLiEpNU ? Cos I've been sitting here for the past hour going back and forth, playing one, then the other, and back again. And I'm damned if I can decide which I like better. They're so different, yet the same. And that was one of the things about Michael. Even on a rough night (and he had 'em, god nose-a lot of us did back then) he always brought something interesting. You forget until something sparks you to go back for a listen, just how damned good he was. Cos he was a human. Getting stuff right, and getting stuff wrong. And a true pain in the ass sometimes. But goddamn the boy played like nobody else. Nobody.

[@teamlotus13]

Yes sir, that’s the one! I enjoyed all you said. The record company clearly picked the overall better take, but both are well worth hearing. I had a friend years ago who did some mixing on the outakes so they sound quite good. He also eliminated that squeeling sound that can be heard in original vinyl pressings of this lp ( and an Apples Music version!) I’m not holding my breath for a complete box set, cuz we’re lucky to have most, tho not all of it on KZbin! Would sure be nice tho. I was lucky to be there one of these February nights, and all these years later can relive it and more

[@ProbableCauseBluesBand]

This is a thing of beauty!

[@peonwarrior]

This entire live is master piece & the album is quite hard to find actually

[@victicious1]

Such brilliant playing....

[@GeorgeManney]

Fab!!! Be well my friend.

[@akelantz5790]

So brilliant, never get tired of this. Thou its a kliché - but Mike is singing from his hearth!!

[@Feedurehed]

Happy memories, lovely post....thank you

[@electricchurchmusic4298]

Outstanding !!!

[@patcoughlin3104]

Bloomfield = Blues that simple