Cratedigger: Blood, Sweat and Tears, "Child is Father to the Man"

There had never been anything quite like them. They werent the cute mop-tops or acid-fueled freaks that had risen to fame in recent years. The members of Blood, Sweat & Tears were seasoned music professionals. The horn section (did I mention there was a horn section?!) was led by alto player Fred Lipsius, featured a young trumpeter named Randy Brecker, and came from a jazz place. Keyboard player Al Kooper and guitarist Steve Katz were late of a great New York City band called the Blues Project, but of course Kooper was best known for his immortal organ part on Dylans Like a Rolling Stone. The Mothers of Invention and Buffalo Springfield were part of bass player Jim Fielders resum.

When the band came together in 1967, Kooper made himself the leader because he didnt want a repeat of what happened in the Blues Project, which was more of a democracy. At first the new band was a quartet, including drummer Bobby Colomby. They did a few gigs in that configuration before Lipsius joined a couple of months later and recruited three more horn players of his acquaintance. It was this group that recorded one of the greatest albums of the 1960s, Child Is Father to the Man.

Kooper was the main songwriter and vocalist for the band. He contributed seven of the albums twelve tracks, including future classics like the R&B-flavored I Love You More Than Youll Ever Know and My Days Are Numbered. Katzs more folk-influenced Meagans Gypsy Eyes and well-chosen covers of songs by Tim Buckley (Morning Glory), Harry Nilsson (Without Her), Randy Newman (Just One Smile), and Goffin-King (So Much Love) filled out the album.