The Blues Project is a band from the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City that was formed in 1965 and originally split up in 1967. While their songs drew from a wide array of musical styles, they are most remembered as one of the earliest practitioners of psychedelic rock, as well as one of the world's first jam bands, along with the Grateful Dead.
The Blues Project was formed in 1965, and became almost immediately a top draw in Greenwich Village, including Danny Kalb on guitar, Steve Katz (having recently departed the Even Dozen Jug Band) also on guitar, Andy Kulberg on bass and flute, Roy Blumenfeld on drums and Tommy Flanders on vocals.
After a failed audition for Columbia records, session musician Al Kooper joined the band playing electric organ. Kooper had begun his career as a session guitarist, but that summer, he began playing organ when he played on the "Like a Rolling Stone" recording session for Bob Dylan's album, Highway 61 Revisited.
The Blues Project’s first album, Live at Café Au Go Go, was a moderate success and the band toured the US to promote it. While in San Francisco, California in April 1966, the Blues Project played at the Fillmore Auditorium to rave reviews. Seemingly New York's answer to the Grateful Dead, even members of the Grateful Dead who saw them play were impressed with their improvisational abilities.
Returning to New York, the band recorded their second album in the fall of 1966, and it was released in November. Projections contained an eclectic set of songs that ran the gamut from blues, R&B, jazz, psychedelia, and folk-rock. The centerpiece of the album was an 11-and-a-half minute version of "Two Trains Running," which, along with other songs on the album, showed off their improvisational tendencies. Although short lived in their original incarnation, The Blues Project played a pivotal role in the progression of rock music in the 1960s.
Tracklist:
1. I Can't Keep From Crying (Arranged By Al Kooper) - 4:48
2. Steve's Song (Steve Katz) - 5:20
3. You Can't Catch Me (Chuck Berry) - 4:35
4. Two Trains Running (Mckinley Morganfield) - 12:19
5. Wake Me, Shake Me (Arranged By Al Kooper) - 5:16
6. Cheryl's Going Home (Bob Lind) - 2:33
7. Flute Thing (Al Kooper) - 5:59
8. Caress Me Baby (Jimmy Reed) - 7:12
9. Fly Away (Al Kooper) - 3:29
