Projections is the second album by American blues rock band Blues Project. Produced by Tom Wilson and released by Verve\/Folkways Records in November 1966, the album was their first studio release to feature a more rock-oriented sound. The album cover features the band in a photo by Jim Marshall.
Shortly after the release of this album, Al Kooper left the band in the spring of 1967 to form Blood, Sweat & Tears.
Keyboardist and vocalist Al Kooper was the band’s most prominent member, having recently played on Bob Dylan’s legendary album Highway 61 Revisited. However, Projections was largely a team effort, developing the band’s unique style that drew on blues, jazz, folk, and psychedelic influences.
According to Danny Kalb, the record company was not interested in the band’s artistic merit and “just wanted to make some money”. The band was frustrated by this lack of creative input and did not even see the album cover or hear the mix of the tracks until the album was released.
Regarding the songs on the album now:
Kooper’s energetic arrangement of “I Can’t Keep From Crying” incorporates psychedelic and gospel elements.
“Steve’s Song”, the first song ever written by guitarist Steve Katz, was originally intended to be titled “September Fifth”, but a miscommunication between MGM Records and the band’s manager resulted in the title eventually used. It features a baroque flute introduction by Andy Kulberg and Kooper on the keys of the Ondioline organ.
“Two Trains Running” was guitarist Danny Kalb’s tribute to Muddy Waters, one of the band’s biggest influences. This 11-minute rendition differs significantly from the original and evolved over the course of the band’s live performances. In the Projections performance, one of Kalb’s guitar strings went out of tune near the end of the song. Kalb then instinctively tuned it without the band stopping, creating a memorable moment.
“Wake Me, Shake Me” was derived from a traditional gospel song and was an improvisational device that the band often used to close live shows.
Kooper’s jazz-rock instrumental “Flute Thing” features a prominent flute played by Kulberg, as well as solos by Kooper, Kalb, and drummer Roy Blumenfeld.
Comparing “You Can Not Catch Me” as recorded with Chuck Berry’s original lyrics reveals that the singer in the song initially skips the second verse. Then he loses the verse after “Sweetest little thing I ever seen…” and mumbles something briefly before returning to the rest of the lyrics.
From this excellent album, I choose the song “I Can’t Keep From Crying”.
Tracklist
1. I Can’t Keep From Crying 4:25
2. Steve’s Song 4:55
3. You Can’t Catch Me 4:14
4. Two Trains Running 11:20
5. Wake Me, Shake Me 5:15
6. Cheryl’s Going Home 2:35
7. Flute Thing 5:58
8. Caress Me Baby 7:12
9. Fly Away 3:30<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Projections is the second album by American blues rock band Blues Project. Produced by Tom Wilson and released by Verve\/Folkways Records in November 1966, the album was their first studio release to feature a more rock-oriented sound. The album cover features the band in a photo by Jim Marshall. Shortly ...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-records-that-made-history"],"yoast_head":"\n