[.ca] A Tribute To Paul Butterfield

Totally Rockin CD! Buy both Butterfield and Ford CD's!:
I run an online radio station playing all blues harp music, so my interest began with the harp player, Andy Just. These songs are really, really good. Sure, they're not Butterfield exactly, who could ever completely duplicate the great Paul Butterfield, but the Ford Blues Band totally rocks. Rather than being just a rock band, as somebody said above, they tend more toward jazz, if you ask me. This is a tribute to Butterfield just like Stevie Ray Vauhgn playing Hendrix's Little Wing - not totally Hendrix, but stamped with Stevie Ray's own style, of course, The Ford Blues Band is really excellent in these recordings, which I am listening to as I write this, and because of the uniqueness of the CD, I am able to put up both Butterfield and cuts from the Ford CD in the same program. Different, but both excellent. Why not buy both the Butterfield CD AND this CD? Sorry to repeat myself, but this CD rocks!!!

No Substitute for the Original Butterfield!:
Why waste money on a bunch of covers when you should be buying THE ORIGINAL?! Butterfield cannot be copied, duplicated or covered to any justice to his brilliance. Robben Ford is a rock musician hiding under the guise of the blues. PHONEY! Buy Butterfield's Elektra Anthology for a journey through the various incarnations of one of the most authentic white blues artists in the world. Pay particular attention to "Driftin & Driftin", "Everybody's Gonna Be Alright" "The Work Song" and "East-West". Then you'll know and have a greater appreciation of Paul and The Butterfield Blues Band. Don't buy a substitute, when you can own the ORIGINAL!

Nice twists on great material:
I bought this album along with the Ford band's tribute to M. Bloomfield. Both are excellent, but I like the Butterfield one more based on the strength of the material. Butterfield was a stronger writer and arranger than Bloomfield. I was given the opportunity to see the band that recorded these two albums, including Chris Cain and the horn section, once in Santa Cruz and once in S.F. What a great experience. Al Cooper joined them at the S.F Blues Festival. These cats LOVE the blues and more-so, understand the contribution that B& B made to the genre. I also saw Butterfield and Bloomfield live at the Fillmore and Winterland respectively (Butterfield Blues Band without Bloomfield (but had Bishop!) and the Electric Flag) so I know what the real deal was. Of course, the original material by the BBBB is "better" in some ways (I rate "East-West" as one of the best albums ever made and cannot understand how Rolling Stone magazine's panel left it off of the "Greatest 500 Albums" list they just published), but why not own them both! The Ford Band pays homage to the original AND I like to hear the songs done slightly differently. Kind of like hearing the Beatles Anthology (I heard the originals so many times, the "new" versions were a real ear-opener).

Good Butterfield Tribute Album:
I was intrigued when I saw this was available. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band was one of the best blues/rock bands bar none when Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop were in the band. Robben Ford is the highlight of this disk. His playing is slightly more rock oriented than the playing of either Bloomfield or Bishop but is still interesting. The disk is split between straight blues material and later more R & B based material (with horn sections) from the albums after Bloomfield left the band. While the vocals and harmonica are not as strong as Butterfield's own, the disk none the less catches fire due to Ford. My favorite cuts include "Screamin'", "Work Song", "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" and the moody "Last Hopes Gone". The takes on "Mary Mary" and "All These Blues" are also effective. On the down side, takes on a number of Butterfield's signature cuts like "Born In Chicago", "East-West" and "Loving Cup" were not included for some reason. While not as good as the original versions, Ford brings enough skill and energy to make this tribute enjoyable. If you like this tribute pick up the double disk Paul Butterfield Blues Band Anthology: The Elektra Years, the original versions of most of the tracks on this tribute disk are included on that compilation.

And the point is?:
Don't get me wrong; I love Robben Ford. But this isn't so much a tribute as an attempt to duplicate the originals. So one must make the inevitable comparion--and frankly, the originals are much cooler. If one must compare, sure, Robben plays rings around Elvin Bishop. But he's no Mike Bloomfield and his brother is no Paul Butterfield.

• Screamin'
• One More Heartache
• Last Hope's Gone
• Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
• No Amount of Loving
• Mary, Mary
• Work Song
• In My Own Dream
• Budd's Advice
• All These Blues
• Tollin' Bells
• Everything's Gonna Be Alright