Mike Bloomfield
Don't Say That I Ain't Your Man - Essential Blues 1964-1969

Mike Bloomfield, the Allman Brothers, Johnny Winter, Canned Heat, Stevie Ray Vaughan, in the 60s - 70s, exploring new paths, produced a profound change in American Blues, achieving a renewal of the genre. These enlightened guitarists were the architects of the blues revival made in USA, more intense and essential, quite different from the British one. Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, had found their worthy successors.

The Blues is the most genuine revelation of what one feels in the soul, a form of language without boundaries and limits, truly understood by those who manage to find it in every musical expression. Bloomfield understood this; he said that by playing the blues, he sought to express the noblest feelings of man. A guitarist of purest talent, always in search of the magic note, instead of being a mere interpreter, he gave a new guise to music, conveying emotions, the same emotions he experienced himself. Playing was his refuge from the adversities that life had reserved for him, but he always avoided slipping into formalism, disregarding easy success, at the expense of his own consistency. The guitarist's flight in the sky of Afro music reached its peaks, first with Paul Butterfield, which created a pearl of a value like "East West"—thirteen electrifying minutes of growing frenzy, perfectly blending psychedelia with the flair of jazz. Then, in '68, together with Al Kooper and Steve Stills, he realized the milestone "Super Session". Again, in '69 he gifted us another jewel, the stunning "Live At Bill Graham's Fillmore West". Just these three works are enough to make him a cult musician on the international scene.

The splendid collection, "Don't Say That I Ain't Your Man -- Essential Blues 1964-1969" is a record that captures the artist at his best, excellent arrangements, sensitivity, creating a dense atmosphere and heterogeneous sensations. Some tracks are rich in funky and jazz nuances, the colors of the sound of his guitar are a continuous rediscovery. "If Got You In The Palm Of My Hand" "Feel So Good" tense and pressing, "I Got My Mojo Working" is a classic that can rival the most famous version by Muddy Waters. "Albert's Shuffle" finds Bloomfield's poetic vein at its zenith. "Don't Say That..." is a record that seals his career, a flower with an intoxicating scent.  

PS: The collection includes five unreleased tracks recorded with harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite. PS: 2 I have not mentioned Jimi Hendrix because, in my opinion, he deserves a separate discussion.