The Blues Project
Projections

The Blues Project was an American band formed in the mid-'60s and led by Bob Dylan's organist, Al Kooper. The band, besides him, was comprised of guitarists Danny Kalb and Steve Katz, bassist Andy Kulberg, and drummer Roy Blumenfeld. The group revived the classic forms of blues, modernizing them and adding a mix of the folk rock typical of those years (Dylan, Byrds), jazz, and the emerging psychedelia. This blend of classic and modern makes them among the important groups of the '60s.

Their masterpiece remains Projections of 1966, produced by the legendary Tom Wilson (Dylan's producer). "I Can't Keep From Crying" is the track that opens the album: arranged by Al Kooper with the addition of a hypnotic bass riff, guitar distortions, and a deafening organ. The bass is accompanied by continuous electric guitar incursions. The drums maintain a continuous beat, then proceed into a deafening orgy of sounds. Midway through the track, a keyboard joins in, but the bass and organ hold the predominance. The rhythm keeps to a classic blues with still unripe psychedelic invectives, typical of the period before '67. Towards the end, the piece slows down, leaving space for the bass and a finale with a guitar solo that twists on itself like a burning piece of paper.

"Steve's Song" presents oriental reminiscences. The beginning is accompanied by an acoustic guitar and an Indian flute. The guitar sounds like a music box and creates a sweetness perfectly contrasting with the wild blues rock of the previous track. Midway through, the gongs of the drums enter, with the addition of cymbals creating a magical atmosphere for the whimsical flute. The bass begins to accompany the voice in a psychedelic journey between oriental gardens and a heavenly melody, created by Kooper's omnipresent keyboard.

"You Can't Catch Me" is a classic Chuck Berry cover. It maintains its original '50s rock n roll style with the addition of faster and more modern rhythmic incursions. The sound, of course, appears livelier than the original version. Kooper's omnipresent piano and the rockabilly-style guitars are perfect, merging uniquely in the sound wall created by the piano and the deafening and rapid pace of Blumenfeld's drumming.

"Two Trains Running" is another cover, this time of Muddy Waters. The track relies almost entirely on a five-chord blues guitar riff, accompanied by Kulberg's usual bass. Kalb's voice brings us back to the shores of African American music. The real blues of the blacks: based on work, suffering, sacrifice. Kalb doesn't have Waters' warm voice, but he still manages to evoke the anguish of an entire people, long exploited by Western oppressors. Midway through, Kooper's usual organ briefly reemerges, then retreats again into the background of the track. Towards the end, there is space for Katz's harmonica, traveling along the tracks of Mississippi stations to Alabama with the Two Trains Running. The bass follows the track towards the conclusion along with the guitars: one creates a sound carpet that then leads into the organ's sound, while the other merely produces a rhythmic section of scorched chords that gradually fade, returning to the initial five chords as if to say that the journey is over.

"Wake Me, Shake Me" is a piece rearranged by Kooper with a usual bass riff and a rhythm supported by Blumenfeld's excellent drumming. The usual rockabilly of the guitars is present, merely accompanying the entire track. The inescapable keyboard fuses the sound of the guitars into a single sparkling tribal and psychedelic rhythm. Midway, the rhythm drops again, highlighting Kooper's voice, which seems to clash with Mick Jagger from the "I'm Going Home" period. Then the rhythm rises again with the chorus "wake me, shake me" and proceeds in this manner to the end.

"Cheryl's Going Home" is a cover of Bob Lind with the pace of the best on-the-road piece, as the title suggests. The organ creates an unusual psychedelic atmosphere for a road folk song. The guitar chords appear deliberately slowed to give a feeling of abandonment and relaxation. Even the voices are quieter and lull us home.

"Flute Thing" is one of the two pieces written by Al Kooper. After an intro from jazz piano, the flute takes off, accompanied by the tribal rhythm of the drums. The use of the flute might later remind one of Ian Anderson's flute concerts. The jazz drums merely accompany the flute's journey, with incursions from the organ and Katz's guitar following. When the flute momentarily pauses, the music delves more into the jazz piano, which seems to emit long plumes of smoke from the venues. There is even space for a mini jazz solo by Blumenfeld before the restart of the usual spacey wind instrument bringing the piece to a close.

"Caress Me Baby" is a cover of Jimmy Reed. It begins like the most classic blues: presence of guitar and drums with a piano playing soft melodies, almost hidden in the music's darkness, creating a New York bar atmosphere. The intro would later inspire Led Zeppelin in "Since I've Been Loving You". In fact, Kalb's voice slightly resembles the best Plant. The piece more or less maintains its linearity, apart from a few light guitar incursions here and there. Lighter space for the harmonica as well. In any case, this cover does not drastically transform from the original. Although it is perfectly executed, a clear lack of a proposal in seeking something else is noticeable (perhaps still dictated by limited compositional experience). As usual, there is also a solo towards the middle of the track before returning to the initial base with the line "Caress Me Baby" whispered in a whisper-thin voice.

"Fly Away" is the album's final track, written by Kooper. It opens with Katz's harmonica before flowing into excellent folk rock blues. The use of percussion always evokes a psychedelic atmosphere, although not as pronounced as in "Steve's Song". The structure remains linear, with the usual bass fundamental in keeping the base intact until the end.

In conclusion, the album shows a band perhaps in its early days with limited experience in the production field, considering that only four tracks are originally composed for the project, making the title "Projections" perhaps somewhat misplaced. Nevertheless, the musicians manage to perfect the material they choose to showcase, taking the old blues of African Americans and readapting it in a clear '60s, in this case (pre)psychedelic, key. A single flaw that might be criticized is perhaps not attempting much, but from a novice band, it's a fault that can be forgiven. "Projections" remains an important album to understand how the psychedelia, still in its embryonic state in '66, would eventually develop in the following year. The tracks would become longer, more visionary, more intricate. Here, the musical trips are still minimal, but Projections, like many of its contemporaneous albums, even more important ones, had sown the seeds for what would follow.

RATING: 7.5