Performer Notes

EAST-WEST LIVE features three live versions of the title song from the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's EAST-WEST album, including a 28-minute version recorded in early 1967.
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Paul Butterfield (harmonica, maracas); Michael Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop (guitar); Mark Naftalin (keyboards); Jerome Arnold (bass); Billy Davenport (drums).
Recorded live at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go, Los Angeles, California and Poor Richard's, Chicago, Illinois in 1966; Golden Bear, Huntington Beach, California in 1967. Includes liner notes by Dave Marsh and Dan Forte.
Personnel: Paul Butterfield (harmonica, maracas); Elvin Bishop, Michael Bloomfield (guitar); Mark Naftalin (keyboards); Billy Davenport (drums).
Liner Note Author: Dave Marsh .
Recording information: Golden Bear, Huntington Beach (1966-1967); Poor Richard's, Chicago, IL (1966-1967); Whiskey A Go-Go, Hollywood, CA (1966-1967).
Photographers: William S. Harvey ; Billy Davenport; Barry Feinstein.
EAST-WEST LIVE is lo-fi, but a document of one of the best bands of the '60s at its performing peak; the Paul Butterfield Blues Band provided the template for many San Francisco bands waiting in the proverbial wings. Guitar hero Mike Bloomfield is the focus, whose soloing is endlessly inventive. But the rest of the group is equally impressive. The rhythm section cooks throughout and Paul Butterfield on harmonica and second guitarist Elvin Bishop get off almost Coltrane-esque sheets of sound. Best moment: the conclusion to the over 28-minute third version, recorded around Christmas, which ends appropriately with a storming rendition of "Joy to the World."

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (11/28/96, p.136) - 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...The performances...bristle with the excitement of a band sailing headfirst into uncharted waters....You can hear the genesis of the jam aesthetic that stretches from the early Allman Brothers Band to Blues Traveler and beyond. One of the finest archival projects of the year..."

Down Beat (2/97, p.55) - 5 Stars (out of 5) - "...The superb electric guitar playing of Mike Bloomfield carries the kind of raw and bold musical intelligence that's seldom heard in blues or rock since he split the band....The three-part troika flows as a single otherworldly piece...becoming more intricate and revelatory as the music plays on..."

JazzTimes (3/97, p.78) - "...sprawling, psychedelic modal-blues jams..."

Album: East-West Live
#	Song Title	Time
1)	East-West - (live version #1)
2)	East-West - (live version #2)
3)	East-West - (live version #3)

Album: East-West Live
#	Song Title	Time
1)	East-West - (live version #1)
2)	East-West - (live version #2)
3)	East-West - (live version #3)