Ted Nugent/The Amboy Dukes - Loaded for Bear The Best of
Marriage on the Rocks is a rather mighty fine record, but for a long time it was the only Amboy Dukes I’d heard other than the occasional single. This compilation of mostly earlier beat/pop tracks is a lot less interesting to my ear, most of it sounding awfully dated now. I’m a fan of psychedelic rock so that’s not usually much of an issue, it just seems like a lot of these pieces haven’t held up very well. It’s interesting to hear Ted Nugent in his lead guitar spots, sounding nothing like his later hard rock persona, but that seems to be about the biggest draw and I’m wondering if this is more a case of the compilation’s slant towards the accessible material rather than what they did better. The Dukes definitely shined a lot brighter than what is here.
Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper/Steven Stills - Super Session
Definitely a blues rock jam session and typical of the period, although this super session is actually pretty inspired, particularly as the set reached its second half. It holds up easily to similar efforts by Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos while not having the jazz and sideways credentials that Cream had. And importantly it sounds very good now and reflects nicely on the era. I didn’t even remember liking this material so much, so I’m starting to change my opinion on it. But definitely be warned, it’s got a slightly self-indulgent side in some of the longer spots.