Famously assembled by Al Kooper in 1967 as a groundbreaking fusion of jazz and rock, the Blood Sweat & Tears line-up featured here is worlds apart from that of the Kooper years, and likewise from that of the era of huge commercial success which coincided with vocalist David Clayton-Thomas’ arrival in 1969.
Shot at Halifax’s Civic Theatre in April 1980, this comes after Clayton-Thomas (by this time the sole surviving connection with the band’s glory days) had relaunched BS&T, filling its ranks with Canadian musicians. What we have here is a pale reflection of earlier band incarnations, with the group playing their way through selections from their then current album, Nuclear Blues (including the unremarkable reggae funk of the title track and the meandering instrumental excursion of Spanish Wine), while mercifully dipping into past glories en route. These blasts from the past put what meat there is on the bones of this DVD, most notably God Bless The Child, Spinning Wheel and You’ve Made Me So Very Happy. Most annoying of all, though, is the fact that it only includes the first two minutes of the intriguingly off-the-wall cover of Jimi Hendrix’s Manic Depression before inexplicably fading into silence. Strictly one for the serious BS&T completist.
