I consider John Simon almost a sixth member of The Band on their first two albums. I hadn't known he produced the first BS&T album, which is completely different from the ones that followed. I've never read why Al Kooper left his own creation after only one album.
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Hi Eric (bdp24), According to the Wikipedia writeup on BS&T: Colomby and Katz wanted to move Kooper exclusively to keyboard and composing duties, while hiring a stronger vocalist for the group, causing Kooper's departure in April 1968.The writeup provides a reference for that statement in a footnote, but the link no longer works. Katz, of course, is Steve Katz, who during prior years in the 1960s was a member of The Blues Project along with Kooper. Their "Projections" album is one of my favorite rock albums. Best regards, -- Al |
@bdp24 Looks like you are not alone in that "6th member" opinion... http://theband.hiof.no/band_members/john_simon.html Al's Wiki info about Al Kooper leaving BS&T not withstanding, the Wiki entry for Child Is Father to the Man puts it more bluntly: "After a brief promotional tour, Colomby and Katz ousted Kooper from the band, which led to Child is Father to the Man being the only BS&T album on which Kooper ever appeared." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_Is_Father_to_the_Man All explanations covered handily, no doubt, by the hackneyed "artistic differences". |
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