From His Head to His Heart to His Hands

That it took until 2014 for a serious anthology of Mike Bloomfield’s work to appear should tell you everything you need to know about how underappreciated his work has been since his awful death of a drug overdose at age 37. Despite never being marketed well enough to compete with his peers from Clapton to Hendrix, Bloomfield played on key tracks with Bob Dylan and led The Paul Butterfield Blues Band through the masterful “East-West” and guided The Electric Flag through blues to jazz and R&B, playing in racially mixed groups at a time when few musicians dared to. His music here is divided into three sections: Roots, Jams, and Last Licks. Each department holds its own with enough highlights to enjoy Bloomfield’s skills both in context with the works and as individual performances. The previously unreleased instrumental versions of “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Tombstone Blues,” with The Chamber Brothers on backing vocals, shift the focus of the songs. Bloomfield played with a majesty and fire that's finally collected in one place, here aided by his friend and fellow traveler, Al Kooper.