Blood Sweat & Tears - Child Is Father To The Man - Debut LP - NM Vinyl - CS 9619

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Child Is Father to the Man Studio album by  Blood, Sweat & Tears Released February 21, 1968 Recorded November 11 - December 20, 1967 Genre Jazz-rock[1] Length 49:18 Label Columbia Producer John Simon

Child Is Father to the Man is the debut album by Blood, Sweat & Tears, released in February 1968. It reached number 47 on the Billboard pop albums chart in the United States.

History

As a teenager, Al Kooper went to a concert for jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson and this experience inspired Kooper to start a rock band with a horn section. Originally in a band called The Blues Project, Kooper left after band leader Danny Kalb rejected his idea of bringing in a horn section. He then left for the West Coast and found bassist Jim Fielder who believed in the songs that Kooper wrote. Though Kooper had big ideas for his next project, he didn't have the money to bring his ideas to fruition. He then threw a benefit for himself and invited several musicians he previously worked with, such as Judy Collins, Simon & Garfunkel, David Blue, Eric Andersen and Richie Havens. Although the performances sold out, the owner of the Cafe Au Go Go added such numerous expenses to the gross receipts that the net receipts after the performance were not enough to get a plane ticket or a taxi to the airport.

He later called Fielder and convinced him to come to New York. He also asked Bobby Colomby, Anderson and Steve Katz, who was his bandmate in his former band The Blues Project. Colomby called Fred Lipsius and the band placed an ad in The Village Voice for more horn players. Within a month, the band assembled an eight piece which also contained Randy Brecker, Jerry Weiss and Dick Halligan. Kooper then asked John Simon to produce them, after being fresh off from producing Simon & Garfunkel's album Bookends. The album was recorded in two weeks in December 1967. Simon asked all of the members to record their material in one take so he could study songs and make useful suggestions to the arrangements. 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. The band would later have two number one albums and several Grammys, although Kooper felt they were playing music that he didn't agree with. Despite being asked to leave Blood, Sweat & Tears, Kooper felt everything worked out well for him and the band.

Commercial performance

In the United States Child Is Father to the Man peaked at #47 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. It failed to generate any Top 40 singles, although "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" and "I Can't Quit Her" found some play on progressive rock radio.

In 2012, the album was ranked number 266 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The title is a quotation from a similarly titled poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, slightly misquoting a poem by William Wordsworth called "My Heart Leaps Up".

Reception

Review scores Source Rating AllMusic Rolling Stone Positive

Writing for AllMusic, critic William Ruhlman wrote of the album:

"Al Kooper's finest work, an album on which he moves the folk-blues-rock amalgamation of the Blues Project into even wider pastures, taking in classical and jazz elements (including strings and horns), all without losing the pop essence that makes the hybrid work. This is one of the great albums of the eclectic post-Sgt. Pepper era of the late '60s, a time when you could borrow styles from Greenwich Village contemporary folk to San Francisco acid rock and mix them into what seemed to have the potential to become a new American musical form... This is the sound of a group of virtuosos enjoying itself in the newly open possibilities of pop music. Maybe it couldn't have lasted; anyway, it didn't."

Personnel

Blood, Sweat & Tears

• Al Kooper – organ, piano; lead vocals (tracks 2, 4-7, 9-12); ondioline (track 8)
• Fred Lipsius – piano, alto saxophone
• Randy Brecker – trumpet, flugelhorn
• Jerry Weiss – trumpet, flugelhorn; backing vocals (track 4)
• Dick Halligan – trombone
• Steve Katz – guitars; lead vocals (tracks 3, 8); backing vocals (tracks 3); lute (track 6)
• Jim Fielder – bass guitar, fretless bass guitar
• Bobby Colomby – drums, percussion; backing vocals (tracks 4, 10)

Additional musicians

• Anahid Ajemian – violin
• Fred Catero – sound effects
• Harold Coletta – viola
• Paul Gershman – violin
• Al Gorgoni – organ, guitar, vocals
• Manny Green – violin
• Julie Held – violin
• Doug James – shaker
• Harry Katzman – violin
• Leo Kruczek – violin
• Harry Lookofsky – violin
• Charles McCracken – cello
• Melba Moore – choir, chorus
• Gene Orloff – violin
• Valerie Simpson – choir, chorus
• Alan Schulman – cello
• John Simon – organ, piano, conductor, cowbell
• The Manny Vardi Strings

Production

• Producers: Bob Irwin, John Simon
• Engineer: Fred Catero
• Mixing: John Simon
• Mastering: Vic Anesini
• Arrangers: Fred Catero, Al Gorgoni, Fred Lipsius, Alan Schulman, John Simon
• Art direction: Howard Fritzson
• Photography: Bob Cato, Don Hunstein
• Packaging: Michael Cimicata

Track List

A1
Overture Arranged By – Al*, John* Conductor – JS* Performer – The BS&T String Ensemble Written-By – A. Kooper* Arranged By – Al*, John* Conductor – JS* Performer – The BS&T String Ensemble Written-By – A. Kooper* 1:32 A2
I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know Alto Saxophone [Alto Solo] – Fred* Arranged By [Strings] – John Simon Vocals, Arranged By – Al* Written-By – A. Kooper* Alto Saxophone [Alto Solo] – Fred* Arranged By [Strings] – John Simon Vocals, Arranged By – Al* Written-By – A. Kooper* 5:58 A3
Morning Glory Arranged By – Al*, Fred* Vocals, Backing Vocals – Steve* Written-By – L. Beckett*, T. Buckley* Arranged By – Al*, Fred* Vocals, Backing Vocals – Steve* Written-By – L. Beckett*, T. Buckley* 4:15 A4
My Days Are Numbered Arranged By – Fred*, John Simon Backing Vocals – Bobby*, Jerry* Guitar, Soloist – Ztak Evets* Vocals, Arranged By – Al* Written-By – A. Kooper* Arranged By – Fred*, John Simon Backing Vocals – Bobby*, Jerry* Guitar, Soloist – Ztak Evets* Vocals, Arranged By – Al* Written-By – A. Kooper* 3:19 A5
Without Her Alto Saxophone – Fred* Arranged By – Fred Catero Flugelhorn – Randy* Guitar – Al Gorgoni Piano [Mendes Piano] – John Simon Vocals – Al* Written-By – H. Nilsson* Alto Saxophone – Fred* Arranged By – Fred Catero Flugelhorn – Randy* Guitar – Al Gorgoni Piano [Mendes Piano] – John Simon Vocals – Al* Written-By – H. Nilsson* 2:42 A6
Just One Smile Arranged By – Fred* Arranged By [Fugue Sequence] – John Simon Flugelhorn, Soloist – Randy* Lute – Steve* Organ [2nd] – John* Vocals, Arranged By, Organ [1st] – Al* Written-By – R. Newman* Arranged By – Fred* Arranged By [Fugue Sequence] – John Simon Flugelhorn, Soloist – Randy* Lute – Steve* Organ [2nd] – John* Vocals, Arranged By, Organ [1st] – Al* Written-By – R. Newman* 4:38 B1
I Can't Quit Her Arranged By [Strings] – John Simon Backing Vocals – Soul Chorus* Shaker – Doug James (2) Vocals – Al* Written-By – A. Kooper*, I. Levine* Arranged By [Strings] – John Simon Backing Vocals – Soul Chorus* Shaker – Doug James (2) Vocals – Al* Written-By – A. Kooper*, I. Levine* 3:38 B2
Meagan's Gypsy Eyes Backing Vocals – Leslie Gurgle Drums [Marching Drums] – Bobby* Organ [Allen Explorer Organ], Bass Drum, Synthesizer [Ondioline] – Al* Vocals – Steve* Written-By – S. Katz* Backing Vocals – Leslie Gurgle Drums [Marching Drums] – Bobby* Organ [Allen Explorer Organ], Bass Drum, Synthesizer [Ondioline] – Al* Vocals – Steve* Written-By – S. Katz* 3:24 B3
Somethin' Goin' On Alto Saxophone, Soloist – Fred Lipsius Vocals – Al* Written-By – A. Kooper* Alto Saxophone, Soloist – Fred Lipsius Vocals – Al* Written-By – A. Kooper* 8:01 B4
House In The Country Alto Saxophone [Sweet Alto] – Fred Lipsius Arranged By – Fred* Backing Vocals, Tambourine [Backwards] – Bobby* Cowbell [Backwards], Piano [Tack] – John Simon Effects [Hisses, Music Stands (Falling)] – Larry Waterman Guest [Barroom Sequence Starring] – Glotzer* Sounds [Animal Sounds] – Al Kooper, Bob Colomby*, Fred Lipsius, John Simon Vocals, Arranged By – Al* Voice Actor [Screams] – Penny Gladstone Written-By – A. Kooper* Alto Saxophone [Sweet Alto] – Fred Lipsius Arranged By – Fred* Backing Vocals, Tambourine [Backwards] – Bobby* Cowbell [Backwards], Piano [Tack] – John Simon Effects [Hisses, Music Stands (Falling)] – Larry Waterman Guest [Barroom Sequence Starring] – Glotzer* Sounds [Animal Sounds] – Al Kooper, Bob Colomby*, Fred Lipsius, John Simon Vocals, Arranged By – Al* Voice Actor [Screams] – Penny Gladstone Written-By – A. Kooper* 3:05 B5
The Modern Adventures Of Plato, Diogenes And Freud Arranged By [Strings] – John Simon Conductor – JS* Strings – The BS&T String Ensemble Vocals, Arranged By [Strings] – Al* Written-By – A. Kooper* Arranged By [Strings] – John Simon Conductor – JS* Strings – The BS&T String Ensemble Vocals, Arranged By [Strings] – Al* Written-By – A. Kooper* 4:13 B6
So Much Love / Underture Effects [Special] – Fred Catero Vocals – Al*, Fred*, John* Written-By – G. Goffin - C. King* Effects [Special] – Fred Catero Vocals – Al*, Fred*, John* Written-By – G. Goffin - C. King* 4:44