David Clayton-Thomas - In Concert A Musical Biography

As Good After Date

Recorded in Toronto in 2005 with an 11 piece orchestra – heavy on horns, naturally – this performance revisits mainly Blood, Sweat and Tears numbers from albums 2, 3 and 4 which would be, by and large, most audience’s preferred aural time travel, so it opens with And When I Die, and there is a seven minute blast of Lucretia MacEvil as the fifth track. David Clayton Thomas is in brilliant voice here, and the band pump out some powerful grooves in support. It’s all stonkin’ stuff, apart from the sweet simmer and soul of God Bless The Child, but my favourite is a punchy revisiting of Go Down Gamblin’ where the band let it rip. Actually Spinning Wheel is pretty tough too. Then there’s (You’ve Made Me) So Very Happy/Variation on a Theme......

Blood, Sweat & Tooth

David Clayton-Thomas - Soul Ballads (2010); Mike Harrison Meets The Hamburg Blues Band - Touch (2002)

A quick post to highlight two great male vocals - having looked at the ladies - and this pair truly represents greatness and doing so at a more contemporary arc in their long, legendary careers: David Clayton-Thomas, lead vocalist from Blood, Sweat & Tears; and Mike Harrison, lead vocalist from Spooky Tooth.

Both albums are wonderful but significantly different to one another. Soul Ballads is a collection of soul standards like Midnight Train to Georgia; A Change is Gonna Come; People Get Ready, and Dock of the Bay. Clayton-Thomas brings his distinctive vocal to all just above conventional arrangements, his voice never being thrust out and bringing charm and elegance to these covers rather than any dynamic impact. I stress this because it is the tone that controls these songs, all of which have established and iconic original renditions. He performs a beautiful version of the classic Sunny, my favourite on the album.

Touch is a a more rock-focused performance with Harrison's vocal punching out its glorious growl alongside the excellent playing of The Hamburg Blues Band. There are ten original numbers and each is an old-fashioned, rock-simple template over which Harrison and the band construct driving anthems or raw ballads. There is an eleventh track, a live reincarnation of the majestic Spooky Tooth song Waitin' for the Wind.

Both these albums are simply great fun to hear. Nothing original and all the more authentic for this.