Original Album Classics

Five classic solo albums of musican-legend Al Kooper, available in a simple box set at a low price. Not included is his rare 1972 offering "Possible Projection of the Future", neither albums done in company with Mike Bloomfield and Steven Stills, Steve Katz or Shuggie Otis. The Kooper solo albums do all bring different styles and rich arrangements, which makes a joyful listen.

If you’re new to Al Kooper I can understand you bagging this bargain box set and if you’re like me you’re somewhat familiar and want a reliable purchase endorsed by Sony Records for mastering and packaging.Well here’s the truth:Included here are Al’s first 4 albums and his 6th (Naked Songs) which is a poorer album than his 5th (Possible Projection of the Future) so that’s the first disappointment, especially as to find a decent remaster of Possible Projection is quite a challenge.Next is the packaging - it’s as basic as it could be; the original album covers in a cardboard wallet with no liner notes whatsoever so you’ll be on Wikipedia trying to get some background on the records. Al Kooper’s autobiography is good fun but he also misses the background and recording of his albums in his book so you’ll be non the wiser with this purchase.Finally- the audio.Is it remastered?? YesIs it good?? It’s good enough but not as good as it should be. I also have the last Sony release of New York City (you’re a woman) and it’s a better remaster. Whoever remastered this ticked the audio boxes on his computer screen - pushed the mids and highs, cleared the 70s mud off the bottom end and added more modern compression, and too much of the latter in my opinion. New York City (You’re a Woman) is actually difficult to listen to in places it’s pushed that hard. It’s far and away the best album and I really hoped the Ken Scott produced tracks would be better handled. Now it’s not a disaster by any means it’s just not as fat, “smumfy” and 3D as I would like. These remastering guys should be delicately dusting off and touching up in places these antiques not treating them as “old” and irrelevant that need updating. It’s the wrong approach in my book. The mics, recording consoles, and studios they used in those days were far superior and still are than our digital “out of the box” recordings so a bit more tlc was required. It’s clear, loud and spruced up so for a tenner give it a whirl but audiophiles be a little cautious and probably look out for remasters of individual records than the box set if you’re serious about getting optimum.The albums are very good, inventive and an important part of music history so if it was just down to music it would be a 5 star but that was for Rolling Stone or NME back in the day

The first disc I didn't like much but the rest I enjoyed

good

Here are Al Koopers five first solo albums. All of them very fine. Great musician and composer. Well worth having!

A great collection of music that was a whole introduction to this artist. If you are unsure, it's worth it for the nostalgia these albums evoke. Each is like an audio trip back to the late 60s early 70s in the nicest way.

Colección

Al Kooper, nicht zu verwechseln mit Alice Cooper, ist einer der profiliertesten Musiker, Songwriter und Produzenten der US-amerikanischen populären Musik. Seine Zusammenarbeit mit Bob Dylan, seine Produktion für Lynyrd Skynyrd oder seine musikalische Führung bei Child Is Father to the Man von Blood, Sweat & Tears zählen zu Koopers bekanntesten Marksteinen. Kaum bekannt allerdings sind einem breiteren Publikum die extravaganten Soloalben, die Kooper seit 1968 und in der Hauptsache bis 1976 veröffentlicht hat. Detlef Diederichsen nannte Koopers You Never Know Who Your Friends Are von 1969 einmal das beste Brass-Rock-Album der sechziger Jahre, aber amerikanische Kritiker konnten mit Koopers eklektischer Musik von Pop, Soul, Blues und Rock nie viel anfangen und beklagten sich über seine wenig umfangreiche Stimme. Ja, wer auf Stentorstimmen und oft brachialen Rock vom Schlage eines Bruce Springsteen steht, kann mit Al Koopers virtuosen, enzyklopädischen Arrangements nicht viel anfangen. Die Original Album Series präsentiert Koopers erste fünf Alben: Es fehlt das in diesen Kontext gehörige Childhood's End, außerdem erschließt sich im CD-Format nicht die ironisch-witzige Cover-Art der Vinyl-Originale. Doch das Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis ist kaum zu schlagen. Und wer von seiner beeindruckenden Musik noch nicht genug hat, besorgt sich mit Koopers Backstage Passes... die vielleicht beste Rock-Autobiographien in Buchform. Highly recommendable!

Un clásico del rock americano

Ottimo Acquisto,Soddisfattissimo di questo Cd. Grazie.armando