More 'super' than the original
When Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield undertook this project in the late '60s, their concept was to record an improvisational blues rock jam session, much the way jazz musicians would come together and play for themselves, taking the listener along for the ride, if they happened to be recorded. In this instance, Bloomfield only stuck around for half the project, leaving Kooper to find another guitarist to finish out what would become side two of the original LP. The guitarist selected was Stephen Stills, identified on the cover as Steve Stills, who was between his stints with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills and Nash (and sometimes Young), to record the remaining tracks. Besides being remixed and remastered, this updated version of Super Session contains four bonus tracks, two of which were recorded live, and two of which are extreme reimaginings of tracks already on the album. Perhaps the most significant is a remixed version of Donovan's "Season of the Witch". By far the longest track on the album, it is presented in this alternate version without the horn section, which greatly improves the track by turning it into more of a guitar-driven, straight ahead rocker, more consistent with most of the rest of the album tracks. In all, the four bonus tracks fit in well with the original album material, enhancing it instead of sounding like throwaway filler, which is so often the case.
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned