B,S&T; Proves Staying Power Blood, Sweat And Tears’ Eclectic Repertoire Has Held Strong Through The Years

When the assignment of writing a Blood, Sweat and Tears concert preview for the revamped band’s show at the Silver Mountain Amphitheater on Saturday was dropped in my lap, I was a little surprised.

I thought, what the heck am I doing writing about a dinosaur that was absent from my formative years of listening to rock ‘n’ roll? Although I had heard a couple of their hits - “Spinning Wheel” and “Sometimes in Winter” - I knew nothing about the band and its impact on rock.

After all, I wasn’t even born when the combo’s first couple of albums climbed the charts. Yet that never stopped me from listening to the Kinks, the Stones and Led Zeppelin, so I accepted the assignment.

To start, I stopped by a used record store to pick up a few Blood, Sweat and Tears albums. I had a hunch it was the kind of band that sounded great along with the crackles and pops of worn vinyl.

I bought 1968’s “Child Is Father to the Man,” 1969’s “Blood, Sweat and Tears” and 1970’s “B,S&T 3” for $4 apiece, a bargain considering they looked to be the original pressings.

After plopping a couple of the records on my turntable, I was pleasantly surprised to hear a band that, at the time, was expanding the boundaries of rock ‘n’ roll by encompassing soul, gospel, jazz, funk, blues and even a tad of classical. Reading a couple of entries in various music anthologies confirmed my thoughts.

The band - augmented by gravelly vocals, a fat brass section and musician wizardry - could break into any genre with flair and distinction.

A few songs on the three albums resorted to progressive rock trappings: visionless drum solos and jamming journeys to nowhere. All in all, however, I found their music cutting-edge and intriguing enough to warrant the band’s current revival tour.

Ultimately, Blood, Sweat and Tears’ appetite for diversity was also their downfall.

In the mid-‘70s, the jazz players in the band wanted the group to delve more into improvisational music. The classically trained musicians wished to play music that was more complex. So Blood, Sweat and Tears disintegrated.

Today, the gravelly blues-schooled vocalist David Clayton-Thomas remains at the core of the band. He joined the band in 1968, just in time to help create Blood, Sweat and Tears’ quintessential self-titled album, which sold millions of copies and garnered five Grammys.

Even though the band’s days of recording progressive and influential music are well out of its reach, Blood, Sweat and Tears in their prime released several albums of musical substance. And the band’s hits were as eclectic as they come, which is one reason why they still hold up today.

So do what I did: Buy a Blood, Sweat and Tears album or three, set one on the turntable, drop the needle and give it a whirl. If you already own a couple, dig them out of the vault, blow the dust off and turn up the volume. Then, following your visit into nostalgia, go out and by a ticket for the band’s show on Saturday.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: CONCERT Blood, Sweat and Tears, featuring David Clayton-Thomas, perform at Silver Mountain Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $26.50 for reserved seating and $19.50 for general admission, available at all G&B Select-a-Seat outlets or by calling 325-SEAT.