Actually, we never made it to dinner. Al had to reprogram his keyboard and ate up too much of the appointed time. So, we sat in the dressing room and ate catering. At least I did. A sandwich of salami and cheese on rye bread. Did the trick.
Anyway, I showed up at McCabe's on schedule but they were guarding the door like an Iraqi prison. Then again, if THESE guys had watched the gate nobody would have escaped. They needed a password. I thought of saying "swordfish" but I just told them to tell Al "Bob" was here. They gave me a look like I was an ingrate, but a couple of minutes later the door opened wide. Later I was told they couldn't believe I didn't employ a last name. But, with a last name like mine, that demands spelling, I let it go. I mean when you're expected, your first name is enough.
And I walked into the performance space and Al was sitting on stage fiddling with his Korg. Interacting with the sound man. Then he started playing "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know". I instantly knew why Irving changed the formula from a fan club experience to paying an exorbitant fee for soundcheck access. This was the musical HIGHLIGHT of the evening. As I wandered the hall, picking out my evening seat, Al Kooper ran through one classic song after another. It was a mindfuck. How many times had I heard these songs? On my bedroom floor. In my car. And here was the guy who wrote them, SINGING them!
Maybe you don't know Al Kooper. But you do. He co-wrote "This Diamond Ring". And was a founding member of Blood, Sweat & Tears. And was in the Blues Project before and did the "Super Session" record thereafter. And produced my favorite Tubes album, the very first, with "What Do You Want From Life" and "White Punks On Dope" as well as the first two Lynyrd Skynyrd albums, with "Free Bird" and "Sweet Home Alabama". I'm a fan. And to be there, getting a private concert, was a body-tingling experience.
On the way up the stairs to the dressing room, Al tried to explain to Evil who I was. He ultimately said we were "mutual fans". I LOVED that!
Al had told me the show was his Ray Davies piece. Playing songs and telling stories.
You could say it was like "VH1 Storytellers", but it wasn't. You can hear the KACHING while watching "Storytellers". You know the act is promoting an album or a tour and really isn't interested in telling you ANYTHING! And, if per chance he is, there's not enough time to get the complete story out. Whereas last night was like hanging out in the living room with a friend. Hearing the EXTENDED version.
The most interesting confabulation of the evening was Al's explanation of "The Modern Adventures Of Plato, Diogenes And Freud".
There's an incredible remaster of the first Blood, Sweat & Tears album. Which is really the ONLY album. The second, with the big hits, sounds creepy today. What with David Clayton Thomas blathering. It's too slick. It was made for radio. Whereas the debut, with Al handing lead vocals, sounds like a time capsule of the New York streets in the sixties. There's an earthiness, a grit, that never appeared in the music of the west coast. Music made by thinking people.
Most of "Child Is Father To The Man" is the sound of a horn band. But there's this one swirling track, where Al is encased in strings. THESE are the songs we fall in love with on albums. Songs that are NEVER played on the radio.
Turns out this is the song that broke up the band. It had no horns. The rest of the guys didn't want it on the record. They called a band meeting. And, when deadlocked, they decided to leave the decision to the producer, John Simon. Who agreed with Al. Probably sealing his fate. Because bands are democracies, and if you go against the majority, you ultimately lose.
But, the SONG was about a SHRINK! That all the guys in the Blues Project went to see. Who was into psychedelics. The word spread. From the band members to their wives to their friends. They built this guy's practice. But then it came out this psychiatrist was sleeping with his women patients, i.e. the band members' WIVES! So, everybody stopped seeing him. Cold. There was never any further contact. And pondering this in the absence thereafter, and wanting the last word, Al wrote "The Modern Adventures Of Plato, Diogenes And Freud". Oh, I didn't tell it right. But it's Al's show. But it was such a different era. With Simon & Garfunkel referencing analysis. Everybody searching. Today it's about LIMITS! Yesterday it was about exploration. "The Modern Adventures Of Plato, Diogenes And Freud" has got an ethereal sound that sets your mind free. And minds haven't been free in eons.
The line of the night capped the tale of an old buddy. Who ran into his ex-wife at the bar. She looked really fine. He wondered why he ever broke it up. Then he confided to Al he "took a walk through the old neighborhood". I CRACKED UP! That could be the best euphemism I've ever heard.
But that's the kind of story Al's got. An endless observer of human beings, he replicated quotes of old bluesmen in the Texas countryside and uneducated hicks in Tennessee.
Maybe you've never hung with musicians. It's about jokes and stories. Sure, a few got rich, but most musicians were screwed by the business, and all they've got is the music, their relationships and their experiences. To be let inside this world is to find a treasure trove of riches, the kind you've always been looking for, but didn't even know existed. And to hear the tales from a master...
Al's stories don't include low-level players, but people like Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan.
On the sidewalk after midnight, Al told me Joni had broken up with the drummer of the Blues Project. So, Al walked her home, keeping her company. And, as she sat in her apartment playing her tunes he couldn't believe it. He rang Judy Collins. At 3:30 in the morning! You can imagine she wasn't happy. But Al told her she knew he wouldn't have woken her up if he didn't have a good reason. Judy was going to Newport the next day, as a board member of the festival. She had to take Joni with her. In her CAR! So Joni could play her music for Judy. Al swore if Judy did this it would pay dividends, she'd want to put Joni on the bill.
Needless to say, Judy Collins' career was blown wide open by her cover of "Both Sides Now".
I'm gonna leave the Dylan stories to Al. Some were priceless. But they're his.
It's just fun to be a member of the club.
No, it's a lifelong dream.
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