Blood, Sweat & Tears 4

BS&T4 is the end of the first stage of the band (and the last one i have). They invited Al Kooper (the original frontman) back to contribute. Ironically, they specifically stopped playing shows, assembled in San Fransisco, dove right into new original material that would serve as the foundation for the future of the band, then 1/3 of them quit to work on solo projects.

The critics aren't wrong when they say this record sounds exactly like it was made by people who had to carve out time from performing to create it, and then decided to go do other stuff. Each song is exactly what you'd expect from Blood, Sweat & Tears, but they really don't interact with each other. It's just stuff. One or more of the songs might really speak to you, but i don't think anyone could really argue that the album is great. It has no direction, or story, or recognizable trajectory; songs for the sake of songs.

It is, however, the most weirdly constructed jacket: a tri-fold with the pocket on the outside spine. Maybe the redeeming quality is that there are some really unique sounds. Not crazy or funny like 2 and 3, but unique.

That's ok, though. Cher's Dark Lady was surprisingly complex, so it's a nice change to take a mental break. Don't think about it too hard, just enjoy the diverse sounds they were able to capture in a rare moment of collective calm.

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