The Electric Flag ‎– A Long Time Comin'

The Electric Flag – A Long Time Comin'

A Long Time Comin' is the landmark 1968 debut studio album from The Electric Flag, the pioneering American band founded by guitarist Mike Bloomfield and producer Barry Goldberg. Blending blues, rock, soul, R&B, jazz and psychedelic experimentation, the album captures one of the most ambitious attempts of the late 1960s to bring together the different strands of American roots music.

Formed in San Francisco in 1967, The Electric Flag quickly developed a reputation for their unusually expansive sound. Rather than functioning as a conventional blues-rock group, Bloomfield and Goldberg assembled a large ensemble featuring a horn section, keyboards, rhythm section and vocals, allowing the band to move freely between Chicago blues, Memphis soul, psychedelic rock and jazz.

The album followed the band's acclaimed appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, where they performed material from the soundtrack to the documentary The Trip. Their festival performance helped establish The Electric Flag as one of the most exciting new American groups of the period, with Bloomfield's expressive blues guitar at the centre of the sound.

Side A opens with a powerful version of Killing Floor, the classic blues number associated with Howlin' Wolf, before moving into the soulful and infectious Groovin' Is Easy. Over-Lovin' You and She Should Have Just showcase the band's R&B and soul influences, while Wine brings another dose of gritty, blues-driven rock.

Side B begins with the instrumental Texas, a superb showcase for the band's jazz and blues influences. Sittin' In Circles and You Don't Realize continue the mixture of psychedelic soul and roots music, before the expansive Another Country stretches out across nearly nine minutes. The brief Easy Rider provides a suitably atmospheric conclusion.

One of the album's most interesting qualities is the sheer number of musical styles it incorporates. Mike Bloomfield's blues guitar, the band's horn section and soulful vocals create a sound that feels simultaneously rooted in traditional American music and completely of its time. The Electric Flag's approach anticipated the genre-blurring that would become increasingly common throughout the late 1960s and 1970s.

The album also features the distinctive vocals of Nick Gravenites, whose gritty delivery provides the perfect counterpoint to Bloomfield's guitar. Other musicians associated with the sessions include Buddy Miles, Harvey Brooks and Barry Goldberg, making this a remarkable gathering of musicians from the American blues, soul and rock scenes.

A Long Time Comin' also has an important connection with counterculture cinema. The Electric Flag recorded the soundtrack for The Trip, Peter Fonda's 1967 psychedelic film, with Bloomfield's compositions helping establish the band's reputation as a group capable of moving beyond conventional blues-rock.

For collectors of The Electric Flag vinyl, Mike Bloomfield, 1960s blues rock, psychedelic rock, soul and American R&B, this is an essential album. Fans of Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Canned Heat and early Chicago blues-rock should find plenty to enjoy.

A fascinating document of the late-60s American musical melting pot, A Long Time Comin' is exactly what its title suggests: a bold meeting of blues, soul, rock, jazz and psychedelia, driven by some exceptional musicianship.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Killing Floor – 4:11
2. Groovin' Is Easy – 3:05
3. Over-Lovin' You – 2:10
4. She Should Have Just – 5:04
5. Wine – 3:15

Side B

1. Texas – 4:48
2. Sittin' In Circles – 3:53
3. You Don't Realize – 4:58
4. Another Country – 8:46
5. Easy Rider – 0:50