Al compares the local news to reality 2006  Photo: Christopher Lewis Latest Update May 12th 2010   Sign up for Al's email updates Email Address: NOTICE!!  Please sign up for the mailing list using the subscribe link above. The mailing list was lost, so even if you've signed up in the past, please SIGN UP AGAIN! FREE Full Interactive Booklet for 50/50 Album!!   If ya wanna see EVERYTHING about the 50/50 album, downlaod this zipfile. After you unzip the file, make sure you open the regular file with Adobe Reader preferably version 9, as it is a .pdf file. If you make it a fullscreen file, you won't have to squint & curse me out !! If you have not purchased the album, it is only available as a download on iTunes, fer instance - 50 songs for 24.99 - SUCH A DEAL!!!! Have fun either way. click here Free Video!!  To See Al's homemade video of his Italy/Scandinavian tour, click here. Quicktime users can download the movie by clicking here Obscurativa Radio Shows Now Available! Click here _____________   Welcome to Al Kooper's Website where we hope you find your way to all things Al. We are constantly upgrading and tweaking, so visit often and you'll always find a little surprise here or there. Feel free to sign our guest book and help create a cyber-mailing-list. Among some of the goodies onboard are Al's personal Top 100, diaries from various road trips, Al's guide through his various solo albums, rare photos, up-to-date live concert info, a biography, and lots more stuff on the way. Al's autobiography, "Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards" (Billboard Books-USA) was published in November, 1998. For more info on the book and some rave reviews, click here. With the exception of the "Landlord" soundtrack album, all of Al's albums are in print on CD! There aren't many in print in the USA, mind you, but with a little cyber-sleuthing import shops and online vendors can usually turn up a fresh laser copy of your favorite dog-eared Kooper LP. Al would also like to take this opportunity to thank his ole buddy Elliott Randall, guitarist extraordinaire, for being the webmaster/codewarrior on this site. See? And you thought he only played guitar! So, sit back and hopefully, everything you ever wanted to know about Al Kooper but were afraid to ask, will come leaping at you from your monitor in due time. Thanks for visiting and please return on a regular basis for updates and new goodies! UPDATE- SEPTEMBER 9th, 2010 in memory of Ritchie Hayward & Robert Schimmel The first edition of the westcoast Rekooperators from 1981. Thankfully photo sent  by Hutch Hutchinson. Annoying the rats at the now-defunct Central Club (now The Viper Room) are : L to R: Hutch Hutchinson on bass, Al in tacky pants and hairstyle,  the late great Ritchie Hayward wailing away as only he could, Bryan Cumming on sax, Mark Spangler on guitar and Jerry Weber on keys. This was a period where I played guitar almost exclusively. We miss you so much, Ritchie !!!! Well, it’s been the usual wait but this guy’s been busy. I just spent the last six months producing & arranging an album by one of my early heroes, rockabilly legend, Charlie Gracie. I think it’s as good as any record I’ve ever produced and I can’t wait for you all to hear it. Charlie is 74 years old, but sings like a dream - a cross between Elvis Presley & Johnny Cash, with a dash of Roy Orbison thrown in to sweeten the stew. Now we have to wade through the mastering and all the business stuff. I will let you know in this space when & where you may purchase/listen to this wonderful blast of fresh music. I will be performing 9/10 at The Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. I have not played Woodstock in at least ten years - a wonderful memorable evening at The now-shuttered Joyous Lake club. I think this will be a great gig, so come on down and let’s see what local musicians will ramble up onstage to do the jam. I will have my band The Funky Faculty in tow as well. On 9/25, we are playing outdoors in downtown Boston at 5 PM at the Beantown Jazz Fest and that should be fun as well. The stage will be set up on Columbus Ave between Cedar & Tremont Street. Oh, and thankfully, admission is free so bring the gang and let’s rock outside one last time before the weather changes!!!! It has become increasingly more difficult to play live nowadays. It’s still my favorite thing to do, but the recession has put almost a total stop to gig offers for performers in my age group & genre. There doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about it, but I suspect you can help. Email or call your favorite venues and tell them you would love to hear us play in your town (assuming you would) My email contact is onsite here and I would love to hear from venues that love good music and are wondering where to turn nowadays. My annual January westcoast visit is definitely imperiled this year and looks like it will not happen. So if you love live music as much as I do, let’s see what we can do to get me out of the house more often and put smiles on all your faces and ours too!!!!   BEST iTUNE DOWNLOADS EARLY MAY TO EARLY SEPTEMBER 2010 Below are the current dollops of good music I am currently enjoying and I hope everyone  takes a listen so I can share this wealth of new music with all of you. Speed Of Life 3:51 The Grip Weeds A Little Opera Goes a Long Way 3:49 Sky Sailing One Short Night 3:50 Grace Potter & the Nocturnals Moving to Zion 5:06 Jimmy Needham Collector 5:09 Here We Go Magic Between the Needles & Nightfall 4:58 Marco Benevento One Man Show 4:36 30db Grave 4:52 30db Tomorrow's Another Day 3:43 Carney Falling Down Blues 4:53 Ramblin' Jack Elliott Blue Beard 3:22 Band of Horses I Don't Wanna 3:11 Brett Hite Fallen 4:46 Jennifer Knapp J.W. 3:10 John 5 Big Screen 3:22 Kinetix Are You Experienced 6:35 Jim Suhler & Alan Haynes Ooh Child 5:09 Dee Dee Sharp Gamble God Only Knows 3:16 Monica Mancini Question 5:19 Nada Surf Wild World 4:15 Marc Cohn Let Me Out 2:30 Kurt Baker Semi-Automatic 3:19 Stuedabakerbrown I Can See Me Loving You 3:34 Beth Nielsen Chapman Jaded Tourist 4:28 Widespread Panic Annabelle 3:15 A Rocket to the Moon Shelly's Winter Love (feat. Nick Lowe ) 4:30 Bill Kirchen When I Still Have Thee 3:29 Teenage Fanclub Mountain Greenery 2:48 The Ernie Freeman Combo Sister Sadie (Live) 9:02 Steve Gadd, Joey Defrancesco, Doo-Wop Medley 3:59 Elvin Bishop Timitant Tillay / Exodus (feat. Los Lobos) 4:45 Herbie Hancock Control Yourself 3:46 JOEMCA That's Life 4:46 Paul Thorn You Might Be Wrong 3:29 Paul Thorn Slow Down 3:47 Terri Hendrix Fire In the Streets 3:44 Taddy Porter Be Your Woman 3:58 Ollabelle Cool Water Blues 3:20 Houston Stackhouse Archer's Arrows 4:03 Crowded House I Heart California 4:21 Admiral Radley C.R.E.A.M. 3:28 Unwrapped Sign Your Name 5:37 Sheryl Crow Gaia 2:22 Faun Firecracker 3:45 Frazey Ford Toynbee 5:36 Manic Bloom Dozen Hearts 3:02 Seneca Hawk For Your Precious Love 2:41 Count Basie & Jackie Wilson The Suburbs 5:15 Arcade Fire Letdown Of The Year 3:33 Backseat Goodbye Plague of Love 3:26 Katie Melua Red Devil 4:57 Kopecky Family Band Baggage Claim 4:37 Rusty Anderson Youth 4:56 Stick Figure Help Me 3:26 Eli 'Paperboy' Reed Chemicals 4:28 elsinore In Lines 3:38 Language Room Take a Look Around 3:10 The Temptations BRIAN WILSON REIMAGINES GEORGE GERSHWIN ENTIRE ALBUM Night Shot 4:11 Polock Where Is Bobbie Gentry? 3:11 Jill Sobule Sleepwalker 3:37 Faun Fables Fly High 2:41 Chris Ardoin Low 3:57 Dylan LeBlanc Rich Girls 3:14 Fitz & The Tantrums Breakin' the Chains of Love 2:51 Fitz & The Tantrums A Prayer 2:36 Madeleine Peyroux Bring Me to Life 3:56 Evanescence Australia 4:43 JP, Chrissie Hynde & The Fairground Boys Better Than a Machine (For Vic Chestnutt) 2:50 Bill Frisell Stumble On 6:04 Richard Thompson The Real Thing 4:25 Sahara Smith Thousand Secrets 4:35 Sahara Smith Be My Thrill 2:30 The Weepies Can't Be True 2:51 Terrible Things Conspiracy 3:03 Terrible Things   See the darkness of Al's domiciles - click here. "50/50" is now availalbe on iTunes, Rhapsody, etc. Full interactive booklet only available here. "...Al Kooper is a skilled musician who's had a hand in some of the biggest and best albums in pop history--Highway 61 Revisited, Let It Bleed, and The Who Sell Out among them--but more importantly has a vastly impressive recording catalog of his own. A former member of New York's Blues Project and the founder of Blood Sweat & Tears--whose Child Is Father To The Man album, the only one featuring Kooper, is one of the finest pop records ever--Kooper released a string of excellent albums beginning with 1968's I Stand Alone, and most of them can be sampled here. A 50-track digital only release, the set is artfully sequenced and without a single moment of filler. I would suggest you find all his albums--especially 1969's You Never Know Who Your Friends Are, which approaches the BS&T; album in its greatness--but in the meantime, check out this collection for a taste of this artist's fab greatness. It's easier to file than ever!..." DAVE DIMARTINO,YAHOO MUSIC Febuary 18th, 2009

A rare shot of young Al (second from right)  and Paul Simon (right) doing the two guitars, bass &  drums prom gig thing pre-Beatles 1963.     (photo courtesy Jerry Cohen)   Al's new album "White Chocolate" is now available for purchase! Click here or go to store to place your order now. All copies will be signed! "...Coming just three years after Black Coffee, his first solo studio album of new material in three decades, White Chocolate (what's next, "Green Tea"?) is quite possibly the most satisfying solo release of this veteran's 50-year career. The title is the giveaway: Kooper has always championed classic soul music above all else, but now he's graduated from paying homage to his heroes of the '60s and '70s to absorbing their essence and personifying the music's most attractive qualities himself -- maybe this release falls short of equaling the best of Stax, Hi, or Philadelphia International (Kooper would no doubt admit to that), but not by much. Kooper has always made his best music when he holds the reins and here he not only self-produced and arranged, and of course sang the lead vocals, on some tracks he also played every instrument -- while Kooper's skills as a keyboardist are well established and his guitar work long underrated, he also puts down mandolin, percussion, string sounds, and more. Of course he did have help: several brass teams (including the Uptown Horns) and a vocal trio (including the great Catherine Russell) provide ace support. Various additional guitarists, bassists, and drummers flesh out the tracks but the focus never strays from Kooper himself. For starters, if he's ever enjoyed making a record this much before, you wouldn't know it: Kooper seems so at home here (and not just because most of the album was recorded at his Somerville, MA. home studio). His voice, at 65, has naturally weathered, but he can still hit the notes he needs to hit and never tries to sound like the brash twenty-something kid who recorded Super Session or Child Is Father to the Man. Yet despite the maturity of the music, there's an oversized quality to this recording and a set of instantly memorable melodies and hooks that make it Kooper's most blatantly radio-friendly album in years -- that is, if radio was anything close to what it was in 1968. Hear these songs a couple of times and you will swear you've known them all your life. But all of this is not to suggest this is a retro affair -- White Chocolate is exactly where Al Kooper should be right now. That's made clear from the first notes of opener "Love Time," as pure a slice of Southern soul/pop as the early 21st century can hope to produce. As the record unfolds, it becomes clearer that the lead track is no fluke: "I Love You More Than Words Can Say," penned by Booker T. Jones and Eddie Floyd back in the day, boasts some seriously funky chops and a tough guitar solo by Bob "Dyno" Doezema. A new take on Bob Dylan's "It Takes a Lot to Laugh (It Takes a Train to Cry)," which Kooper and Michael Bloomfield cut on the classic Super Session album 40 years previously, is presented here as a rolling, brassy, souled-up shuffle. And Kooper had to love cutting his song "Staxability," a tribute to the legendary Stax Records of Memphis, with no less than Steve Cropper on guitar and Donald "Duck" Dunn of Booker T. & the MG's on bass. Kooper gets to shout "Play it, Steve!," a line familiar to any fan of vintage soul, and actually gets to hear Cropper do just what he's asked. In addition to his blue-eyed-soul pedigree, Kooper has always possessed a sharp sense of pop songcraft (he wrote "This Diamond Ring," the huge hit for Gary Lewis & the Playboys), and the chance to co-write two tunes for the album with Gerry Goffin (as in Goffin & King) had to be another dream come true for him. Those two are among the album's highlights: the smooth "You Make Me Feel So Good (All Over)" may not have more than a simple message to offer, but sometimes that's all that's needed to make the connection. And "No 1 2 Call Me Baby," with its phalanx of layered instruments and vocals, is almost Spectorian in its grandness. Other key tracks include the semi-autobiographical "Cast the First Stone," a statement on the politics of our times (of all times?) and how we all fit into those games; a gutsy, bluesy cover of Fred Neil's "Candy Man" (made famous by Roy Orbison); Kooper's interpretation of the Leiber & Stoller/Ben E. King perennial "I (Who Have Nothing)"; the set-closing, gospel-fied "(I Don't Know When But) I Know That I'll Be There Soon" (complete with Farfisa organ and accordion); and "Hold On," a tune of hope and self-determination that offers vocal thrills a-plenty when the powerhouse Russell takes lead on a verse and Kooper counters in his finest falsetto. White Chocolate can serve as a primer for Social Security-age rockers who still think the spandex fits. News flash: it doesn't..." JEFF TAMARKIN ( blog.allmusic.com) Febuary 16th, 2009 "...It can't be that easy being Al Kooper. When your talent allows you to chase off in so many directions, how do you decide which one to follow? The answer for Kooper, clearly, is you don't decide. You go after them all. White Chocolate is somewhat of an answer to his last studio album Black Coffee, and shows the gifted musician walking the blue-eyed soul side of the road, veering off into Brill Building pop shadings and paying a nod to his Bob Dylan roots on "It Takes a Lot to Laugh (It Takes a Train to Cry)." The amazing feat the veteran musician accomplishes is how seamless he makes it all sound. But a quick check of Al Kooper's resume shows how it couldn't be any other way: from being a member of the Royal "Short Shorts" Teens, co-writer of Gary Lewis & the Playboys' "This Diamond Ring" hit to founder of the Blues Project and early instigator of Blood, Sweat & Tears, discoverer and producer of Lynyrd Skynyrd along with endless solo albums and sessions with stellar lights like Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Michael Bloomfield, Stephen Stills and others, it's as if this is the Zelig of the rock crowd, except Kooper was often the most talented person in the room. So it's no surprise this new album hits all his sweet spots head on. The opening song, "Love Time," sounds like an instant classic, with Kooper's seductive voice and bedroom moves getting down to immediate business. Hopefully Al Green is listening. There's also a handful of other offerings equally great, and right at the end on "(I Don't Know When But) I Know That I'll Be There Soon," the man does it again, turning in a holy roller performance straight out of the church of eternal soul, making White Chocolate the gift that keeps on giving..." BENTLEY'S BANDSTAND (sonicboomers.com) - January 13th, 2009 "Perhaps the single most entertaining rock book of the year." DALLAS OBSERVER "He combines humor, insight and history into a fun, quick read." MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE "The book is put together like after-dinner conversation with someone who has been at the center of rock and roll for forty years. Read Kooper to get what you need!" PLAYBOY MAGAZINE "Vonnegut-esque...." ROLLING STONE "This is a man who lives for music and seems to attract outrageous and often hilarious experiences in the process. His tales are both wonderfully crazed and technically fascinating.." EQ MAGAZINE "From his work on Bob Dylan's classics to the best of The Rolling Stones, Al Kooper has been a musical Forrest Gump, turning up at many of the great historical moments in rock 'n' roll. Now a professor at Berklee, he looks back at his tumultuous life as a rock star..." BOSTON MAGAZINE "So who's Al Kooper? He's not only a funny guy whose life story is a you-just- can't-put-it-down read......Kooper is one of the greatest behind-the-scenes performers and producers in rock music history. Read and watch your jaw drop!" RAPID CITY (SD) JOURNAL "Al Kooper's Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'n' Roll Survivor (Billboard Books) is an oasis of insight, humor and irreverence in the overstuffed wasteland of rock autobiographies." CHICAGO TRIBUNE "This is above all, an entertaining read.....Kooper is a funny guy, an equal opportunity puncturer of pretension, including his own....Wherever rock history was being made, he (Kooper) was in the vicinity....." MOJO MAGAZINE (UK) **NOW AVAILABLE** click here ".....At 61, almost no one alive has lived as much rock 'n' roll history as Mr. Kooper in his assorted lives as performer, producer, sideman, songwriter, author, talent scout, enthusiast, critic and muse...." SUNDAY NEW YORK TIMES - July 3rd 2005 “....Now, this sixty-one-year-old seems to be hitting his stride as a solo artist. Backed by his band, The Funky Faculty, Kooper has gone back to the future with a release that delivers heartfelt soul and R&B.” *** ROLLING STONE – ISSUE #981 – AUGUST 25, 2005 "... Kooper reminds us that he is a major talent from the revelatory songwriting, to the nuanced world-weary singing to the ease in which he plumbs the subterranean depths of his soul and comes up with sheer gold. A career-defining work…..” (4 Stars)" MOJO MAGAZINE. UK Chalk “Black Coffee” up as a major comeback from one of the most vital musicians and most fascinating characters of his generation. NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE Kooper's stature as an exemplary producer and indispensable sideman is insurmountable; with Black Coffee, he shows he can apply that same incredible expertise to his own cause. Grade: A (Brian Baker) - CINCINNATTI CITY BEAT “Considered one of the most formidable talents in modern music, he’s played a key role in tens of millions of albums and singles sold in the last forty years.” MUSIC CONNECTION MAGAZINE 9/20/05 “Mister Everywhere is back in biz!” BALTIMORE BLUES SOCIETY AUGUST 2005 “The sane person’s Phil Spector - Al Kooper - is back with a much-too-rare collection of Southern soul, R&B blues, and white person’s funk!” OTTAWA (CA) CITIZEN SEPTEMBER 3 2005 “Kooper is the consumate performer - he deftly incorporates Southern soul, sassy blues, R&B, backwoods ramble and a hint of reggae. The result is a solo set that is for once, true to his talents!” AMPLIFIER MAGAZINE AUGUST 2005 “At 61. Kooper may have created his finest work yet - and it was worth the wait - even if child is now grandfather to the man...” HARP MAGAZINE SEPT/OCT 2005 "....The first thing you want to do after listening to this CD is listen to it again—which is about the strongest endorsement an album can get. Al Kooper’s voice has been sorely missed all these years...." VINTAGE GUITAR "... It's a special kind of set from a rock survivor you should pay some attention to, especially if you care about what rock in the contemporary era is all about. ." -MIDWEST RECORD RECAP “...If you love The Band, Boz Scaggs, or early Robert Palmer, this delightful album from the man who has already contributed so much to the rich tapestry of rock is for you....**** ”     THE INDEPENDENT (UK) “The musically well-traveled, and lately professorial, Kooper's debut for guitarist Steve Vai's Favored Nations label marks a welcome return to the studio for one of the prime movers of rock 'n' soul.... The Funky Faculty studio cuts showcase Kooper's still potent producing and arranging genius.... An appealing, aptly titled project that, hopefully, won't get lost in the shuffle.” *** RECORD COLLECTOR MAGAZINE (UK) September 2005 “Black Coffee” is an expertly crafted work of pop that abounds with skillfully played blue-eyed soul, country blues, breezy jazz, gospel & rock.It’s also one of 2005’s top discs.” THE VIRGINIAN PILOT AUGUST 5, 2005 “Black Coffee,” his first solo effort since the mid-’70’s is a hot cup of classic R&B peppered with Al Green horn lines....” RELIX MAGAZINE AUGUST 2005 “...Kooper and The Funky Faculty, turn up the inspiration dial to 10 and cut loose with a batch of solidly written originals that accent the gritty, immediate and timeless heart of a popular music that hasn’t been so in decades....” ALL MUSIC GUIDE Black Coffee is a pretty cool diverse record - a testament to how a talented musician keeps his chops and his edge. Repeated listenings reward the ear with more and more detail....” DISCOVERIES MAGAZINE AUGUST 2005 “Al Kooper has done it all - from supplying that organ on Bob Dylans’ “Like A Rolling Stone” to discovering Lynyrd Skynyrd....he never could sing, though. Thirty years since his last solo outing, he still can’t.” Peter Kane Q MAGAZINE (UK) SEPTEMBER 2005