Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 25, 1990 TAG: 9005250194
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TRACY WIMMER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The members of Blood, Sweat & Tears are getting along these days.
"Every once in a while you get a guy with an attitude," Larry Dorr, the group's manager said from a Boston phone. "But he's gone the next day."
And furthermore, Dorr noted, David Clayton-Thomas is a nice guy.
"It isn't like David quits and leaves," Dorr said. "It's just that when other band members want a vacation, we get a sub. When David wants a break, we get bad press."
Blood, Sweat & Tears is one group that has had its share of bad press.
Tonight the band will perform at in a concert beginning at 7 p.m. at Victory Stadium as part of Roanoke's Festival in the Park celebration.
Clayton-Thomas is the closet thing the band has to an original member.
The brainchild of Al Kooper (formerly of the Blues Project), BS&T was the ultimate fusion of rock and jazz melded into a nine- or eight- or seven- (depending on who showed up) man combination.
Around 1967, Kooper decided to augment the more or less traditional rock quartet with a strong new four-man horn section. Of course others had thought of straying from the predictable guitar-bass-drums-and-organ-lineup, but Kooper took the idea a step further. He added jazz.
It was no small triumph to pull good horn players away from jazz, then entice some decent rockers to adapt so the final result would be BS&T's distinctive jazzy-bluesy-rock sound.
Critics lauded the band's first 1968 Columbia album, "Child Is Father to the Man." But with talent comes ego - and unfortunately, some egos were overproductive in BS&T. By the time the first album was in record stores, Kooper had left to pursue a lucrative producing career.
The band looked like it was finished until saxophonist Fred Lipsius slowly began to breathe life into it. Then came David Clayton-Thomas.
Of all the group's members, Clayton-Thomas had the longest list of rock credits before joining. Born in London, his mother was an English music hall entertainer, his father a Canadian serving in the British army. At 14, he quit school. Working in mining and logging camps during the day, Clayton-Thomas spent his evenings in blues clubs. Eventually he performed as a solo vocalist in small Canadian towns, working his way up 3 1 BS&T BS&T to larger clubs in Toronto.
With his own group, The Bossmen, Clayton-Thomas became a major attraction in Canada, winning five gold albums there. He was playing a New York Club when Judy Collins happened to catch his show and tipped off some BS&T members. He joined the group in 1969.
Results were incredible.
The group's second album, "Blood, Sweat & Tears," found a ready audience and almost immediately moved onto the best-seller lists in early 1969.
But critics argued that after Kooper's departure, the group had become exceedingly commercial, blasting the music as "wishy-washy" and "Bar Mitzvah soul." Nonetheless, it sold. Eventually, the record went to No. 1, yielding such hits as "And When I Die," "Spinning Wheel" and "You've Made Me So Very Happy."
By 1972, the group was plagued with dissent. Early that year, Clayton-Thomas left to pursue a disastrous solo career on two different labels.
Members continued to come and go. Columbia issued three more albums - "BS&T Greatest Hits," "New Blood" and "No Sweat." Clayton-Thomas returned to the group in 1973. "New City," "Mirror Image" and "More Than Ever" followed, but the group never regained the pinnacle of its early years.
BS&T has since been on the labels of ABC and Lax Records. According to Dorr, things are looking up for the band. They have been touring non-stop since 1983. The previous year, they had taken off while Clayton-Thomas stayed home with his wife and newborn.
Last year, the group played with the Atlanta Symphony, inspiring the band to book five other similar symphony dates - including one next week in Cary, N.C. In between, the group has performed many festival concerts similar to the one tonight.
In November, BS&T will tour Europe. By January, they will be playing Russia. In between, Dorr said, the group hopes to cut an album. When asked what label BS&T is on, Dorr responded with the answer most often given by groups trying to work their way back into the limelight.
"We're working on a deal," Dorr said. "I bet you hear that a lot but we are close to a deal."
Opening tonight's show are Kyle Davis at 7 and January Rose at 7:30. Blood, Sweat & Tears goes on at 9:30, and Festival's second annual kickoff concert will close with a fireworks display at 10:45.
To be admitted, you must wear a Festival in the Park button, which costs $1. They will be sold at the gate.
The concert is hosted by the Roanoke City Special Events Committee and sponsored by Miller Brewing Company, WROV-AM and FM and WSLS (Channel 10).
by CNB