East-West is a 1966
album by
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band which was the group's second full album release. The record's title track is a long
improvisational instrumental piece inspired by
blues,
jazz fusion and
raga that was considered
[who?] groundbreaking at the time of release, and over four decades later stands out as a turning point in the history of rock and blues music.
[citation needed] The album contains another lengthy blues/jazz/rock instrumental in the tune "Worksong", which also features extended solos by Butterfield and his bandmates.
Like the debut, the album features traditional blues covers and the guitar work of Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield, the latter having just recorded Highway 61 Revisited with Bob Dylan.
Bishop makes his recorded lead vocal debut on the slow ballad "Never Say No". "Mary, Mary", written by Michael Nesmith, would later be recorded by The Monkees.
In 1996, former Butterfield Blues Band member Mark Naftalin (keyboards), who recorded on the album and is pictured on the cover of East-West, released a CD on his own 'Winner' label entitled East-West Live, comprising three extended live performance versions of the tune "East-West". Noted music critic and prolific author Dave Marsh contributed a substantial essay in the liner notes regarding the historic importance of the song, both the original 1966 recording and the live versions.
