Having relied largely on outside songwriting for its last two wildly successful albums, Blood, Sweat & Tears decided (as many groups had before) to bring some of that song publishing income into the family by writing their own material. Singer David Clayton-Thomas contributed the Top 40 hit "Go Down Gamblin'," and he and keyboard player Dick Halligan collaborated on another chart entry, "Lisa, Listen to Me." Ex-bandleader Al Kooper even contributed a track, "John the Baptist (Holy John)." But Side two was given over largely ...
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Having relied largely on outside songwriting for its last two wildly successful albums, Blood, Sweat & Tears decided (as many groups had before) to bring some of that song publishing income into the family by writing their own material. Singer David Clayton-Thomas contributed the Top 40 hit "Go Down Gamblin'," and he and keyboard player Dick Halligan collaborated on another chart entry, "Lisa, Listen to Me." Ex-bandleader Al Kooper even contributed a track, "John the Baptist (Holy John)." But Side two was given over largely to songs by guitarist Steve Katz that were substandard, and the band's cohesion seemed to be disintegrating. Although the album scraped the Top Ten briefly and went gold, it marked the end of BS&T's period of wide commercial success on records. By the next outing, Clayton-Thomas had quit and the band's heyday was behind it. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi
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