Blood, Sweat & Tears: Spinning Wheel

Advertised as "their long-awaited first home video ever," this near-hour-long concert by an ensemble calling itself Blood, Sweat & Tears will no doubt be of interest to fans of the veteran band. Unfortunately, no original members remain from the lineup that, under the leadership of Al Kooper, made Child is Father to the Man, the truly great 1968 debut album. In fact, by 1980, only blowhard singer David Clayton-Thomas was still around from the band's commercial heyday, which was initiated by their self-titled second record in 1969, so while the musicians here are all excellent players, this is Blood, Sweat & Tears in name only. The band was pushing a new album at the time, so the hits that serve as the prime attraction for older fans ("Hi De Ho," "And When I Die," "You Made Me So Very Happy," "Spinning Wheel") are performed more or less as a medley, with nary a one clocking in at longer than two minutes. The rest of the program consists of pedestrian Clayton-Thomas tunes like "Nuclear Blues" and "You're the One" (you haven't lived till you've heard MC C-T invoking "funky, funky Kingston town" over some six minutes of pointless quasi-reggae), plus an endless jazz-rock-funk jam that takes up the last quarter of the running time and concludes with a ridiculous version of Jimi Hendrix's "Manic Depression." The whole presentation is subpar: no audio options or bonus features, musicians misnamed on the cover, fuzzy visuals, and what may be the worst sound this reviewer has ever heard, marked by a nonstop buzz that's often louder than the music itself. Even for diehards, this is not recommended. Aud: P. (S. Graham)