Blood, Sweat & Tears

The second Blood, Sweat & Tears recording without David Clayton-Thomas, No Sweat may be the jazziest BS&T ever. Surprisingly, most of the material comes from outside the band, with the exception of two tracks by Lou Marini, Jr., two co-written by George Wadenius (the featured guitarist in the band following Steve Katz's departure), and the concluding "Inner Crisis" by Larry Willis. Jerry Fisher is more integrated into the band in his role as lead singer, and the band shines throughout on material ranging from Traffic's "Empty Pages" to John Lewis' "Django." The highlight is "Almost Sorry," which features Bobby Colomby's rock-solid drumming, and solos from the entire horn section: Dave Bargeron on trombone, Lew Soloff and Tom "Bones" Malone on electric trumpets, and Marini on alto flute.

An underrated marvel of a treasure.... finally released!!!, September 7, 2005
By Norm_D "norm_d" (New York, NY United States)

This is one of the most underrated albums in the history of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Finally it was released and I was ecstatic.
Jerry Fisher never got his due. With a voice as powerful as Clayton-Thomas and with as profound a blues influence, Fisher delivers on all the vocal cuts on this recording. Without stance or affectation Fisher delivers the goods.
The personnel in this version of the group is exceptional. Here we have Dave Bargeron, Larry Willis, Georg Wadenius, Tom Malone, Lou Marini, Bobby Colomby, Big Jim Fielder, Jerry Fisher and Lew Soloff. This particular unit melds their varying styles and influences more seamlessly than previous versions of the group.
Georg Wadenius is a remarkable with his unique style on guitar, musical sense and discretion. His vocals and playing definitely helped change the sound of the group toward something new. Years before George Benson, Georg melded vocals with guitar much more elegantly and fluently than Mr. Benson. With Georg it was more the voice as instrument in harmony with his guitar than voice over guitar. Georg can play so many different styles and has a remarkable economy when the piece calls for it. Definitely the best guitarist the band has ever had.
Larry Willis is another one who helped change the sound and tone of things with his modern electric keyboard approach that conjures Herbie Hancock sensibilities (they are both very close in age with similar influences). A strong arranger and marvelous soloist. He can really accompany a soloist well.
Lou Marini Jr. is stronger here than he was in New Blood, playiing tenor and soprano. He shines throughout. Tom Malone is every bit the equal of Lew Soloff on this recording. As powerful and perfect counterpart to Lew who is simply Lew Soloff on this. Those of you who are fans of the group know what I mean. Those of you, who are not, well Lew is a cat who can play anything and can solo with fire and virtuosity.
The choice of songs is eclectic. Some real bluesy rockers, one cover which is an exceptional cover of Traffic's "Empty Pages" which shows off Jerry Fishers power to good advantage. A strong progressive instrumental called "Inner Crisis" which shows off Georg Wadenius' uniqueness to great effect.
The group features some beautiful short instrumentals that segue nicely in both cases to some real rockers.
"Almost Sorry", "Empty Pages", "Back Up Against the Wall", "Inner Crisis", "Save Our Ship" are all real high points in the group's repertoire.
The arrangements are all top flight. The brass section that this group is known for is every bit the match for any version this group has ever had.
The arrangments make use of the new members quite well and without ever being clinical. Everything with the song in mind and in context.
"No Sweat" ranks right up there for me. The virtuosity matches the first two recording. The material is as varied and as interesting.
This one doesn't disappoint.
http://www.amazon.com/No-Sweat-Tears-Blood/dp/B0009RQRLK/ref=m_art_li_6/103-9688381-0303045

The best of the Jerry Fisher albums, finally on CD!, August 2, 2005
By Shane D. Worden (Oshkosh, WI United States)

Thank goodness somebody finally saw the light of day and decided to release some of the later period B,S and T albums on CD! Wounded Bird Records has released no less than five of them, the last few recorded for the Columbia label, and all sound excellent to my ears! True, the band never was able to recapture the success of "You've Made Me So Very Happy" or "Spinning Wheel", but don't discount these albums either, as they all have something interesting to offer musically. They will no doubt make diehard fans of the band rejoice.
Personally, I am finally happy to have the Jerry Fisher era albums on CD. With the exception of New Blood, that was only previously available as a hard to find overseas import, none of these albums were ever available on CD before...and that's a shame. I am a particular fan of Jerry's voice, and always thought that it was a shame that none of his material with B,S and T ever hit it particularly big.
This album, No Sweat, is my favorite out of Jerry's work with the band. There's a really good mix of music on this...from a rocking version of Steve Winwood's Empty Pages...to the mellow and soulful My Old Lady...to the funky instrumental Inner Crisis, featuring a great guitar and voice solo from George Wadenius. Good stuff!
I recommend all of the Wounded Bird reissues whole heartedly! Hopefully somebody down the road will see the potential in releasing the Brand New Day album, thusly insuring B, S and T fans that their entire catalogue will finally find a lasting place in digital history.
http://www.amazon.com/No-Sweat-Tears-Blood/dp/B0009RQRLK/ref=m_art_li_6/103-9688381-0303045

Bring in the second string
by rwagn (Worthington, OH, USA)

This is BS&T's first release after David Clayton-Thomas left to start his solo career and you wind up hardly missing him. Jerry Fischer steps in as lead vocalist and immediatlely establishes that he is no Clayton-Thomas wannabe. Jerry's vocals are different in timbre, style and delivery and he really makes each song his own. The rest of the band continues to perform with trademark virtuosity. The album was originally released in 1973 and is a bit dated but is still a great slice of classic BS&T jazz-rock fusion. Standout tracks include, "Roller Coaster", "Save Our Ship", "My Old Lady", Traffic's "Empty Pages" and a great funk instrumental, "Inner Crisis". Be warned that Wounded Bird does not remaster their releases-can't figure that one out-but the sound is still much better than my trusty Columbia LP. CD Universe offers this title for a great price so I highly recommend a purchase.

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6876174/a/No+Sweat.htm