10/10/2025
RELEASED: FRIDAY 2nd DECEMBER 2025
THE ORIGINAL BLUES PROJECT: ‘REUNION IN CENTRAL PARK’
RELEASED: FRIDAY, 2nd DECEMBER 2025
RETROWORLD: FLOATS6478 – CD ONLY
FOR MORE INFORMATION, REVIEW COPIES etc, CONTACT US HERE AT INDISCREET PR.
THE BLUES PROJECT, who formed in New York City back in the mid-1960s, are the subject of a CD only reissue of their ‘REUNION IN CENTRAL PARK’ in-concert album from 1973 (which in its original iteration was a double vinyl release), brought to you care of the Retroworld specialist reissue division of North London independent outfit FLOATING WORLD RECORDS.
The Blues Project first came to the attention of many music fans by dint of the inclusion of their single ‘A’ side, ‘No Time Like The Right Time’, on Nuggets, the truly legendary double album of US garage band / early Punk Rock / Psychedelia Lite acts compiled by journalist Lenny Kaye, and released on the Elektra Records label late in 1972.
‘No Time’ was an Al Kooper opus, which, when released as a single in 1966, stalled at number seventy-two in the US singles chart. The song, which had overtones of Psychedelic Rock that would go overground the following year, was an ambitious but nonetheless appealing piece which sounded musically at odds with their name.
The Blues Project featured keyboard player / guitarist Al Kooper, who had carved himself a considerable reputation as a musician with his playing on the epochal Bob Dylan smash hit, ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, in 1965, as well as the talented guitarist, Steve Katz, who produced the Lou Reed albums Rock and Roll Animal, Lou Reed Live and Sally Can’t Dance in 1973 / 1975.
On the ‘REUNION IN CENTRAL PARK’ the band (billed as The Original Blues Project) also included Danny Kalb (vocals, Lead Guitar), Roy Blumenfeld (drums) and Andy Kulberg (bass, percussion).
The show was part of the Shafer Music Festival, which featured a diverse line-up of artists spanning various genres, and took place at the Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park, New York City. According to Al Kooper’s recollections, however, in his autobiography Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, only the audience reaction on the album actually comes from Central Park. "By time we got to the last show in our hometown New York's Central Park, a lot of the spontaneity was gone. But the audience was fantastic. When I edited the album, I used most of the Washington performances, taking the introductions and applause from the Central Park show. Besides, the title Reunion in an Indoor Venue in Washington, DC would not be as catchy as Reunion in Central Park."
The performances on the album feature a rejuvenated and vital Blues Project rolling back the years to deliver an exciting reminder of what their reputation was based. This is a better than decent showing for the band, delivered with the swagger and confidence, revisiting favourite workouts on themes by Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, and even the blissed-out folk of the Donovan opus ‘Catch The Wind’.
