''I Stand Alone'' is the 1969 debut album of American singer-songwriter Al Kooper, issued on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. It was recorded after his collaboration with Michael Bloomfield and

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...

on the 1968 album ''

Super Session ''Super Session'' is an album by Al Kooper, with guitarists Mike Bloomfield on the first half and Stephen Stills on the second half of the album. Released by Columbia Records in 1968, it peaked at No. 12 on the ''Billboard'' 200 during a 37-week ...

''.

Background

After ten years of session playing, collaborations and playing in other bands, Kooper released his first solo album in February, 1969. It is an eclectic mix of country, soul, blues, and rock with a dose of psychedelia mixed throughout. It is a continuation of ''Super Session'' in its mix of disparate covers from the likes of Bill Monroe, Harry Nilsson and Traffic, and with originals running the gamut of feelings. Unlike the ''Super Session'' album, however, the spotlight is on Kooper alone and Kooper's alternate utilization of orchestras and professional Nashville studio musicians; the tracks are far more focused, all within two and five minutes. "Camille" is lifted from " Overture to Le Domino Noire" by French composer Daniel Auber. Most tracks are bridged with sound effects taken from albums issued by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. The Overture begins with a collage of sound effects also taken from those albums. The album was on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart for 13 weeks, peaking at number 54 on March 15, 1969.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Al Kooper; except where indicated # "Overture" – 4:39 # "I Stand Alone" – 3:37 # "Camille" (Kooper,

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) – 2:54 # "

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

" ( Harry Nilsson) – 2:53 # "

Coloured Rain ''Mr. Fantasy'' is the debut album by English rock band Traffic, released in December 1967. The recording included group members Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood, Chris Wood, and Dave Mason; however, Mason left the band shortly after the album was r ...

" (

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...

, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood) – 3:01 # "Soft Landing on the Moon" – 3:58 # "I Can Love a Woman" – 3:28 # " Blue Moon of Kentucky" ( Bill Monroe) – 2:14 # "Toe Hold" (

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

, David Porter) – 3:53 # "Right Now for You" – 2:33 # "

Hey, Western Union Man "Hey, Western Union Man" is a 1968 soul single by Jerry Butler written by Butler with Kenny Gamble, and Leon Huff. The single was Jerry Butler's second number one R&B hit on the ''Billboard'' chart, where it stayed for a week. "Hey, Western Unio ...

" ( Jerry Butler, Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff) – 3:43 # "Song and Dance for the Unborn, Frightened Child" – 4:31

Personnel

Musicians

*Al Kooper – piano,

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, ondioline, guitars, vocals,

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

s (track 5) * Wayne Moss – guitar (tracks 2, 8, 9, 10, and 11) * Jerry Kennedy – guitar (tracks 2, 8 olo 9, 10, and 11) * "Big" Charlie Daniels – guitar (tracks 2, 8, 9, 10, and 11) * Charlie McCoy – electric bass, (tracks 2, 8, 9, 10, and 11), orchestrations (track 8) *

Ken Buttrey Aaron Kenneth Buttrey (April 1, 1945 – September 12, 2004) was an American drummer and arranger. According to CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history". Buttrey was born in Nashville, Tennessee, became a ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(tracks 2, 8, 9, 10, and 11) * The Blossoms – backing vocals (tracks 2, 7, 9, 10, and 11) * Charlie Calello – orchestrations (tracks 3 and 7) * Don Ellis – orchestrations (track 5) *

Jimmy Wisner James Joseph Wisner (December 8, 1931 – March 13, 2018) was an American pianist, arranger, songwriter, and producer. He is best known for his 1961 hit single "Asia Minor", released under the name Kokomo. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Wisne ...

– orchestrations (tracks 1, 4, and 12)

Technical

*Al Kooper –

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

*Brian Ross-Myring, Charlie Bragg, Don Puluse, Fred Catero, Glen Kolotkin, Neil Wilburn – engineers

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1968 debut albums Columbia Records albums Al Kooper albums Albums conducted by Charles Calello Albums produced by Al Kooper