| You Never Know Who Your Friends Are | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 1969 | |||
| Genre | Rock, blues rock, R&B | |||
| Length | 42:04 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Al Kooper | |||
| Al Kooper chronology | ||||
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| Singles from You Never Know Who Your Friends Are | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | D [2] |
| Rolling Stone | (unfavorable) [3] |
You Never Know Who Your Friends Are is the second solo album by American multi-instrumentalist Al Kooper, issued in 1969 on Columbia Records.
Kooper wasted no time recording this album, coming just seven months after his debut release. It is a continuation of sorts of his debut; the album contains another eclectic mix of rock, rhythm and blues, jazz, pop, and blues, though without the psychedelics that had somewhat permeated through I Stand Alone . Utilizing a large group of musicians under the direction of Charlie Calello, known collectively as "The Al Kooper Big Band", Kooper also strayed away from the heavy string orchestrations of his debut.
Relying on more original compositions, with nine of twelve tracks by Kooper, and the remaining three by Harry Nilsson and Motown Records staff songwriters, the album further helped to cement Kooper's reputation. The album reached #125 on the Billboard 200 on October 25, 1969, and was on the charts for six weeks. [4] [5]
All tracks composed by Al Kooper; except where indicated
Highway 61 Revisited is the sixth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 30, 1965, by Columbia Records. Dylan continued the musical approach of his previous album Bringing It All Back Home (1965), using rock musicians as his backing band on every track of the album in a further departure from his primarily acoustic folk sound, except for the closing track, the 11-minute ballad "Desolation Row". Critics have focused on the innovative way Dylan combined driving, blues-based music with the subtlety of poetry to create songs that captured the political and cultural climate of contemporary America. Author Michael Gray argued that, in an important sense, the 1960s "started" with this album.
Child Is Father to the Man is the debut album by Blood, Sweat & Tears, released in February 1968. It reached number 47 on the Billboard pop albums chart in the United States.
Blonde on Blonde is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released as a double album on June 20, 1966, by Columbia Records. Recording sessions began in New York in October 1965 with numerous backing musicians, including members of Dylan's live backing band, the Hawks. Though sessions continued until January 1966, they yielded only one track that made it onto the final album—"One of Us Must Know ". At producer Bob Johnston's suggestion, Dylan, keyboardist Al Kooper, and guitarist Robbie Robertson moved to the CBS studios in Nashville, Tennessee. These sessions, augmented by some of Nashville's top session musicians, were more fruitful, and in February and March all the remaining songs for the album were recorded.
Michael Bernard Bloomfield was an American blues guitarist and composer. Born in Chicago, he became one of the first popular music stars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, as he rarely sang before 1969. Respected for his guitar playing, Bloomfield knew and played with many of Chicago's blues musicians before achieving his own fame and was instrumental in popularizing blues music in the mid-1960s. In 1965, he played on Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited, including the single "Like a Rolling Stone", and performed with Dylan at that year's Newport Folk Festival.
Al Kooper is a retired American songwriter, record producer, and musician, known for joining and naming Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. Throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s he was a prolific studio musician, including playing organ on the Bob Dylan song "Like a Rolling Stone", French horn and piano on the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and lead guitar on Rita Coolidge's "The Lady's Not for Sale". Kooper produced a number of one-off collaboration albums, such as the Super Session album that saw him work separately with guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. In the 1970s Kooper was a successful manager and producer, recording Lynyrd Skynyrd's first three albums. He has had a successful solo career, writing music for film soundtracks, and has lectured in musical composition. Kooper was selected for induction for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
Harry is the fourth studio album by Harry Nilsson, released August 1969 on RCA. It was his first album to get onto Billboard Magazine's Billboard 200 chart, remaining there for 15 weeks and reaching #120.
Broken Blossom is the fourth studio album by American singer Bette Midler, her second album release in 1977 and her fifth on the Atlantic Records label. Just as Midler's three previous studio albums Broken Blossom includes songs from a wide variety of genres, ranging from Edith Piaf's signature tune "La vie en rose", Phil Spector-esque covers of Billy Joel's "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" and Harry Nilsson's "Paradise" and hard rock like Sammy Hagar's "Red", to a jazzy duet with Tom Waits, "I Never Talk to Strangers", and a rendition of "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", originally from Walt Disney's 1950 film version of Cinderella. The album reached No. 51 on Billboard's album chart.
Super Session is an album by singer and multi-instrumentalist Al Kooper, with guitarists Mike Bloomfield on the first half and Stephen Stills on the second half. Released by Columbia Records in 1968, it peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 during a 37-week chart stay and was certified gold by RIAA.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the band Blood, Sweat & Tears, initially released in February 1972.
Al's Big Deal – Unclaimed Freight is a compilation album by American musician Al Kooper. It was released as a double-LP in 1975.
I Stand Alone is the debut album by the American singer-songwriter Al Kooper, issued in 1969 on Columbia Records. It was recorded after his collaboration with Michael Bloomfield and Stephen Stills on the 1968 album Super Session.
Easy Does It is the third solo album by American singer-songwriter Al Kooper, recorded and released in 1970 for Columbia Records.
Trisha Yearwood is the debut studio album by American country music singer Trisha Yearwood, released on July 2, 1991, by MCA Records. The album reached number 2 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, and was certified 2× Platinum for sales of two million copies. It features her first Billboard Hot Country Songs hit "She's in Love with the Boy", which reached the top of the country charts in August 1991. Also included are follow-up hits "Like We Never Had a Broken Heart" at 4, "That's What I Like About You" at 8, and "The Woman Before Me" also at 4.
Abriendo Puertas is a 1995 album released by Gloria Estefan. It is her sixth studio album as a soloist and second Spanish language album released.
Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr is a career-spanning best-of compilation album by Ringo Starr and is the first such album since the releases of 1975's Blast from Your Past and 1989's Starr Struck: Best of Ringo Starr, Vol. 2. The album was released in the UK on 27 August 2007, and in the US on 28 August.
Live & Well is a live and studio album by B. B. King, released in 1969. The side A contains five tracks recorded "live" at the Village Gate, in New York City, and the side B five titles recorded in 'The Hit Factory' also in New York.
Nice Feelin' is the second album by Rita Coolidge. It was released in 1971. The album was produced by David Anderle, with The Dixie Flyers serving as the studio band.
The Peter, Paul and Mary Album, also known as Album, is the sixth studio album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, released in 1966.
"You Don't Love Me" is a rhythm and blues-influenced blues song recorded by American musician Willie Cobbs in 1960. Adapted from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "She's Fine She's Mine", it is Cobbs' best-known song and features a guitar figure and melody that has appealed to musicians in several genres.
The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966 is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on Legacy Records in November 2015. The tenth installment in the ongoing Bob Dylan Bootleg Series, it comprises recordings from 1965 and 1966, mostly unreleased demos and outtakes from recording sessions for his albums Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. The standard set peaked at #41 on the Billboard 200.
