Blues foe We is the third album by American blues guitarist Mel Brown (guitarist) recorded in 1969 for the Impulse!

Impulse! Records

Impulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...

 label.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Jason Ankeny awarded the album 2½ stars stating "The title notwithstanding, Blues for We largely abandons all pretense of conventional blues idioms to couch Brown in a series of soul-jazz contexts that draw heavily on mainstream R&B formulas; the problem is the material, which spans from avant-garde jazz to bubblegum pop and stretches even a player of Brown's considerable range far past the point of no return. Sometimes a record can be too ambitious for its own good, and the reach of Blues for We definitely exceeds its grasp -- given the choice to pursue any number of directions, Brown sets off in all of them, and loses himself in the process".

Track listing

All compositions by Mel Brown except as indicated

1. "Twist & Shout" (Phil Medley
   Phil Medley
   Philip "Phil" Medley was an American songwriter notable for his composition "Twist & Shout", which he wrote along with Bert Russell. The song was made famous by both The Isley Brothers and The Beatles. Medley also co-wrote "If I Didn't Have a Dime" for Gene Pitney with Russell...
   
   , Bert Russell)
2. "Blues For We"
3. "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da" (John Lennon
   John Lennon
   John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
   
   , Paul McCartney
   Paul McCartney
   Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
   
   )
4. "Son of a Preacher Man
   Son of a Preacher Man
   "Son of a Preacher Man" is a song recorded by Dusty Springfield in September 1968 and featured on the album, Dusty in Memphis. It was written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins. The rights to cover "Son of a Preacher Man" were originally offered to Aretha Franklin, who turned it down...
   
    (John Hurley, Ronnie Wilkins)
5. "Set Me Free"
6. "Freaky Zeke"
7. "Indian Giver"
8. "Stranger on the Shore
   Stranger on the Shore
   "Stranger on the Shore" is a piece for clarinet written by Acker Bilk for his young daughter and originally named Jenny after her. It was subsequently used as the theme tune of a BBC TV drama serial for young people that was also called Stranger on the Shore.The track, performed by Bilk "Stranger...
   
   " (Acker Bilk)
   • Recorded in Los Angeles, California on March 3, 1969

Personnel

• Mel Brown (guitarist) - guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , vocals
• Abraham Miller - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Artie Butler - arranger
  Arrangement
  The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
  
  , conductor
  Conducting
  Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
  
  
• Unidentified horns and strings