From a Buick 6

The story behind

When you dive into *From a Buick 6*, you encounter a raw energy, an accelerated blues that grabs you from the first second. The recording, which took place on July 30, 1965, at Columbia studios in New York City, captures that sense of urgency. The rhythm section, with drummer Bobby Gregg setting the pace and Harvey Brooks on bass, is powerful. Over it, Mike Bloomfield's guitar moves with a style reminiscent of blues masters like Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, and Big Joe Williams. Al Kooper's organ adds layers of sound that complete this sonic picture. It's interesting to note how the song starts with a snare hit, similar to the one that kicks off *Like a Rolling Stone*, another key track from the album Highway 61 Revisited. Although it's based on a 12-bar structure, the way Brooks introduces a subtle variation in the tenth bar, while the guitar and organ sustain the same chord, gives it a particular twist. You can even find echoes of Sleepy John Estes's *Milk Cow Blues* from 1930 in some of the lyrics and in the general approach, which has an air of The Kinks' version of a song by Kokomo Arnold. Cash Box magazine described it as a "fast, blues-soaked, rollin' folk rock" and that description perfectly fits the feeling it conveys.