When Al Kooper last recorded a true solo album, Gerald Ford was winding up his run as President, a new company called Apple was introducing something called the home computer and Lynyrd Skynyrd, a band that Al had discovered, was one of the hottest names in rock. Al called his 1976 release Act Like Nothing's Wrong, but something was wrong: Al Kooper, whose impact as musician, songwriter and producer had been enormous for more than a decade, was feeling out of whack as the '70s wore on. He told himself that if his new album were not a success, he would give up recording as a solo artist.

It wasn't, and he did. But Al never really disappeared. Far from it, really. He continued to produce, working with artists such as Nils Lofgren and The Tubes, and he racked up countless credits as a songwriter and sideman. He also kept his name in the minds of his loyal fans by performing live in a number of configurations, whether solo or with his various bands. Al worked with Ray Charles on a TV special and occasionally helped out his old friend Bob Dylan on a project.

And there were recordings: a fantastic all-instrumental album, a career-spanning live set, anthologies. But it wasn't until now that Al felt ready to step back into the game. Al Kooper no longer needs to act like nothing is wrong, 'cause nothing is. In fact, he doesn't need to act at all—Black Coffee, Al's debut for guitar great Steve Vai's Favored Nations label, is the real deal, the triumphant return of one of the prime movers of classic rock 'n' soul.

Al's history is stacked with "you are there" moments. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1944, and raised in Queens, Al gravitated toward the sounds of African-American music—gospel, doo-wop, R&B, blues—at a young age. But his first brush with celebrity came in the late '50s, when he became the guitarist for the pop combo the Royal Teens, hot off of a Top 5 novelty tune called "Short Shorts." As the 1960s kicked in, Al concentrated on his songwriting efforts, and his hits for the likes of Gene Pitney ("I Must Be Seeing Things") and Gary Lewis and the Playboys ("This Diamond Ring") boosted his reputation within the music business.

One day in 1965, though, Al finagled an invite to a Bob Dylan recording session, and through a twist of fate, found himself sitting at a Hammond B-3 organ as the bard laid down the tracks for "Like A Rolling Stone," which Rolling Stone magazine would call the greatest song of all time some four decades later. At least one reason for the song's immortality is its signature organ riff, created on the spot by one Al Kooper, who, although he had years of piano behind him, had never played an organ on a recording before!

Al continued to work with Dylan on the landmark albums Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde and as a result of his newfound renown, Al was called on to add his B-3 licks to sessions by George Harrison, Peter, Paul and Mary, Simon and Garfunkel and dozens of other reigning artists.

Al's next move of significance after the Dylan sessions was to join a new band calling itself the Blues Project. Although short-lived in its classic lineup, the Blues Project, with Al playing keyboards and occasionally singing lead vocals, became a phenomenally influential force, kick-starting the blues-rock movement in America and leaving behind such gems as the Projections album with the improvisatory journey "Flute Thing," sampled two decades later by the Beastie Boys.

From there, Al followed a dream to start his own band, one that would feature a strong horn section and combine rock, blues and jazz in a unique way. Assembling a team of first-rate musicians, Al called his new creation Blood, Sweat and Tears. He only stuck around long enough to lead the fledgling band through its debut album, Child Is Father To The Man, but that recording is considered by many to be the best work ever released by that outfit.

After leaving BS&T, Al floated around the music scene for a while, playing on recordings by such heavies as Jimi Hendrix (Electric Ladyland), The Who (The Who Sell Out) and The Rolling Stones ("You Can't Always Get What You Want"). Al performed at the legendary Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, and the following year he teamed with Michael Bloomfield and Stephen Stills, two of the most incendiary guitarists of the era, to record yet another milestone recording, appropriately titled Super Session. Both that album and a 1969 follow-up, The Live Adventures Of Mike Bloomfield And Al Kooper, landed in the Billboard top 20.

Al's solo career began in earnest with 1968's I Stand Alone, and continued into the early '70s with such well-received albums as You Never Know Who Your Friends Are, Easy Does It, New York City (You're A Woman), Naked Songs and A Possible Projection Of The Future/Childhood's End.

But Al's focus shifted once again when, while producing a project in Atlanta, he dropped into a club and came upon the Jacksonville, Florida band Lynyrd Skynyrd, making its Atlanta debut. Blown away by what he heard, Al signed the band to his own newly minted record label, Sounds of the South, and produced their first three albums, including such now-cornerstones of classic rock as "Sweet Home Alabama," "Gimme Three Steps," "Saturday Night Special" and "Free Bird."

There were other productions as well, but Al began maintaining a lower profile until, finally, in 1989, he threw in the towel, consciously deciding to quit the music business. He moved to Nashville, and for several years Al Kooper had almost no involvement with "the biz."

Gradually, Al eased back in. In 1994, he released the instrumental Rekooperation, his first album under his own name since 1982's Championship Wrestling, a collaboration with the guitarist Jeff Baxter. In 1995 came Soul Of A Man, an exemplary two-CD retrospective live album cut in New York. It celebrated Al's 50th birthday and included reunion recordings with both the Blues Project and Blood, Sweat and Tears, as well as tracks featuring Al's then-current band, the Rekooperators. And in 2001, Columbia/Legacy came out with Rare & Well Done, another two-CD compilation.

By that time Al had left Nashville and headed north to Boston where, in yet another surprising career switcheroo, he fulfilled another longtime dream by joining the teaching staff at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. For four years Al taught such courses as the history of record production, advanced record production, the history of songwriting and advanced songwriting, as well as vocal recording in the studio.

While at Berklee, Al assembled a new band comprised entirely of fellow instructors. Appropriately dubbing them The Funky Faculty, Al began to perform regularly with his scholarly pals, both in the U.S. and abroad. They've now been together more than six years, and to get an idea of just how thoroughly they can slay an audience, give a spin to the two raw live tracks on Black Coffee, the cover of Booker T. and the MGs' "Green Onions" and Al's own "Comin' Back In A Cadillac." The Funky Faculty also appears on several of the studio recordings on Black Coffee, Al cutting the band live without overdubs to preserve the spontaneity of their intuitive interactions.

With nearly 150 songs at his disposal, Al selected nine originals and five cover songs to include on the album, reworking those covers in his own inimitable style. Together, the 14 tracks flawlessly represent the state of his musicality in 2005. What you hear on Black Coffee is no watered-down diner cup—this may be the strongest Al Kooper to date. The harsh realities of life are all dealt with lyrically here, hence the album title. "My Hands Are Tied" "Keep It To Yourself." "Going, Going Gone," "Imaginary Lover," "Another Man's Prize" and "(I Want You To) Tell Me The Truth" all deal with neo-dark situations that many can relate to.

Having had plenty of time between solo albums to plan and polish material, Al honed the songs to perfection. One of the finest tracks on the album, for example, the exquisite, "How My Ever Gonna Get Over You," was originally conceived as an instrumental several years ago, but Al felt it wasn't quite cooked yet—for one thing, he wanted the lyrics to be heard. Al is still not even sure where this one came from. "It was really strange," he recalled. "I left the window open and a 1940s breeze blew in. I wrote the song and then it blew away. I've never written anything like it before it or after it but I feel like it's one of the best songs I've ever written."

Al's choice of cover songs also opens a window into the world of sounds that have touched him throughout his long, storied career, from Motown legends the Temptations ("Get Ready") to the classy blues revivalist Keb' Mo' ("Am I Wrong") to the genius himself, Ray Charles ("Just For A Thrill"). Al, in fact, considers Black Coffee to be his finest overall collection of material since that legendary first BS&T album so many decades ago.

He gets no argument there. Black Coffee is not just a remarkable re-entry, it's a zenith. Everything that Al Kooper has accomplished, everything he has learned as a jack-of-all-trades, he brings to a boil on this phenomenal new CD.

But singling out highlights from Black Coffee remains a near impossibility. As Al puts it, "I made the record I wanted to make and I'm very pleased with it. To me that's what success means."

Or, as Andrew Loog Oldham, the former manager/producer of The Stones, puts it in his inspired liner notes, "Al, your license will never expire. You'll remain the keeper of the gate. Just when the future of our music is questionable, along you come with the still of 30 quiet innings and then you raise us out of the ballpark with that joyous reminder that this music of ours is as real as every beat of our hearts."