Just catching up to many posts over the last many months.  Thanks for all the information about Bloomfield, my guitar hero in my teens.  My impression of him is that he was very smart and very insecure.  I think he liked speed in the 60's and they always used the excuse "Mike's insomia caught up with him" when he would miss shows.  To me, that was Mike crashing and finally going to sleep.  My guess is that speeding led him to heroin.  But I guess.  And, heroin is the drug of choice if you are in pain, both emotionally or physically and Mike had that.  I was listening to the Butterfield Blues Band from the Unicorn in Boston, a tape that is available on the various file-sharing websites, and he is just smoking.  It confirms my feeling that 1965 to 1968 was his peak.  Sure, the could play well in 1970-74, but, he became more trite and less convincing.  See the YouTube video of him playing with Muddy Waters, Dr. John, and Junior Wells.  He is content to stay in the background and his solos are so-so. 

There is something about young guitarists in there youth, on drugs, and just going for it.  Not that many bands outlive that part of their career and actually get better.  That's my experience and take on the issue.  Long live Bloomfield.