70th Birthday Concert

John Mayall, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 18, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Eagle Records
• ASIN: B0000EMYOD
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,809 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #98 in Music > Blues > Harmonica Blues

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 70th Birthday Concert Brings Back the Mayall Magic, June 8, 2004

By 

Gavin B. (St. Louis MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 70th Birthday Concert (Audio CD)

John Mayall was already the elder statesman of the British blues revival when Eric Clapton, a refugee from the Yardbirds, joined Mayall's Bluesbreakers in 1965. Mayall celebrated his 70th birthday in 2003 and this two disc, 19 song compliation is a persuasive reminder that Mayall still can righfully claim his royalty as leader of the most enduring British blues band and a singular performer in his own right.

Mayall performs a set of music with his current line-up, a short set with Mick Taylor, and final set with Eric Clapton and Chris Barber. Tribute concerts, like this, look good on paper but frequently are mediocre because the guest musicians usually play on autopilot and sleep walk their way through a set-list of songs they hoped to never play again, or, worse, had just plain forgotten the chops. This is not the case with Mayall and this Bluesbreaker 70th Birthday Tribute. These highly esteemed musicians pull out all the stops for the man who, in most cases, mentored them, offered his guidance and showcased each of these great musicians at the threshold of their lifelong devotion to playing American blues.

When Clapton launches into his early blues signature song,"Hideaway", a Freddy King instumental, it's elementary observation that Clapton is nearly incapable of playing anything without using his searing slow-handed tension/release style he prefected as a Bluesbreaker. I always thought Mick Taylor should have never played second guitar to Keith Richards in the Rolling Stones. Taylor was just too good a guitarist to play second fiddle to anyone. Mick has stayed under the radar since leaving the Stones in 1975. It's great to reappreciate Mick Taylor's enternally lingering single note sustains and expressive tonality of his Fender slide guitar, as he plays with as much conviction as he did at 19 years old in his debut on John Mayall's Bluesbreaker Crusade album. You will not hear any better sixties British blues revival music than the 19 live-wired perfomances on "70th Birthday Concert".

The band plays so many encores that a gaggle of cops show up to cite the band for breaking curfew law. The Bluesbreaker crew plays on in defiance of the constabulary, and Mayall wryly remarks to the crowd, "It's okay we'll pay all the fines latter." That's what the blues is all about, folks. It's John Mayall's best album in thirty years and is highly recommended as one of the best live music performance CDs of the new millenium.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pinnacle Of British Blues!!, April 4, 2004

By 

"The Woj" (Downers Grove, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 70th Birthday Concert (Audio CD)

Anyone who is a fan of Mayall's music or the 60's & 70's British Blues Scene (Yardbirds, Ten Years After, Fleetwood Mac, Savoy Brown etc...) will find this two disc set to be "white boy blues" nirvana (for the uninitiated, before you get on my case about the previous term "white boy blues", enter it in the music search box and see what comes up, okay?). Having Clapton & Taylor on the same stage is pure magic. Eric must feel the need to show he's still got the "slowhand", because his playing here is 10 times better than any of his recent, more commercial albums. The guitar playing on this album also reminds me of the "guitar battle" scene from the movie "Crossroads". The players just don't sit back and go through the motions (even Eric), they rip away with abandon and a sense of real competition. Not necessarily trying to upstage one another, but to show each other they mean business and have killer chops too. My favorite moment is during the solos of "Blues For The Lost Days".
Buddy Whittingham rips off a solo with playing that would make Stevie Ray look down and smile. Mick Taylor's solo follows; and it's as if Mick is talking thru his Les Paul to Buddy saying "is that all you got big boy?". Taylor follows with a solo for the blues history books that ends with a "fuzz-wah" pedal flurry that left me stunned. Mayall's singing is also really good, better than most of his studio releases.
So I get a little carried away! You almost have to with this set. Two discs of music at a reasonable price. My only regret is the absence of Peter Green; his contribution to Mayall's legacy is as great as any.
Regardless this is a must, add to cart!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BAND, GREAT GUITARISTS, GREAT SHOW, December 2, 2003

By 

Pete Eskesen (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 70th Birthday Concert (Audio CD)

A superbly recorded live album which not only showcases current Bluesbreaker Buddy Whittington but also features two of the greatest guitarists from the British blues boom - Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor. This was the band, and Clapton and Taylor (along with Peter Green) were the guitarists, who made the blues popular all over the world and helped gain respect and recognition for a host of American bluesmen - people like Freddie King, Albert King, Otis Rush and Buddy Guy. It's testament to Whittington's phenomenal abilities that he is not out of place in this revered company. The Bluesbreakers are as tight and energetic as ever. Mayall himself is a phenomenon - a bandleader who surrounds himself with great musicians and who clearly commands their admiration and respect. He shows no signs of slowing down. This is a historic gathering and a very fine album.