Customer Reviews

Blues Breakers

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you've never heard this album then this remaster is the best way to hear it. It's clean, has good separation and features two
bonus tracks recorded by John and Eric. Now for the anorak, trainspotting details of WHY this album is important. Quite simply, as far as tone, technique and temperament, Eric Clapton at this time was revolutionary. In the guitar world there are two periods; BB (Before "Bluesbreakers") and AB (After "Bluesbreakers"). First, tone. NO ONE had this kind of overdriven, aggressive and harmonically rich sound before 1966.
Literally, what we associate with rock/blues guitar sound for the last 35 years can be traced back to the tones Clapton was getting in '66. Second, technique. Imagine yourself as young
person in England at this time and you've discovered the great American blues guitarists like B.B. and Freddie King but figure
you will never see them unless you go to America. Then you hear about AN ENGLISHMAN your age who can play that way, plus add
something of his own. Third, temperament. Eric Clapton was able
at young age to both tap into a vastly different world (that of the African-American middle aged bluesman)and supply his own
revolutionary ideas about how the elecrtic guitar could be played. Revolutionary is right. People forget about that all the time but in 1966 Clapton changed everything. It is a tribute to his basic sanity after all these years and personal problems that
he DIDN'T try and continually live up to that standard. He did
other things. Most musicians never have the opportunity to revo-
lutionize anything and very very few can do it more than once.
Whenever anyone looks disparagingly on Eric Clapton's career, and
he had some low points it's true, all I have to say is "Bluesbreakers".

Few albums have had greater impact than the landmark John Mayall With Eric Clapton "Blues Breakers." Released by the Decca label in Britain on 22 July 1966, literally days after Clapton quit the Bluesbreakers and just a week before Cream's debut, it went all the way to #6, a pretty mean feat since Mayall's band had never had a hit single. This may have been a first in Britain.

Of course, this is the album that set the blues and guitar worlds aflame and established Eric Clapton's name worldwide as the most passionate of musical interpreters. If you haven't yet heard "Beano" (as the album is affectionately known, because Clapton is pictured reading "The Beano" comic book on its cover), then you ain't heard nuthin' yet!

From the album's first notes, you realize that you're in guitar heaven, as "Slowhand" shows us the way electric guitar can and should be played. Clapton's virtuoso playing is white-hot throughout. Playing with maturity beyond his then-21 years, the young Eric Clapton was so influential that Gibson eventually reissued the (out-of-production-since-1960) Les Paul model guitar, which Clapton then played.

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers served--and still serves today--as a finishing school for great musicians and sidemen (Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, John McVie, Jack Bruce, Aynsley Dunbar, Mick Fleetwood, Coco Montoya and others). Mayall's proselytizing the blues (he's 78 years old!), his songwriting skills, and his other musical talents should not be ignored nor taken lightly.

Well this is one of the most memorable LPs of my life. I have been a Blues fan (fanatic?) for 40 years and it all started with this LP. I probably played along with the first side of this record everyday of my Junior year in High School. I had been introduced, as a teen age American, to R&B and Blues with the Rolling Stones, especially the 12x5 album, when they did Little Walter's (1950s version ala Jay "Hootie" McShann and Walter Brown's 1941 original) "Confessin' The Blues" (still the greatest Chicago Blues tune ever recorded by a British band). That was 1965, I got to know all the Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley originals. But this record opened up the Chicago Blues-But done differently, not just mere imitation-(that has been suggested in previous reviews, but I never believed it-(check out the differences in style and arrangement and sound) they really didn't/couldn't do that and they knew it, or at least Clapton did. Mayall was older than the rest and he really wanted to emulate his idols in Chicago. Clapton had a deeper (and younger) perception on this genre- and was a White British guy! Clapton was a lot like his young protege Doyle Bramhall II on his latest Sessions for Robert J- an extension on his first ever recorded vocal "Ramblin' On My Mind" on this CD. Bramhall confessed he never listened to Johnson much before this session. Well Clapton had been with the Yardbirds (as we all know) and had been getting into Blues with Mayall's extensive record collection. He came to this session also with a fresh mind.

The session was done at a loud- "club-like" sound level which perplexed the sound engineers. The distortion of the Marshall amp with the Les Paul was augmented by the sound engineers to make something really unique. The up front guitar of Clapton was something also never heard before (even with the Butterfield Band). This made it really different than Chicago Blues which tended to blend in overdriven tube amps with vocals and amplified harps. What a great and inspirational sound. This was the thing the caused Hendrix to take Blues to a different level and finally a different genre!

Time is the great equalizer of all music, classical, jazz, blues, folk, it doesn't matter. This album still sounds good, but because it has been emulated by all blues-rockers for the last 40 years it can sound stale to the newcomer, oldcomer, or someone who has just heard it and notices it sounds "familiar" now. Also the tracks are not of uniform brilliance, after all it was just a hiped up night club set that they recorded. Clapton says that his recollection of the session was unpacking, playing, packing up and leaving. This shows to some degree how much we owe to Mike Vernon and the production team.

The highlight of the set is usually ascribed to "Have You Heard", very interestingly redone on the 70th Birthday Concert DVD. However, the original had added horns and some B.B. King style licks from Clapton-something he got more and more into to the present day and he did even more of at the Birthday Concert. The fat and thick sound is the best part of this tune. Also it was an original Mayall penned tune. All of the best tunes on this LP were originals except for Hideaway. Clapton's rendition of the Freddie King's masterpiece took this tune to a new level-something similar to Stevie Ray Vaughan's rendition of Larry Davis' "Texas Flood". It became an old tune with a new sound and style. This is the number, to me, that changed the Blues to Blues-Rock!

The other two classic tunes on this LP are the highly underrated and double-tracked "Double Crossing Time", supposedly about Jack Bruce. It is Mayall's greatest minor key blues, better than "The Death of J.B. Lenoir". The feeling in Clapton's guitar is unsurpassed. The other tune is "Little Girl" with its Jimmy Reed updated rock groove. Clapton does his best solo on this tune with precise bends over a difficult beat to keep up with. Walter Trout also did a good version of this tune with Mayall in the 1980s.

The rest of the record is classic. The band itself was very good with Hugie Flint on drums and John McVie on the bass. Mayall made his international reputation with this disc and it has lasted to this day, he became the "Godfather of British Blues" because of this sound-and remember it was replicated (or tried to be replicated on his next 3 or 4 records). However, it does have some filler with tunes such as What I Say (the Brits loved Ray Charles) with a Day Tripper riff in part of it. And I never could understand why Mayall, who was only ever an average harp player, would do Little Walter's "It Ain't Right". However, this CD, with bonus cuts is essential for anyone who wants to understand the transition of the Blues into the evolution of Rock, Acid Rock, Metal and so on. It is truly a classic recording.

No blues or rock fan can quibble that "Bluesbreakers" is one of the finest white blues recordings in history, due solely to the stunning appearance of a young Eric Clapton. A scan of the reviews of this album - and all its other previous releases - all agree, this CD shows the emergence of a superstar, and is essential in anyone's collection.

Why this edition loses a “*” for me, is that it’s a rather lackluster re-issue of a fine album that never really sounded that bad in the first place – and that previous re-issues (the European Polydor of a few years back and the MFSL gold disc) actually sound better. Further, the “2 extra tracks” are old news; they’ve been included in literally dozens of British blues compilations over the years, are rather primitive sounding, and add nothing to this particular package – in fact they detract from the power of the original album.

So…if you have this album in your collection already, you can keep your money in your pocket. ...This wasn’t a sonic masterpiece in its day, re-mastering does little for this, so this third CD issue is only valuable for newer fans with a few extra bucks in their pockets.

I have already written extensively on Eric Clapton's Cream/Bluesbreaker period on several websites and for what it's worth, even got a credit in the recent book "Cream". However, I feel compelled to spell out to any youthfull players who have not heard this LP and only know the warp speed licks of Van Halen, Steve Via and Eric Johnson, or think Jimmy Page was the original guitar slinger, think again - AND AGAIN! Listen carefully and hear how this LP featured a young Clapton literally redefining the parameters of Electric guitar. His majestic, fluid solos, powered by the incredible sound of a Gibson Les Paul plugged in to a Marshall, set the NEW Gold Standard for all blues rock players then and now and in addition, sent a shock wave through the world of aspiring guitar slingers. In Cream he went on to set more benchmarks that have influenced generations of players. Listen and experience the record that amazed Hendrix, Page and even American blues masters, Mike Bloomfield and B.B. King. I remember that era when the only guitarists around were tinny sounding rockers or obscure blues players and Clapton was like a super novea exploding in the dead night sky of the guitar cosmos. I have played guitar for over 38 years and still marvel at his control, composition and fluitidy when considiering he was only 20. This is the holy grail of electric blues guitar. Thank you again Mr. Clapton, for the timeless inspiration.

Other reviewers have already covered the background of this classic blues album. You should be aware that this album is quite different from Eric's highly successful post-Cream 70's rock/pop sound. It features the raw energy of the young Eric Clapton playing with a fat,warm Gibson Les Paul/Marshall tone that is missing from his later Fender Stratocaster work. I should just mention that this is one of my favorite albums of all time, a great album to learn blues guitar licks from...and that this is the new 2001 edition which features ***2 new tracks*** that are not on my copy of the album (the last 2 tracks are new). So it is even better value now (and it was great value before). Although Eric names many great blues guitarists as influences (Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters, BB King, ...) this album reminds me most of the late, great Freddie King -- a wonderful sound. [Check out "from the Cradle" for more recent great blues from EC - wonderful!]

the most astonishing work Eric Clapton ever laid down, in my view. Indeed, this may be one of the most perfect guitar records ever recorded. I agree that Clapton was never quite as pure, note-perfect, fierce or thrilling as he was here. Well, heroin will do that to you I suppose. But, man, he did this with Mayall's band, and it's awesome. Maybe there can only be a handful of perfect things in life

In the hills and valleys of Eric's career, this is one of three high points: 1/The songwriting, 'loose is tight' band interplay and heartfelt vocals of 'Layla' have yet to be equaled in the 34 years since. 2/Cream, while challenging categorization, could fairly be called the first 'fusion' band , with Eric's flowing leads never losing his blues base, and so, saving the music from the nervous ego-driven sound that the style fell pray to by the time it was formally named. 3/ Bluesbreakers' music is the least original as far as material, (intentionally), but Clapton's tone and phrasing,(in spite his 'tips of the hat' to Freddy King and Otis Rush), is personal and original, with the same wonderful balencing act of thoughtfulness,(introvertion), and projection,(extrovertion), that only a handful of the greats,(Albert King a prime example), ever achieved. It could be argued the Clapton himself never quite again equaled the pure feeling in his solos here.

When I was 15 years old (which was also 15 years ago), I was quickly becoming a major Eric Clapton fan, and was essentially working my way backward through his impressive catalog. At the time, everyone kept telling me that if I wanted to hear Clapton at his best, I needed to listen to his recording with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. Because I was also obsessed with the likes of Buddy Guy, Albert/Freddie/BB King, Otis Rush, and Muddy Waters, among many other players, I relished the opportunity to spend what was a reasonable price for a CD at the time and buy the Mayall/Clapton CD.

When I listened to it for the first time, I actually didn't care for it much. Although Clapton's playing was formidable, especially for someone of his age at the time, the album seemed a little lacking, like the recordings of a lot of British bands at the time who tried playing the blues. Maybe I was too used to hearing the actual American blues masters from whom the British musicians largely borrowed their material, I'm not sure, but I remember feeling that these were just another group enthusiastic musicians who, with the exception of Clapton, were mediocre bluesmen at best. I sold the disc and went back to listening to what I thought was the "real stuff" (i.e. American blues).

Recently I purchased this CD again, because it had been a long time since I had heard it, and I was curious about the newly remastered edition with two extra tracks. I took it home, turned it on, and was completely floored! Through the amazingly crisp mix of this remastered CD, I was able to hear every nuance of the instruments, especially the thick, creamy, crispy tone of Clapton's Les Paul guitar and Marshall amplifier. I have listened to this disc repeatedly since then, and I have to say that this album is very deserving of its reputation as being of one of the best blues albums of all time.

What caused the difference in my opinion, being a decade removed from first hearing it? It is in part due to the vastly improved sound of the CD, of course, but there are other factors as well. John Mayall was a tremendous influence on the British blues scene and, being a little older now, I can appreciate how much he immersed himself in the tradition to sing competently and play his instruments with precision. As far as Clapton is concerned, after hearing his performance on this album, I actually realize how stagnant his music has become, particularly on albums like "Pilgrim" or "Reptile." There was a time long ago when Clapton was not an "adult contemporary" performer, but a blues and rock machine. His playing from his days in the Bluesbreakers through Derek and the Dominos solidified his reputation as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, and deservedly so. I would love to hear him play again with the creative inventiveness and fire that defines this John Mayall recording. Anyone who wants to resist mellowing along with Clapton or needs a little musical inspiration should buy this CD. It is the real deal, and it will always be a classic--something that, unfortunately, will not be said about Clapton's recent work.

As every rock fan worth his or her salt knows, Eric Clapton was in his prime during the 1960's. Be it with the Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers, Cream or Blind Faith, it seemed like El Clapitan couldn't fail. And in this case, working with Mayall for an all-too-short one album colaboration, he didn't. And though there are some lesser throwaways (those instrumentals near the end, with the exception of Steppin' Out, qualify there), this disc is packed with brilliant material. Be it All Your Love, Hideaway, Double Crossing Time, What I Say, Parchman Farm, Ramblin' on My Mind or Steppin' Out, Bluesbreakers with Clapton never fails to deliver. And though it isn't the most creative album ever made, if you're into the blues (and what Clapton fan isn't?), you should take a look at this.