Customer Reviews

Crusade

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

 

 

Not surprising that no one has reviewed this; I was more than mildly surprised to find that it's still in print. While many listeners rated "Bare Wires" as most representative of an undeservedly ignored Mayall work, I feel this is a much better candidate. "Crusade" is a straight-ahead tribute to some of Mayall's blues heroes, and he pays them a fittingly respectful musical tribute. "Crusade" is much better than "Bare Wires," "Blues from Laurel Canyon" and other Mayall releases of that ilk because it sticks to the blues and is blessedly free of some of the truly awful autobiographical lyrics that John was capable of penning. When he does contribute an original, it fits with the theme of the album, as in the affecting "Death of J.B. Lenoir," a sorrowful lament for one of Mayall's blues inspirations.

Other highlights include "My Time after Awhile," which shows that Mayall's vocals, acquired taste though they may be, can in the right circumstances capture the power of a blues lyric. "Snowy Wood" features some fine blues guitar from Mick Taylor, who was soon to depart for Rolling Stones glitz, but who showed he could play some good blues licks when properly motivated. "Oh, Pretty Woman" won't make you forget Albert King, but Mayall doesn't do the tune an injustice either, and Taylor again contributes some tight guitar work.

In fact, the whole album benefits from a strong hand in the choice of material. It has a fine, smoldering flavor that reflects Mayall's love of the material.

Great album? No. Worth having in a blues collection? I'd say so. The test of the blues for me is the respect the artist shows for the material and the genuine feeling that he or she is able to wrest from it. By these standards, "Crusade," Mayall and his bandmates pass the test.

Ah, the glorious days of the warm tube amp!! This album has stood the test of time. I put it on the player just yesterday and it still sounds like it was done last week instead of the late 1960s.
For a baby faced 18 year old Mick Taylor plays some of the best blues guitar EVER and proves to be a slightly more technical & funkier player than Eric Clapton.His control of feedback is dynamic and alot like Peter Greens. Although Mayalls voice is a little shaky and offkey in places,the choice of songs is strong. The tracks featuring Micks instrumentals are the finest.
Together with the CD "A Hard Road" and the Clapton "Beano" album this provides as an essential addition to any seeking raw, energetic 60s blues guitar.
"Snowy River", "Driving Sideways" and Mick's sensational soloing on "My Time After Awhile" prove that he was a force to reckon with.
Today in 2006 Taylor is still one the most consistant guitarists around.
(Check out John Mayalls '70th Birthday/Anniversary' DVD to see what i mean)

I bought this album on vinyl for £1 in 1970 in a second hand shop in Glasgow where the manageress didn't know what it was worth. I thought I had won the pools and when I played it I realised I had. The intensity and tightness of Mick Taylors guitar was far from the disappointment which those of us who had followed the Bluesbreakers through the 60s expected in the aftermath of Clapton and Green. I get the impression that my fellow reviewers are late arrivals to the Bluesbreakers unlike myself. However, if they listened to John's 70th Birthday album, Taylor is far and away the only musician on it who doesn't sound tired - he is as crisp and clean as ever, without having lost any of the passion of it. Crusade is not the best Bluesbreakers album but there is something about it (the indignation and grit that goes with any crusade maybe?) which gives it a diamond-like quality. It also contains in it the heritage(Guy, Rush, Williamson) so dear to Mayall and the religious light shines from it. Listen to 'Checkin on My Baby' and see if it wouldn't blow anybody (except maybe Walter Trout - another old Bluesbreaker) off the map. If you hear this as your first Bluesbreakers album you will probably buy them all through time. I have.

This 1967 album is still one of my favourites. Half the tracks are Mayall originals, half are blues 'standards'. The album highlights Mick Taylor's guitar and also some horm based blues. My original reaction to this album was rejection because of the horns, but I rediscovered it years later. It is not the best Mayall album, but it still has many memorable moments. I am a Mayall diehard of the original Bluesbreaker offering, Hard road and everything since 'Sense of Place'. See 'Life in the Jungle' for the best Mayall album.

John Mayall created and formed bands as quick as changing his socks.

But we are the better for it. Crusade is one of the many lineups that he got together. And out of these bands came people like Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor who replaced Peter Green. Mick Taylor's playing on Crusade is superb. His liquid guitar lines just hit the skies, particularly "Snowy Wood" the instrumental track on the CD.The personnel on this cd are John Mayall, vocals keyboards /guitars, harmonica; Mick Taylor,guitar; Keef Hartley,drums;John McVie,bass(of Fleetwood Mac fame);Chris Mercer,sax;and Rip Kant,baritone sax.

The tracks are John Mayall's homages to blues greats such as Albert King's "Pretty Woman", Buddy Guy's "My Time After a While" and Sonny Boy William's "Checking Up On my Baby" among others.

Crusade was about furthering the blues cause and it did it well.

This is one of the great blues albums of the sixties and is a musical treat for people who love the blues with soaring and inspiring guitar solos.

ONE OF JM'S BEST ALBUMS, EVERY TRACK IS GREAT, ESPECIALLY WITH THE AWESOME SHM AUDIO FORMAT. MUST HAVE FOR ANY CD COLLECTION, BUT DON'T PAY THESE RIDICULOUS OVER-INFLATED PRICES, I BOUGHT MINE FROM THE MUSIC SPECIALIST ON E BAY, THEY ALSO HAVE A STORE IN GEMM, ANTEATERMUSIC. SAVE YOURSELF A TON OF CASH.
CHEERS!

...REALLY THIS IS FOR FANS....this japanese papersleeve edition is beautiful, especially with only Japan Special SOUND HMCD. This edition of CRUSADE was release at February 20, 2008, and Sold Out in 1 week!. Too is the only with Mick Taylor on guitar...really special and now hard to find.

A great line up of blues artists I bought this on vinyl when it first came out and now I have also bought it on cd it is interesting to hear how John Mayalls sound changed with every band he has, one for the collection.

If I had not heard the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton or Peter Green then this would rate much higher but, after having been exposed to them, this album appears to be rather bereft of ideas. The album is good and Mick Taylor is simply superb, however, there is the feeling that somehow this album is just recycling the old tunes without a great deal of feeling or passion. Most if the tracks are covers and very good they are, but again something is lacking. Part of the problem I think is that as good as Taylor is/was, he is a complete Clapton copyist on this album - he has the tone and the "chops", but perhaps lacks the inspiration to make it really great. You get the feeling that he had spent long nights copying Clapton's leads and hence recycles them here. Don't get me wrong, he is an excellent player, but on this album he is definitely derivative.

Still, despite these reservations this is a good blues album with excellent taste and musicianship. Any fan of good white blues will like this album, even if is not in their top ten.