Customer Reviews

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers - Jammin' With the Blues Greats

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This DVD is now available again after years of being out-of-print. Originally it was VHS tape that was available in the Mid-Eighties. That version did not contain the Jam at the end or Albert King's "Born Under A Bad Sign". During the 90s it reappeared as a full-lenght VHS tape with all tracks present, however, if you live in Australia as I do, it was in NTSC and not available in PAL (I paid $50 in 1997 to get it changed over!Before the technology revolution in TVs). I was able to get the first DVD copy of this work from the UK in 2001 and it is now deleted. This copy is a treasure and what a price!!!!! You should buy two just in case one gets worn out playing Albert King's segment!

OK, the previous reviews are great and I agree with most of what they say. John Mayall was and is a great promoter of the Blues. This concert was in a way a Jam Session (as the name implies) and a chance to give the Blues a kick start in the days just prior to the emergence of the dynamic SRV. It was 1982 and most Blues acts were stagnant-most people were listening to the 1980s New British Pop-Soul Invasion, Billy Joel and so on, enough said.

This set has its ups and downs but the HIGHLIGHT is Albert King. As I have said in my many reviews of his work, material on him is very scarce. Even now, this is much better than the DVD released last year "Live In Sweden"- the sound is better, his guitar has no 1970s phaser on it, the guitar is mixed up front, his singing is at its best and he's not grumpy!!! The other DVD of Albert is "Godfather of the Blues". He has a good sound, but he's 69 years old and the band is very mediocre (Except "Dave Jefferson" on drums). The very rare "Maintenance Shop Blues" tape (can you still get it at all??) he has a good band with horns, it's in this period around the middle 1980s, but his guitar is super phaser driven and not out front.

If they ever release "A Blues Session" (well they just re-released "A Rockabilly Session" with Carl Perkins in the same series!!!) Albert has his second best video exposure, with SRV and Paul Butterfield doing "The Sky Is Crying").

Now to be able to get this DVD with Albert in top form and bassist Frank Dunbar, who played with Albert through the mid-1980s until he got a newer band with the fabluous Jimmy King on second guitar, for only ten bucks is the all time Albert King bargain available- I now own two of the tapes and four of the DVDs!!

About the players. The Bluesbreakers with Mick Taylor and John McVie are great. Taylor's big Marshall sound and great slide playing prevail. I think the best tunes are Buddy Guy's "My Time After A While" and "The Dark Side of Midnight" with Taylor's great playing with a Wah-wah and a Les Paul. Sippie Wallace is super for 83 (she died the year after this concert) you may want to see a younger Sippie caught in the American Folk Blues Festival (Vol. 1) worth seeing! Buddy and Junior Wells are their usual selves. Although Buddy is really not up to scratch with the old Guild he played between Stratocasters. His sound is pretty thin and does not suit his fast playing. This mix is also not the best. Etta James is Etta James, a great Blues singer, but she should have done different material-she did Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me To Do" (A curious song that actually never refers to the title-Reed was drunk at the time (as usual) and couldn't name the tune he had written with his wife and Eddie Taylor). Etta performed this on about every TV performance she did in the 1980s.(eg-B.B.King, Joe Walsh's special, etc.)

Overall this show belongs to the late great Albert King. Albert never got the credit or recognition he deserved in his lifetime, except from guitar players and die hard blues lovers. Perhaps the re-release of this material will spark some well overdue interest in Mr King. Most guitar players who play blues have to include some of B.B. King's style in their lick dictionary (Guy, Little Milton, Freddie King, Clapton, etc.). However, Albert King never did, once!!! He is the most original blues guitar stylist. Hear him on this DVD. He is the best, the King of soulful bending!

This is a wonderful concert DVD, featuring John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (Mayall with vocals and on harmonica and keyboard, John McVie on bass, Mick Taylor on guitar, and Colin Allen in drums) and some guests--Sippie Wallace (then 83 years old), Etta James, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, and Albert King.

This was recorded in 1982 and provides a nice glimpse of blues work at its best. Some examples of the works on this DVD:

The Bluesbreakers play "An Eye for an Eye": This starts off with nice harmonica work by Mayall himself. This is about a man killing another man and implying the Biblical pronouncement that represents the title of this work. There is a very nice blues sensibility here. The Band plays well, with Mick Taylor's estimable guitar work standing out.

"Messin' with the Kid" features Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. Nice guitar work (as one would guess) from Guy. Wells wings in a gritty fashion and plays the harmonica most finely. There is nice back and forth guitar work between Taylor and Guy.

Then, there is "Why Are You so Mean to me," featuring Albert King. What guitar work on his part! The Bluesbreakers back him nicely, with special mention to Mayall's harmonica, which acts in nice counterpoint to the smoking guitar work of King and Taylor.

"Call It Stormy Monday": King's version compares very nicely with that of T-Bone Walker. It starts off with King's mean guitar licks. Taylor and King play well off of one another. Key lines:

"They call it stormy Monday,

But Tuesday's just as bad.

Y'know Wednesday's worse,

Lord, Thursday is also sad."

Finally, an extended jam session, featuring "C. C. Rider": Sippie Wallace begins the vocals, followed by the likes of Etta James, King, and Wells. The guitar byplay among Guy, King, and Taylor is great fun. Wells' harmonica work is terrific. What a nice extended jam session!

So, how to evaluate this? A wonderful concert, featuring some great talents. The ensemble works well together. If you are interested in the genre and some of the artists, this will be a nice investment.

This is a great low priced Dvd containing John Mayall and some blues history from 1982. The 80's were some of the hardest times for artists that saw their prime at the begining of the 70's. On this Dvd John Mayall performs a concert with the likes of Etta James, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Sippie Wallace, and Albert King. It's cool to see Mayall bumpin elbows with John McVie, and Mick Taylor again. Although Mick seems to have a very Stones esq attitude towards the special guests, and can't seem to play a song without smoking a cigarette. But otherwise ego's seemed to be checked at the door. I'm pretty sure Mayall is content with playing along with his idols. He always seems to thank his idols one way or another during live shows. Also his attidude has changed a bit since the 1972 album "Jazz Blues Fusion." In between songs the audience yells out requests for "Room to Move" and John replies "Did you come to see a concert or hear a record?" But at the end of the set on the DVD John says "What would a concert be without a little "Room to Move."" So it is good to see he has embraced playing some nostalgia rather than banging out new tunes. I saw John perform at a club in Buffalo NY about a year ago. I was floored when I got to meet him and he signed his 70th birthday DVD for me and I thanked him for introducing me to the blues. John is a very nice guy and played an excellent set. But I'm getting off track. This DVD contains some great performances by blues greats who I'm sure you'd be hard pressed (they are out there but it'll take some research) to find on DVD anywhere else other than here. Buddy Guy and Junior Wells are an awesome duo on stage. You can see the obvious BB King influences in Buddy's playing. Junior can honk a serious harp too. The Albert King set is awesome. The guy plays guitar left handed eventhough it is strung right handed, its pretty cool to see. Etta James and Sippie Wallace both do very good singing although I've never been a fan of women singing the blues. The C.C. Rider Jam is awesome as well with everyone having a chance to shine. For the price its hard to beat this DVD. Seeing blues greats that usually don't get as much credit as they should on stage is really cool. If you are a John Mayall fan or just a fan of the blues you should get this. But if you are a blues fan you probably already have it.

I really enjoyed this DVD. I'm a "Dyed in the wool" Blues lover, and having Albert King, Mick Taylor, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells together makes this DVD great. Mick Taylor plays some mean Slide Guitar on this DVD. I think his playing on this DVD is much better, than his playing on the 70th birthday DVD. Albert King played some great stuff on this DVD, he has some "Killer Tone" going. His guitar really wails, as opposed to some other of his other recordings, where he has a "Tinny" sound. Buddy Guy, and Junior Wells were good also. Etta James sings on this DVD also. Any Blues lover should buy this DVD!

A terrific opportunity to see numerous blues greats organized by an energetic and cheerful John Mayall. Super playing and teamwork, a fantastic buy at this price; real piece of history.

Excellent concert with great film work and sound. One of the best concert dvd's that I own. A must have for all blues fans!

This is a great show to say the least. The video quality could have been a little better, but all in all it was good to see these blues folks come together. Mayall was great, and as others have stated, it was a good showing for Albert King, of which there is not too much out there of him performing. Jr Wells and Buddy Guy were smokin' as they mesh together perfectly. My only disappointment was Etta James. She seemed to be a little off like she was a little high or something. Any blues fan would enjoy this show.

great DVD and tunes on this one. rock around the house with this one!!

great fast service from MovieMars also.

Filmed live in New Jersey in June 1982, this concert brings together John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers along with five blues legends: Albert King, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Etta James, and Sippie Wallace. As another reviewer already said, performance footage of blues legends like Albert King is often hard to find. Most of these old performers have already passed away and never received the media attention or recognition given to modern stars like Eric Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughan. Too many of the blues pioneers who paved the way for everyone else remain sadly overlooked by today's music fans, and that is one reason why this is a worthy DVD for any blues fan.

What makes this show worthwhile for me is the chance to see three blues guitar masters together on the same stage: Albert King, Buddy Guy, and Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones. Fans of blues harp playing will enjoy the harmonica solos from Junior Wells and John Mayall too. Buddy Guy plays some good solos during his set with Junior Wells, but unfortunately we don't get to hear a single note of his powerhouse singing in this concert. I wish Mayall would've kept Buddy on stage to sing his own song "My time after a while" which is one of the better songs in the show.

Despite his six years of service with the Rolling Stones, this concert shows that Mick Taylor is truly a blues guitarist at heart. Taylor gets plenty of opportunities in this show to display his fine slide guitar playing on each and every song. The Stones lost a fine guitarist when they lost Taylor, and I've never heard Ronnie Wood play a better solo than what we hear from Mick in this concert.

Albert King and his distinctive guitar playing is probably the highlight of the show. He performs an extended version of his classic "Born under a bad sign" as well as the old standard "Stormy Monday". Blues guitar lovers will enjoy watching King and Taylor share solos during Albert's set. During the closing jam of "CC Rider" featuring all the performers, Albert takes the spotlight for a moment and acknowledges all the performers to the audience.

Sippie Wallace represents a whole other era of blues from the 1920's, and her performance here is likely the only footage we will see of this blues pioneer. Junior Wells and Etta James are good blues vocalists, but both of them seem to oversing a little here. The performances by Albert King and Mick Taylor is the best reason to get this DVD in my opinion, but the sound quality is pretty average and there are better blues concerts available. If you want a glimpse of some true legends of the blues world though, this DVD is a good choice.

I don't get it? I saw some of the other reviews and some were UNDER 4 STARS??? Their TVs must be like 13" black & white and mono sound.

John does what John is...a blues man. He is the grandfather of the British blues. This was a melting of Chicago, Memphis and English blues.

Without Mr. Mayall, who knows, we might have never heard the names of Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck or Eric Clapton? NOT ONE of these players had "a name" until working with John as a Yardbird or Bluesbreaker.

As a professional (that means I got paid) singer (on and off for over three decades), I know some GREAT GUITAR PLAYERS, that you'll never hear about and one is as good as anyone you've ever shelled out $100 bucks to see and hear.

If you like the blues, buy this! Along with Mayall on the program, are several great blues folks and most have passed away.