Customer Reviews

London Blues

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Along with more rudimentary Alexis Korner and Graham Bond "Organisation", John Mayall's "Bluesbreakers" provided the catalyst and musical training ground for the UK R&B boom of the mid 60's. Want to know where Eric Clapton's work with Cream and Peter Green's work with early Fleetwood Mac came from?... then look no further, because they're all here... Eric Clapton, Peter Green, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Aynsley Dunbar, Keef Hartley, Mick Taylor, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Tony Reeves, Henry Lowther... the power-houses behind much of the UK R&B scene serving their time and establishing their reputations within the constantly changing "Bluesbreakers" line-up.

But these tracks are not just interesting "what did they do in the early days" add-ons... they're superb examples of precisely what this music was all about. John Mayall - a gifted, often under-rated singer and musician in his own right - provides the framework for his peers to explore and extend their musical ideas and, this album captures them all in great form. Eric Clapton's ground-breaking guitar work on tracks such as "I'm Your Witchdoctor" (one of seven tracks with Clapton as lead guitarist) set the scene for his work with Cream and stimulated the "Clapton is God" graffiti that adorned walls and railway bridges in 1966. Peter Green's beautiful finger picking on "Sitting In The Rain" and bridge-bending guitarwork on "The Supernatural" (along with eleven other tracks featuring him as lead guitarist) represent blues guitar at its very best.

And... throughout it all, John Mayall weaves his special magic. "No Reply" co-written with Mick Taylor, who was picked out by the Stones to replace Brian Jones on the basis of his work with John Mayall as represented on this album, is quite stunning and there's more... so much more.

Along with "The Turning Point", an absolutely essential John Mayall album. If you're into this type of music then this is a "must have".

John Mayall is still performing and recording in his late sixties, but he is not very well known in the US. His greatest claim to fame is perhaps his featuring Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor as lead guitarists before each of them went on to greater fame. However, Mayall has his strengths as a songwriter and arranger, and the sincerity of his crusade to bring the blues to a wider audience is undeniable.

If you are at all curious about Mayall, or are simply interested in hearing examples of Eric Clapton's best early work, this two disc set is the place to begin. Mayall's major achievements were recorded in the 60s, and his most enjoyable songs are included here, with the exception of the tracks on "The Turning Point".

Stones fans, those who like Clapton's blues work, and anyone familiar with the original Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green, will likely enjoy this set. First rate blues guitar, strong melodies, creative blues arrangments with extensive use of horns as well as guitar, keyboards, and harmonica --- you'll find them all here. A throughly satisfying disc from beginning to end.

John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers pretty much led the British rhythm and blues boom of the sixties and was a regular feature at the venues that were springing up to cater for fans of the music.
He had the knack of discovering talented musicians, especially guitarists, at one time hiring in succession relative unknowns Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor. Other notable musicians employed here in an ever rotating line-up include John McVie, Aynsley Dunbar, Keef Hartley, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Tony Reeves and Henry Lowther. These were not merely hired hands, but integral members of the band, shaping and colouring the music within an expanding blues framework, under the guiding light and vision of John Mayall, himself no mean performer.
This 2CD retrospective picks liberally from this period in the latter half of the sixties including tracks from the key albums Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton, A Hard Road (featuring some of Peter Green's bluesiest work), Crusade, Bare Wires and Blues From Laurel Canyon, the latter three all featuring Mick Taylor, as well as the Mayall solo album The Blues Alone.
It is most valuable, however, for including some hard to find A-sides, B-sides and EP tracks, such as three of four recorded for the 1967 EP John Mayall's Bluesbreakers With Paul Butterfield. Although primarily taken from Decca recordings, space has been found to include 3 sides with Eric Clapton recorded for the Immediate and Purdah labels (I'm Your Witch Doctor, Telephone Blues, Bernard Jenkins). Since the original albums are all in print, I would have preferred to see more of the non-album tracks here, such as Lonely Years (for Purdah) and Little By Little (from the Paul Butterfield EP), but this is a well-chosen and representative selection

This two disk collection features 40 recordings from blues legend John Mayall. His group The Bluesbreakers is notable because three guitarists that later became legends played in it for some time and each is showcased in this compilation: Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor. The package includes a great 23 page booklet with very detailed band info plus many pictures.

The very first track "Crawling Up A Hill" while excellent is an anomaly since it sounds more like brit-pop rather than blues but the second song "My Baby Is Sweeter" already displays the blues sound featured throughout this awesome collection. Clapton plays some mean licks in for example "All Your Love" and the instrumental "Bernard Jenkins". On some tracks Mayall successfully incorporates a horn section "Looking Back", "Another Kinda Love", "The Death Of J.B. Lenoir" and "So Many Roads" while the last track on CD 1 "Burn Out Your Blind Eyes" displays Mayall's own guitar skills. Mayall also plays organ and the best showcase is "Broken Wings" on CD 2. Some memorable moments from Green's playing come in the instrumental "The Supernatural" which influenced Carlos Santana and his minor key phrasings in "So Many Roads". Taylor's skills are showcased in tracks like "Oh, Pretty Woman" and the closing title on CD 2 "Fly Tomorrow".

If you like the blues a lot then check out this awesome compilation from John Mayall!
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Later...

The primary reason for owning this album is not that it a GHs of his work, or it shows the highlights of his long career or the endless string of great musicians he mentored early in their career. It provides us access to some of his work that is not available to the CD public. The two main example is the 3 out of four selection that he recorded with Paul Butterfield that is long out of bring. The question is where is the 4th? It also includes some of Eric Clapton work that is equally had to find.

There are four words which told me this album was a must have.
The Supernatural. And what else?
Peter Green.
The Supernatural is one of a handful of instrumentals in the entire history of rock which will put you where you want to be.
The Supernatural.
Your search is over after all these years. Will there ever be a place on the planet quite like that?
KSAN radio in San Francisco, CA, 1967 to 1970. From 10 to 2 it was "Lights Out," with Tom Donahue and sometimes Dusty Street. It takes you back, doesn't it? Satori. Nirvana. Bliss.
Peter Green.
The Supernatural.

London Blues (1964-1969) is a double CD containing 40 of the best tracks from John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. Mayall's voice is an acquired taste and his songwriting isn't always the greatest, but don't let that stop you from buying this collection. Guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor were members of the group at different times, who frequently made multi-intrumentalist Mayall appear to be only a sideman.