Padlock on the Blues

John Mayall | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 8, 1999)
• Original Release Date: June 1, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cleopatra
• ASIN: B00000J5Y3
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #369,153 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid, welcome effort by a seminal figure in blues history., August 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Padlock on the Blues (Audio CD)

Those who know Mayall and his music won't be disappointed by his end-of-century effort, "Padlock On the Blues," which finds him with yet another label and, at 65, still in top form. Those who don't know him have about three and a half decades of recorded output to sift through (a process that will yield innumerable blues pleasures), and might as well work backward from here.

In the longstanding Mayall tradition, the new album showcases his harmonica, keyboards and vocals in a variety of blues styles and moods--with the support of top-flight players. Chief among these is Buddy Whittington, a Texas guitar hand who's been working with Mayall for the past four years. His playing blends the best of American and English approaches to blues guitar--without the bombast of the cascading-notes crowd. The Bluesbreakers are rounded out by John Paulus, who serves up deep, thick bottom from a 5-string bass, and Joe Yuele, the outstanding and tastefully intricate drummer who's worked with Mayall longer than any other musician over the course of four decades.

Guest soloist Ernie Watts, the accomplished West Coast jazz sax great, takes a sleek, funky turn in the album's opener, "Don't Turn Your Back." Mayall also coaxed John Lee Hooker into the studio for presence and style on two other cuts, "Somebody's Watching" and the piano boogie "Bad Dream Catcher." Mayall struts his keyboard skills again on "Ain't No Surrender," a shuffle that bridges back to some of his early solo records in the Sixties.

Fans who know Mayall's work from that period will dig the reprise of "A Hard Road," the title track from the 1967 album with which Mayall introduced Peter Green to the world as Eric Clapton's replacement in the Bluesbreakers. For "Padlock," it's been rewritten and recast to sound less like a dirge and more like a driving lament. It works.

In all, the 13 tracks on "Padlock" add up to a balanced, representative collection of Mayall's work in the 1990's. It's a bit grittier than his other albums of this decade--no doubt because Mayall himself produced it. Not many surprises here, just an hour of Mayall doing Mayall and standing his well-staked ground.

The highspot of "Padlock On the Blues," the cut you'll play again and again for yourself and your guitar-freak buddies, is the slow-blues title track--itself worth the price of admission. Guitarist Whittington's three-chorus solo rips across three full minutes and builds in intensity, thought and fire. Just when you want more... he gives it to you. Mayall's familiar-sounding vocal concludes with what's probably the best summary of what happens in the album: "I got to go with what I got, and what I got won't let me down." He does, and it doesn't.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gets better with every listen, September 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Padlock on the Blues (Audio CD)

Another excellent CD by John and his current band. Pick it up and enjoy listening to some real professional musicians.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More Mayall Passion, December 7, 2001

By 

Bob Davis (Christchurch New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Padlock on the Blues (Audio CD)

As a Mayall freak, this album was another must. Mayall turned me onto the blues long ago (as well as Paul Butterfield). Mayall went into the doldrums into the 70s but re-emerged with 'Sense of place'. I have every album since. This album has some great tracks but also has Mayall revisiting some of his 70's who 'cares territory'. The highlights are definitely his rework of 'Hard Road' from the 68 album, 'PadLock on the blues' and 'Country Girl'. Buddy Whittington on guitar adds so much to this album. I give it 4 stars because I love this man but only some of the tracks (but enough) live up to the 4 stars mark. My favourite Mayall remains 'Life in the Jungle'.