Customer Reviews

Road Dogs

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

 

 

John Mayall has issued yet another new album? It amazes me that he has so much music in him that he continues to put out one quality album after another. Out of all he's done, there are very few Mayall albums I consider unworthy of his talent.

Road Dogs continues the long string of worthwhile albums that began when Mayall brought Coco Montoya and Buddy Whittington into the band nearly two decades ago after he suffered a patch of mid-career burnout by issuing a couple of uninspired records. Chicago Line revitalized his muse and he's been going strong ever since. Montoya has since gone out on his own, but Whittington more than makes up for his absence.

Mayall has a tendency to revisit favorite themes such as how the blues have affected his life, personal issues, and social ills yet he continues to exhibit a bouyant optimism in most of his lyrics.

On Road Dogs, he manages to cover all his favorite bases once again. My favorites here are the title cut, So Glad, Snake Eye, Beyond Control, Chaos In The Neighborhood, You'll Survive, With You, the instrumental Brumwell's Beat, and Scrambling. Mayall's voice, an acquired taste for some, is the same as ever, and the band's line-up gives musical force to Mayall's continued strong songwriting skills.

Throughout his career, Mayall's bands have showcased and nurtured up and coming young musicians, a huge number of whom have gone onto substantial popularity after graduating from Mayall's "school". The latest talent featured by Mayall is the very young Eric Steckel who plays a mean and fiery lead on the hard-hitting Chaos In the Neighborhood. He sounds great and I hope Mayall uses him again.

Long-time Mayall fans will be pleased to find the grand old man of British blues still crankin'. Though Road Dogs is not his best album, it is of a quality that will give it heavy rotation in my CD player both at home and on the road. Add it to your CD collection today.

I would have bought this anyway, I have everything John Mayall released. I became a fan of Buddy Whittington after seeing and hearing the 70th birthday DVD and CD. I am not at all dissapointed with this. I have been playing guitar for 40 years and Buddy is just what I always wanted to do with the guitar. Nothing too flashy, just brilliant craftsmanship; I'm not sure weather to be encouraged or disscouraged by him. The rest of the CD is great too, I guess a harp or keyboard player would feel the same.(I am over 13).

There are several very nice tunes on Road Dogs- 40 Days, Kona Village and You'll Survive among them. The instrumental Brumwell's Beat is as good as anything the Bluesbreakers have ever done. The CD may be a little message heavy at the expense of allowing the band to jam a little more. Make your own decision.

This is the best that I've heard "The Father of British Bues" sound in years. It seems that he is at his best when he has something to say, and say it he does. I've been a Mayall fan since 1967 so we mustn't forget that he was part of the social protests of that era. The Bluesbreakers are fabulous as always and fill out the tunes quite nicely. I had a chance to attend a club show just prior to the release of the CD. The show was fantastic! Afterwards I was fortunate to chat with John. Filled with vim, vigor and vip, Mayall's energy seemed endless. It's this energy on "Road Dogs" that makes it a must for the Mayall fan.

I love John Mayall. I bought his Turning Point cassette in 1970 and still listen to it. I've seen him perform two different years at the Grand Emporium blues club in Kansas City. I have many of his CDs.

This is not one of his better CDs. He spends too much time on his lyrics and not enough on the melodies. He sings on and on about his life and the sorry state of the world but where's the band? Longtime fans may enjoy "Road Dogs" because it his latest release but if you are new to John Mayall first watch his 70th birthday concert DVD with good home theater speakers.

Fine album, but not really inspired. I know - Mayall is a king, but the album sounded a bit like making product on the assembly line.

Several john mayall cds have really made an impact on me. The last one with the "road dogs" band was enjoyable and was hard edged enough to make me think that Mayall was not over the hill, or sloppy as he has been on some recordings. Many artists have up and downs in their career and with a history as long as Mayalls, you are bound to have a few low points. This is apparently one of them. John Mayall is the master of the roller coaster, one record great, the next a mess, and this is one of the messes.

The hard, sinuous bass lines laid down on the last cd are soft and muted and don;t add anything to this record. Same bass player. Did John school him into his brand of blues and defuse his soul? Not sure.

The lyrics and driving blues of the previous effort are sure not part of this record. For a double cd it is awash in mediocrity. Too bad. Same band, hard and driving on one record, now soft and not a dog bite in this one.

John Mayall is excellent as usual. Heard them live a couple of years ago and this CD continues his good blues music.

This CD is a total disappointment! After being impressed (Despite a voice showing age.) with his 70th Birthday CD (See previous Shaq review) I was excited when I saw this released. But this CD is really poor. The voice is about gone, and the lyrics range from ridiculous to absurd! A sample for "The King Of The World Blues Reviewer" fans: "Chaos in the neighborhood/our city park is a garden of misery/a sick population all beyond recovery/it's hard to be homeless." Or "will your baggage/even make the flight/or will they lose them/somewhere in the night" LAST BUT NOT LEAST: "Get ready for the world and all the things we left behind/farewell Kona Village I'll be back some other time."

Shaq hopes Kona Village is a retirement community, where a blues singer should go to retire and live near the Seinfeld's! (Maybe John can run for President of the condo association!)