Customer Reviews

Stories

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When Mayall and Friends was released last year I couldn't help but wonder how Mayall would do without his friends. Well, this release answers that question. Armed with his guitar, harp and his Bluesbreakers-Buddy Whittington, Tom Canning, Joe Yulee and Hank Van Sickle, Mayall releases one of his best recordings in years. It's all here, great guitar work, excellent rhythms, intelligent lyrics, nice organ work and Mayall's slightly worn but excellent vocals. One of the best blues releases this year.

First, allow me to put forth the proposition that despite the name of Mayall's band, that John Mayall has never been exclusively a blues musician. Therefore, it stands to reason that Mayall's albums will not contain blues songs exclusively. That Mayall is a blues master, there is no doubt, but he is so much more than that.
I am the owner of more than 40 Mayall recordings and buy each new CD before I hear a note. Rarely am I disappointed. The release of Stories is a testament to Mayall's prolific and enduring talent. Indeed, it is a colossal achievement.
Recently I had Stories in continuous rotation with a few other blues CDs while on a long road trip. My love for the CD grew with each listen. It is true that there is little straight blues here, but there is a lot of hard driving rock and blues rock and even a couple of the "message" songs that Mayall is fond of writing. Every song is good, but the real treat comes on the final cut which showcases another Mayall blues masterpiece. That song, The Mists of Time, is one I could listen to repeatedly for hours on end.
Other favorites are The Witching Hour, the magnificent Kokomo, and Demons In The Night.
Every John Mayall album has been different than its predecessor, sometimes radically so, and Stories is no exception. So its a mistake for the listener to come to the table with a preconceived notion of what the CD should sound like. I think Stories is Mayall's finest effort since Chicago Line and it deserves to be listened to enough times so that the listener can truly judge it on its considerable merits alone rather than by all that Mayall has done before.

In some ways, this is a typical Mayall album. You have some straigth blues, a few rockers, a bit of jazz influence, a touch of "voodoo" blues, etc. On "Spinning Coin" (1995), Blues For The Lost Days (1997), "Padlock On The Blues" (1999) and "Along for the ride" (2001) we have seen a similar mix. These are all very good albums, but "Stories" is better in terms of song material and energy. The band sounds stronger than ever, and I think that compared to "Along for the ride", a more "raw" sound was applied here, which is great. The guitar playing of Buddy Whittington is a pleasure - this guy is one of the greatest! John Mayall's singing and playing is also still very strong.
I agree with the previous reviewers, except of course Bob Davies who is way off target, IMHO.
I went to see John Mayall & the Blues Breakers last year in Århus, Denmark where they mostly played songs from "Along for the ride". That was a great experience. They are playing again in march 2003 and I expect an even better show this time. Go see them!!!

Just can't stop listening to this CD, especially it's final cut "Mists of Time"! This recording focuses on the entire spectrum of Mayall's blues mastery bringing his commitment to his music entirely into prespective. The flavor reminds me of his 1968 album "Blues from Laurel Canyon", that covers his introspective experiences of LA, following the breakup of the Bluesbreakers band after recording Bare Wires; the difference, of course, being the time-frame that covers his entire career, as opposed to the three-week escape. This album goes beyond just being good, or even great... beyond a shadow of doubt it is "Top Drawer"! The band is so tight, highlighted by the blues guitar of Buddy Whittingham on "I Thought I Heard the Devil", and the funky jam trade-off's mid-track on "Pieces and Parts"! If you enjoy blues this album is a must have, guaranteed to massage your soul into the "Mists of Time"!

John is in his mid seventies... and still working, a long time to be playing the Blues. A talented song writer who now takes contemporary and his own nostalgic events and applies the Blues to them. It is his talent for having the best Musicians he can procure to convey them, that is exceptional. I really liked Clapton when he was in the band. That Les Paul and his Marshall combo really inspired everyone who played Blues and Rock guitar to woodshed with this combination after the "Beano" album.
Mick Taylor, a Rolling Stones alumnus, played with Mayall for a short time. His self titled solo album from years ago is still one of the best Rock and Blues album ever recorded.
His new guitarist, Buddy Whittington is exceptional. When I first heard him on this album, I immediately heard other players in his repertoire that I emulated. A few that come to mind: Billie Gibbons, Jimmy Page, Freddie King, Mance Lipscomb, Hank Garland and even some Bajo Sexto stuff from Mariachi music. Check him out on YouTube under "Hideaway." The flat-pick and fingers playing of Buddy's style bring out the best in the Blues, not to mention the Dr.Z amp he's playing through. All in All, I really enjoyed this recording.

Guitar tone, chops, style, and playing just do not get any better than Buddy Whittington shows on this CD. All the great blues styles are there, from SRV to the classic electric blues.

This CD is a MUST for any guitar player that wants to hear what a great player with a great guitar amp (Dr. Z MAZ Sr) can do.

Amazing .... simply amazing.

If you know anything at all about me, you know that I am not easily impressed.

John Mayall & the Blues Breakers appeared live in Austin last month and WOW! The electricity of a live performance can never be captured in a recording but STORIES comes close. John's new lead guitar comes from TX and plays a fat mean guitar that feeds and leads... LIVE he absolutely demands ATTENTION and every hair on the back of your neck responds. John Mayall could be jaded at nearly 70 years old... (after all he mentored some of the greatest guitars in Rock & Roll)... but far from being jaded... Mayall has matured and mellowed like a fine wine.

"STORIES" goes deeper than the roots of 60's & 70's rock, beyond the group's Lancashire beginnings and straight to the heart of good ol'USA BLUES from the Mississippi Delta to Chicago and St. Louis in the greatest AngloAmerican blues colaborations ever.

Trends will always come and go. Just look at all those "boy and girl bands" of the past 4 years and how most of them (or at least the most well known)surprisingly went out of the spotlight this year. Within a few more years whatever musical legacy people think these pop bands may have achieved will have gone into oblivion right along with them (or remained ingrained in the minds of the 13 year olds that once listened and have since grown up to more mature music).
Fading into oblivion will never be the case with the blues as proven by one of the genre's most influential patriarchs, Mr. John M. and his Bluesbreakers with this record, Stories. Depending on how the blues move you, one or two listens to Stories will convince you that there is a musical gem in your possession. Mr. Mayal is well beyond the age range of the pop artists of the day and you'd think hittin 70 pretty soon, he'd have long put this act to rest(you know, for all the common cliche reasons people like to give about artists who are old and "supposedly" passed their prime). Yet the B-Breaker's music, like their monumental British cousins, the Rolling Stones, has remained solid for over 38 yrs and keeps chargin' on, (and quoting the below review "getting better like fine wine.")
Tracks that I continue to come back again and jam again to are the sleek and Hammond B-52 organ smoothed "Demons In The Night" & the "Mists Of Time", John's very personal recollection of an eventful career and as he sings in the song "....I wouldn't change a thing." The instant groove of "Romance Classified","Pieces & Parts", & "I Thought I Heard The Devil" come next, screaming Texas style stratchops, revealing (for those of you with a kean ear to blues guitar styles)the B-Breakers's homage to the diety himself Mr.SRV (think "Cold Shot"). "Southside Story" has all there is to savor for anyone who understands what the legend of the Chicago Blues is all about, as does the delta-tinged "Leadbelly", a tribute to the late 12string picker of the same name.
Finally, "Kids Got The Blues" tells all that the charm of this music style is age boundless, just look at today's young blues prodigies Johnny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. If there is anything slightly dragging about this album it is that a few songs (like "Pride & Faith") reflect on todays society uncertainties & have an evident gospel-level message to them. This is something I tolerated but, well, didnt really care for. Bottom line: Get this record and revell in some of the sweetest licks of the year!!

On a disk are absent Mastering SID Code and Mould SID Code.
Without visible damages doesn't play last three songs.

As the owner of 26 John Mayall albums including everything since the 1988 the 'Behind the Iron Curtain' album I look forward to each new release. However, my reaction when I heard the first 6 bars of the opening track was that Mayall has reverted to the bad old days of the 70s and early 80s with what I call a bouncy, nothing style of music. Unfortunately my initial reaction was true. My review of 'John Mayall and friends' talked about how the standard bluesbreakers band produced the finest tracks on the album and that maybe there should be less of the 'friends'. This album suggests the reverse. Buddy Whittington on guitar is the only saving grace resurrecting tracks from the 'next' button. Few of the tracks are what I would describe as blues. There are a few worthwhile tracks such as 'Demons in the night' and 'The mists of time' but in general I don't want to hear the rest again. Maybe I should change my automatic buy policy?