Artist: Mayall, John
Label: Decca Records
Release: 1966
Runtime: 37.06
Rating: 4.5/5
The album that kicked off the British blues movement may sound a little naive today, but in 1966 it was a real small šok, and all the credit goes to Messrs. John Mayall and, of course, Eric Clapton. Eric, who had left the pop approach of Yarbirds behind out of frustration, discovers blues in its purest form under Mayall’s mentorship. These days Eric describes Mayall as a “father figure” who helped him, in his own words, “learn a whole lot, in a very short time”. It’s mostly about his playing, which owes a great deal to blues players like Freddie King, Otis Rush and above all Robert Johnson.
Bluesbreakers is a huge step forward in every way as far as the 60s blues scene goes. The album, which rests entirely on the “contributions” of the pair mentioned above, serves up a handful of originals as well as covers of old blues standards, and picking the best among them is really tough. The combination of Mayall’s vocals and the Hammond, over which Clapton “burns” everything down with his rawness, still sounds completely fresh today. A lot of the credit for that goes to the production too, handled by Mike Vernon.
The album is opened by two covers, namely Rush’s All You Love (probably one of the best versions out there) and the instrumental Hideaway, whose very inventively improvised performance shows Mayall’s band in a great mood. Clapton keeps right up, too. His obvious progress since leaving Yardbirds is simply incredible. A year of playing (!) with Mayall has paid off, and it shows in his completely “black” guitar sound, which wraps around his aggressive approach. Key To Love, a song about women and the problems that come with them, is really driven by this “black” energy of Clapton’s, which, alongside Mayall’s vocals, brings out emotions of every kind and color. Little Girl tells the same story, a lively, horn-tinged “heavy” blues number where John and Eric happily trade “words”.
A curiosity is the version of a prison song (!?), which Mayall performs all on his own with a harmonica in the style of Sunny Boy Williamson. Since it’s more of a solo “trip to the countryside”, it’s nice that it doesn’t go on too long, which can’t be said for Double Crossing Time, the only joint John-and-Eric composition, which tells us about the other, “nicer” side of Jack Bruce. Next comes a visit from Mr. Ray Charles with his What’d I Say, serving up a phenomenal drum solo. How McVie keeps count of the bars in there is probably not clear to many people, but the fact remains that it sounds insane! After this madness, which understandably used to close Mayall’s concert set lists for a while, another “up tempo” number kicks in, Parchman Farm. This time without Clapton, who found the whole thing too boring, but with an energetic harmonica solo from John.
Given that the guys mostly deal in music full of emotion, it’s no surprise to get another more “feminine thing” called Have You Heard. You simply can’t resist this heavy, sorrow-soaked slow burner, packed with despair-drenched guitar soloing. Simple but effective, just like the cover of Ramblin’ On My Mind by the old fox Robert Johnson, whom Clapton rates higher than any other blues giant. Clapton tries his hand at singing for the first time here, which he mostly owes to Mayall, who kept encouraging the young man. The guitar blues festival continues with Steppin’ Out, another of Eric’s favorites, which later becomes a regular part of the Cream repertoire. The blues is everywhere, including It Ain’t Right, which gives Mayall and his harmonica antics the last word on the album.
Bluesbreakers is an album that in many ways brought blues music to a wider audience, and its influence is also noticeable on people for whom blues was more familiar territory. One of them was none other than Mr. Jimi Hendrix, who, on his very first visit to Great Britain, followed Clapton’s example and bought his first Marshall amp! As for the Mayall – Clapton duo itself, they soon went their separate ways, a path they kicked off so successfully with none other than Bluesbrakers With Eric Clapton.
Lineup
John Mayall – vocals/piano/organ
Eric Clapton – vocals/guitar
John McVie – drums
John Almond – baritone sax
Alan Skidmore – tenor sax
Dennis Heatley – trumpet
Production
Mike Vernon
Track List
1.All Your Love
2.Hideaway
3.Little Girl
4.Another Man
5.Double Crossing Time
6.What’d I Say
7.Key To Love
8.Parchman Farm
9.Have Youe Heard
10.Ramblin’ On My Mind
11.Steppin’ Out
12.It Ain’t Right
