John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are an English blues rock band led by singer, songwriter, and multi-
instrumentalist John Mayall. While never producing a radio hit of their own, the band has been hugely influential as an incubator for British rock and blues musicians. Many of the best known bands to come out of Britain in the 1960s and 1970s had members that came through the Bluesbreakers at one time, forming the foundation of British blues music that is still played heavily on classic rock radio.
Among those with a tenure in the Bluesbreakers are Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce (both later of
Cream), Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie (the three of whom would form Fleetwood Mac), Mick Taylor (the Rolling Stones), Aynsley Dunbar (Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention), Jon Hiseman, Dick Heckstall-Smith and Tony Reeves (these three would form Colosseum), and numerous others.
In August 1966 John Mayall and Eric Clapton released the single "Lonely Years", with the b-side "Bernard Jenkins", which was released by Purdah Records. The album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton was released in July; it reached the Top Ten in the UK.
Shortly after Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton was released, Eric Clapton saw Buddy Guy in concert,
and being impressed by his trio, the idea for Cream was formed, and he left to form this new group with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. Clapton was replaced by Peter Green for the album A Hard Road, which was recorded with McVie on bass and Aynsley Dunbar on drums. Then the same line-up served as backing band for the album Eddie Boyd and His Blues Band Featuring Peter Green. After this, Green left to form Fleetwood Mac.
Mick Taylor then joined the group, and they recorded Crusade on 12 July 1967. Soon after, McVie
joined Fleetwood Mac and was replaced by Tony Reeves for the album Bare Wires, which was their highest-charting UK album. Then Reeves, Dick Heckstall-Smith and Jon Hiseman left to form Colosseum. Following a further album, Blues from Laurel Canyon, Taylor then left to join the Rolling Stones, and the name "Bluesbreakers" was dropped from John Mayall albums.
Mayall used the band name between 1963 and 1967, then dropped it for some fifteen years. In 1982 a 'Return of the Bluesbreakers' was announced, and the name was used until the band again dissolved in 2008. The name has become generic, without a clear distinction between recordings by Mayall alone and those by Mayall and his band.
Studio albums
Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (1966)
A Hard Road (1967)
Crusade (1967)
Bare Wires (1968)
Return of the Bluesbreakers (1985)
Chicago Line (1988)
A Sense of Place (1990)
Cross Country Blues (1992)
BLUESBREAKERS WITH ERIC CLAPTON (1966)
The album was commercially successful and most critics viewed it positively. In 2003 and 2012,
Rolling Stone ranked it number 195 on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". It was voted number 391 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). The album is often called The Beano Album by fans because of its cover photograph showing Eric Clapton reading The Beano,[10] a British children's comic.[11] Clapton stated in his autobiography that he was reading The Beano on the cover because he felt like being "uncooperative" during the photo shoot. David Wedgbury took the photograph near the Old Kent Road.
This album was the culmination of a very successful year of playing with John Mayall, a fully realized blues creation, featuring sounds very close to the group's stage performances, and with no compromises. Credit has to go to producer Mike Vernon for the purity and simplicity of the record;
most British producers of that era wouldn't have been able to get it recorded this way, much less released.One can hear the very direct influence of Buddy Guy and a handful of other American bluesmen in the playing. And lest anyone forget the rest of the quartet: future pop/rock superstar John McVie and drummer Hughie Flint provide a rock-hard rhythm section, and Mayall's organ playing, vocalizing, and second guitar are all of a piece with Clapton's work. His guitar naturally dominates most of this record, and he can also be heard taking his first lead vocal, but McVie and Flint are just as intense and give the tracks an extra level of steel-strung tension and power, none of which have diminished across several decades.
MEMBERS
John Mayall – lead vocals, piano, Hammond B3 organ, harmonica
Eric Clapton – lead guitar, lead vocals on "Ramblin' on My Mind"
John McVie – bass guitar
Hughie Flint – drums
Additional musicians
Geoff Krivit – guitar (disc two tracks 8–10, not featured on original album)
Jack Bruce – bass (disc two tracks 14–19, not featured on original album)
Alan Skidmore – tenor saxophone
Johnny Almond – baritone saxophone
Derek Healey – trumpet
John Mayall With Eric Clapton – Blues Breakers
Label: Decca – UICY-93705/6
Format: 2 CD, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo, Mono, Deluxe Edition 05 Nov 2008
Released: 1966
Genre: Rock
Style: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
DISC 1. - CD1. - The Original Mono Album And 1969 Stereo Mix
Mono Mix (April 1966)
01. All Your Love 3:35
02. Hideaway 3:14
03. Little Girl 2:33
04. Another Man 1:44
05. Double Crossing Time 3:02
06. What'd I Say 4:26
07. Key To Love 2:06
08. Parchman Farm 2:19
09. Have You Heard 5:54
10. Ramblin' On My Mind 3:07
11. Steppin' Out 2:28
12. It Ain't Right 2:41
Stereo Mix (November 1969)
13. All Your Love 3:35
14. Hideaway 3:14
15. Little Girl 2:33
16. Another Man 1:45
17. Double Crossing Time 3:01
18. What'd I Say 4:26
19. Key To Love 2:05
20. Parchman Farm 2:21
21. Have You Heard 5:52
22. Ramblin' On My Mind 3:07
23. Steppin' Out 2:27
24. It Ain't Right 2:41
MP3 @ 320 Size: 180 MB
Flac Size: 388 MB
BONUS DISC - CD2.
BBC "Saturday Club" Session - 26th April 1965
01. Crawling Up A Hill 2:06
02. Crocodile Walk 2:22
03. Bye Bye Bird 2:47
Immediate 45 IM012 - Released October 1965
04. I'm Your Witchdoctor 2:09
05. Telephone Blues 3:56
Purdah 45 3502 - Recorded Oct 1965, Released Aug 1966
06. Bernard Jenkins 3:47
07. Lonely Years 3:17
BBC "Saturday Club" Session - 25th Oct 1965
08. Cheatin' Woman 2:01
09. Nowhere To Turn 1:40
10. I'm Your Witchdoctor 2:08
Recorded 2nd Dec 1965, At Pye Studios (Unreleased Stereo Mix)
11. On Top Of The World (Take 2) 2:49
BBC "Saturday Club" Session - 14th March 1966
12. Key To Love 2:01
13. On Top Of The World 2:32
Recorded Live At Flamingo Club, London, 17th March 1966.
14. They Call It Stormy Monday 4:33
Recorded Live At Flamingo Club, London, 30th April 1966.
15. Intro Into Maudie 2:25
16. It Hurts To Be In Love 3:21
17. Have You Ever Loved A Woman 6:42
18. Bye Bye Bird 3:49
19. Hoochie Coochie Man 3:53
MP3 @ 320 Size: 144 MB
Flac Size: 254 MB
Thanks a lot!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat album and great edition!!!
Cheers
I've discovered the blues with this LP. For me, the best record of both Mayall and Clapton. Many thanks for the FLAC version.
ReplyDeleteMucho thanks...new to your awesome blog
ReplyDelete