John Mayall: The Turning Point 1969 + Empty Rooms 1970

 

John Mayall was born on the 29th of November 1933 and grew up in a village not too far from

Manchester, England. It was here as a teenager that he first became attracted to the jazz and blues 78s in his father's record collection. Initially it was all about guitarists such as Big Bill Broonzy, Brownie McGhee, Josh White and Leadbelly. However once he heard the sounds of boogie woogie piano giants Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis, his desire to play in that style was all he could think of.
                     

John felt pretty much of an outsider throughout his twenties up until 1962 when the news broke in the

British music magazine Melody Maker that Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies had opened a club in Ealing devoted to blues music. After a couple of years and many personnel changes, Eric Clapton quit the Yardbirds and John quickly offered him the job as his new guitarist. Although John had previously released a couple of singles and a live LP for Decca, the now classic collaboration between Eric and John resulted in the all-time best-selling classic album, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton.
                          

JOHN MAYALL - THE TURNING POINT 1969

                            

This prophetically titled project represents yet another crossroad in John Mayall's ever evolving cast of prime British bluesmen. This album also signifies a distinct departure from the decibel-drowning electrified offerings of his previous efforts, providing instead an exceedingly more folk- and roots-

based confab. The specific lineup featured here is conspicuous in its absence of a lead guitarist, primarily due to Mayall recommending himself out of his most recent string man. After the passing of Brian Jones, the Rolling Stones decided to tour and at the behest of Mick Jagger, Mayall suggested Mick Taylor who had been with him since Crusade (1967). Mayall gave this potentially negative situation a positive outcome by retooling the combo into an acoustic quartet featuring old friends as well as some vital new sonic textures.
                     

Mayall (vocals/harmonica/slide guitar/telecaster six-string/hand & mouth percussion) joined forces with former associates Steve Thompson (bass) and Johnny Almond (tenor & alto sax/flute/mouth percussion), then added the talents of Jon Mark (acoustic finger-style guitar). It becomes readily

apparent that Mark's precision and tasteful improvisational skills place this incarnation into heady spaces. The taut interaction and wafting solos punctuating "So Hard to Share" exemplify the controlled intensity of Mayall's prior electrified outings. Likewise, Mark's intricate acoustics pierce through the growl of Mayall's haunting slide guitar solos on "Saw Mill Gulch Road." The Turning Point also examines a shift in Mayall's writing. The politically charged "Laws Must Change," the personal "I'm Gonna Fight for You J.B." and the incomparable "Room to Move" are tinged with Mayall's trademark sense of irony and aural imagery.
                    

John Mayall – The Turning Point
Label: Polydor – 314 549 423-2
Series: Blues Classics Remastered & Revisited
Format:    CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered 2001
Country: US
Released: 1969   
Genre: Rock, Blues
Style: Blues Rock, Acoustic, Harmonica Blues

TRACKS

                     

01. The Laws Must Change   7:21
Written-By – Mayall
02. Saw Mill Gulch Road   4:39
Written-By – Mayall
03. I'm Gonna Fight For You J.B.   5:27
Written-By – Mayall
04. So Hard To Share   7:03
Written-By – Mayall
05. California   9:30
Written-By – Mayall, Thompson
06. Thoughts About Roxanne   8:20
Written-By – Mayall, Thompson
07. Room To Move   5:01
Written-By – Mayall
08. Sleeping By Her Side   5:10
Written-By – Mayall
09. Don't Waste My Time   4:54
Written-By – Mayall, Thompson
10. Can't Sleep This Night   6:19
Written-By – Mayall

MP3 @ 320 Size: 155 MB
Flac  Size: 391 MB

JOHN MAYALL - EMPTY ROOMS 1970

                                

This was John Mayall's studio-recorded follow-up to the live The Turning Point, featuring the same drumless quartet of himself, guitarist Jon Mark, reed player Johnny Almond, and bassist Steve

Thompson. Mayall was at a commercial and critical peak with this folk-jazz approach; the album's leadoff track, "Don't Waste My Time," had become his sole singles chart entry prior to the LP's release, and although his former label, London, confused matters by releasing the two-year-old Diary of a Band, Vol. 1 in the U.S. just before this new album appeared in early 1970, the new crop of fans he'd found with The Turning Point stuck with him on this gentle, reflective release. Empty Rooms hit Number 33 in the U.S.; in the U.K. it got to Number Nine.
                          

John Mayall – Empty Rooms
Label: Polydor – 527 457-2
Format: CD, Album
Country: Europe
Released: 1970   
Genre: Rock
Style: Blues Rock

TRACKS

                   

01. Don't Waste My Time   3:10
Written-By – Mayall, Thompson
02. Plan Your Revolution   2:36
Written-By – Mayall
03. Don't Pick A Flower   3:52
Written By – Mayall, Mark
04. Something New   4:37
Written-By – Mayall, Mark
05. People Cling Together   2:52
Written-By – Mayall
06. Waiting For The Right Time   5:33
Written-By – Mayall, Mark
07. Thinking Of My Woman   2:27
Written-By – Mayall
08. Counting The Days   5:31
Written-By – Mayall
09. When I Go   4:44
Written-By – Mayall
10. Many Miles Apart   2:55
Written-By – Mayall
11. To A Princess   3:31
Written-By – Mayall
12. Lying In My Bed   4:21
Written-By – Mayall

MP3 @ 320 Size: 115 MB
Flac  Size: 253 MB