Classic Rock Musings, Rants & Raves

Although I’m acutely aware of his influence, I never really got that much into British blues pioneer John Mayall. That is, until now. Actually, I’ve had the famous Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton album (aka “the Beano album”) from 1966 kicking around in my collection for years, but I never gave it much thought. I bought it because I was a Cream fan. It’s taken me this long to realize that Mayall’s forays into blues stretch beyond the God-like guitarmanship of Slow Hand.

Mayall was instrumental in introducing the blues to the U.K. One book I read through says at the tender age of 17, young John Mayall, who had taught himself piano, guitar and harmonica, may have inadvertently played the very first blues gig in England with his trio at Manchester’s Bogeda Jazz Club in 1950. But it wasn’t until the 60s, when Mayall and other British blues legends Alexis Korner, Cyril Davies and Chris Barber were making the rounds, that an artistically inclined segment of the English youth became enamored with the form. Mayall put the Bluesbreakers together and dabbled with the mainstream.

After Clapton left to form Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, Mayall carried on with the Bluesbreakers unabated, “discovering” other guitarists like Peter Green (who later formed Fleetwwod Mac with bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood) and Mick Taylor (who joined the Rolling Stones for a five-year stint in 1969) before putting the band to rest and settling down in California. There, he immersed himself into the Laurel Canyon scene. But he still played the blues.

This is where I’ve picked up from where I left off, which is virtually at the beginning. Looking like a vagabond hippy straight out of the Haight, Mayall attracted the attention of blues enthusiasts and filmmakers Peter Gibson and Alex Hooper who set out to make a documentary about the Bluesbreakers in 1969. The film became The Turning Point, shot in black and white and spotlighting Mayall just as the Bluesbreakers were slowly fading into the background. Hence the title…

Anyway, I recently received a couple of John Mayall CDs with songs from The Turning Point. Live At The Marquee 1969 is a single disc with seven songs recorded at the famed London club on June 30, 1969. Mayall is joined by Jon Mark on acoustic guitar, Steve Thompson on bass and Johnny Almond on an assortment of horns and woodwinds. There is no drummer. The Masters is a special edition two-CD set. The first disc features the same line-up as Live At Marquee and many of the same songs — “Can’t Sleep This Night,” “Don’t Waste My Time,” “I’m Gonna Fight For You JB” and “California.”

The second disc is of particular interest in that it includes a hodge-podge of interview excerpts with the likes of Clapton and British journalist Chris Welch, rehearsals and outtakes, instrumentals that became songs, and “Parchman Farm,” recorded with Mick Taylor, Steve Thompson and drummer Collin Allen — the same unit who played on 1968’s Blues from Laurel Canyon.

The Bluesbreakers, in its various incarnations, returned in the 80s and is still a touring outfit. Creeping up on 75, Mayall has made over 50 albums and keeps playing the blues like a man on a mission. Most of his tour plans for this summer will take him all around Europe. However, he’s playing two dates in California, one right around the corner from my house. I think it’s high time I go see this British blues legend and salute his incredible contributions to music. The Queen would be proud.

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