I wasn't a Mayall fan until...

...but after I bought a mint condition LP of The Turning Point (Polydor 24-4004) for a dollar over the weekend at an estate sale and listened to it - I'm now a huge fan. And the fact that the album has such audiophile sound and is a live concert, it's just one of the best "discoveries" I've made in a while. The sax/flute performance is unreal. The bass is awesome.

 

Good for you. So maybe you should fix your thread title while there's still time.

 

Rick Mayall was great !

 

I'm not a Mayer fan.

 

John Mayall, NOT MAYER, is great. I just picked up the same album and it's fantastic. The flute really sets it apart.

 

The Turning Point is a great album. This was also the first John Mayall album that I owned. I heard it years ago when a family friend often played the 8-track while driving us around in his Chevy Nova. Thoughts About Roxanne, California and Room to Move are great songs.

Scott

 

Couldn't agree more. Now seek out Jazz Blues Fusion, Blues from Laurel Canyon and Sense of Place.
All very different albums but equally fantastic. I also love A Hard Core Package from the 70s - just great great music.

 

I've been a fan since I first heard The bebut of The Turning Point on FM radio years ago...Cheeka Cheeka!

 

Room To Move did it for me...I was hooked!

 

USA Union is another good one. Harvey Mandel on guitar and Sugarcane Harris on violin.

 

It's like deja vu all over again. I picked up a copy of Turning Point on Saturday for a dollar, in great condition. I have never listened to a Mayall. You have inspired me, I think I'll put it on the RCM and give it a spin. Maybe I'll report back in an hour or so. Thanks for the post

 

The Turning Point is an excellent live album

 

The Blues Alone is a pretty nice album too.

 

Bare Wires, Blues From Laurel Canyon and of course the Clapton album. Those four (with Turning Point) will put you forever in Mayall's debt.

I think he released too much over the years, too much autobiographical noodling, but every album has its fans.

Going to see the man in early July.

 

I gave it a spin... currently finishing up the last track on side two. It was definitely a enjoyable listen. I'd have to agree that it is an amazing recording, one of the best sounding live LP's I've heard. I'll have to check out some of his other albums. I probably wouldn't have gotten around to listening to this album for a while if it wasn't for your post, so thanks for the encouragement.

 

Strangely enough, that was my case, too. I had liked the "Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton" album for a long time, and found a great-sounding copy of "The Turning Point" in a dollar bin, too. It's really a unique album, both in concept (making a blues-rock album that's insistently light) and in execution (doing so by using no instrumental percussion, and adding flute or saxophone and borrowing a little bit from jazz). I think it really benefits from being a live album--the approach might have sounded sterile in the studio, but it sounds bracing, even a little bold, in a live venue. I think it's the best Mayall album (out of the ones I've heard), other than the seminal album with Clapton.

 

Big John Mayall fan here. I have about 10 of his albums and Jazz/Blues Fusion is my fave amongst them. This is partly due to the fact I saw him in concert at the old Capitol Theater in Montreal during that tour, and he simply blew me away. And what's not to love about the supporting cast of Blue Mitchell, Clifford Solomon, Larry Taylor, Freddie Robinson and Ron Selico.

 

Ditto, great album, now I am going to dig it up and give it a spin. Saw Mayall perform this album when it first came out, he opened for the Jefferson Airplane who was touring Volunteers. Great concert by both.

 

I discovered Mayall with THE TURNING POINT also,then i bought BLUES BREAKER.

Check out USA UNION and JAZZ BLUES FUSION.

 

Turning Point and Jazz Blues Fusion are my favorites. They both have great live sound.

 

I'm getting ready to set aside some vinyl for today's session and TURNING POINT will be on it. Played JBF yesterday.

 

Plus the Beano album, A Hard Road, and Crusade.

 

I discoverd John Mayall 30 years ago from a Decca Blues compilation.

Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton is one of the all time classic albums

 

I was loosely aware of his Beano connection from the past, but for me it was Bare Wires featuring Mick Taylor. I had to work my way backwards from there to discover Peter Green, who had just formed the blues powerhouse Fleetwood Mac. Double revelations of goodness and joy.

I knew just how talented Mayall really was when he then turned out the drummerless Turning Point, having never heard of the Marc Almond combo to boot (who had?). Then came USA Union in quick succession with Harvey Mandel and Sugarcane Harris. What a run of releases!

 

I always like this YouTube video with Gary Moore...



JG