I’m methodically working my way through the thread so am years behind. This is my favorite Mayall, as well. I first heard this in early ‘76 in Tokyo. Every time I listen it takes me back to a winter’s day (and night), a tiny one-room student apartment and the non-stop listening to records. I find this album to be faultless.
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab must have thought the same, as it is the only John Mayall album they did besides “Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton”. The MFSL LP was released in 1995, the gold CD in 1996.
I’ve gone back to the beginning and have read through page 9 of the thread. Just some random “insert quotes” (possibly to members who aren’t even around anymore...as I see these are from years ago!): This is an album that I overlooked. First listen yesterday and, yeah, The Supernatural is the song that got my attention. Wow, with that lineup and only encore! Very interesting. This is hilarious. I wonder if those back-to-back Melody Maker articles are on-line? Interesting! Taking someone on who actually says he “couldn’t care less about (his) music.”
Some more catching up: I had two Mark-Almond band albums, both picked up from the cut-out bins. Good albums. As I think The Blues Alone is fantastic, I only wish. If I recall correctly, and I’ll be listening again soon, I think the opening track was about the only one I really liked off of Empty Rooms. I’ll see. Edit: I lied. There’s more to like. Am listening now. Didn’t know that! Then, separately, I read the link that @JulesRules posted . Interview with Walter Trout. Fascinating. “ My very first night playing with John on stage, we did some of the songs off of the 'Beano' album and I played Clapton's solos note for note. "I thought that was what John would want. After the show, he asked me to come to his room for a talk. "He said to me: 'If I had wanted Eric Clapton, I would have called him. I love the way you play and that's why I hired you. So I want to hear what Walter Trout can add to these songs.' "This freed me to play and to grow and to expand and develop my own style. And it was a major turning point in my musical education."
Welcome on board @Zeki, it's always good to see a familiar face in a thread like this! He is! And don't worry - I missed the debut, Bare Wires, Diary of a Band and The Blues Alone at the time. Managed to hear them all when this thread took a lull, except Bare Wires, which isn't on Spotify in full. (I still have the CD on one of my to-buy lists.) A search hasn't turned up anything, but I did come across an old Melody Maker article from 1967, albeit not one relevant to this subject. Still, if you want to see a period piece, it's a nice read (an interview with Ginger Baker, among other things): https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Melody-Maker/60s/67/Melody-Maker-1967-0107.pdf
Part 3 or 4 in my efforts to catch up: Yes, I agree with you. 3/5 is about right. Don’t Waste My Time; Plan Your Revolution; Thinking Of My Woman I prefer Empty Rooms over USA Union. Keepers on USA are: Nature’s Disappearing; You Must Be Crazy; Took The Car Re: USA Union: Hmm, I guess a 3/5 for me. Which means Empty Rooms goes up to 3.5/5. Or even 4/5. I’m listening to Back To The Roots for the first time and, so far, not caring for it very much. I prefer, so far, the little bit I’ve heard of Memories.
I’m going to jump over to Memories so that I’ve caught up. Three standout tracks for me: Memories; Wish I Knew A Woman; and Grandad. ‘Memories’ sounds like something Free would do (and in 1971 it’s the same era, too).
Something off of Highway. Like Bodie or On My Way. Just the mood. Of course, Paul Rodgers doesn’t sound anything like John Mayall!
I don’t know. I don’t know what the criticisms were, either. Maybe something similar to Peter Green or John McVie? Just guessing. But it would be an interesting read to see what they both said at the time.
The Alexis Korner piece is referenced in How Britain Got the Blues (see link from google books) ( How Britain Got the Blues: The Transmission and Reception of American Blues Style in the United Kingdom It sources the Melody Maker, Oct. ‘67 article. “(Korner)made some rather negative comments about ‘what passes for blues in the U.K....a deliberately bastardized form of country blues.’ He insisted that blues had been in a steady state of decline since Robert Johnson’s death in 1937 and claimed that modern jazz was the only logical new outlet for the genre.”
I remember being about 16, a mate of mine new another guy who was a guitarist in a band, one day he took me around to meet this guy called Brian. I was pretty impressed meeting him, Id never met anybody who was in an actual band before, I think he was the lead guitarist from memory. A couple of years older than me and he seemed way cool to me. Anyway we were sat in his bedroom the three of us and he got out this album and put it on his record player, the album was Bare wires by John Mayall. I'd never heard of John mayall before but when the harmonium started playing and John started singing about his lie something clicked within me and I knew that this was one of those moments I would remember my whole life for some reason. I remember looking at the cover of Bare wires I'm thinking John Mayall was quite a scary looking dude with his strange clothes and beard. That day we listened to the album all the way through and I was quite mesmerized by 2 things, one was the guitar playing of Mick Taylor, it just seem to be sublime, it had an attack and tone Id never heard before, up to then ID liked The Rolling Stones and The Beatles and The Kinks. The other thing that stood out for me was the drums, I didn't know it was Jon Hiseman ID never heard of him but I could tell that he was playing in a more jazzy style and he was very, very proficient. I loved the way the drums are played on those tracks, Bare wires for me is my favourite John mayall album because of that day probably and because the musicianship is top-notch everybody is brilliant on it. Looking back a long long time ago to that day, it seems like a dream now, I'm quite old but I can still evoke that day in my memory and my emotions when I play Bare wires.
Wow that surprises me, I have a lot of respect for Alexis though feel he was a pretty limited artist.
The next paragraph in the book highlights John Mayall (I had a helluva time reading that on my phone. And, unfortunately, it (?) wouldn’t let me copy and paste.) but doesn’t get into the rebuttal.
A few years ago I made a concerted effort to get legit CDs of all Mayall I have on LP from my college days, which was everything up to Jazz Blues Fusion. I started at the beginning, mostly buying used CDs, many with bonus tracks. I almost made it, but I hit a wall with Memories. I never found a reasonably priced CD, and even now it's in the $50 range with shipping to USA. Too bad. It's a very good album. I wonder why it's so rare on CD.
A couple of months back I posted about my two favorite Mayall albums, Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton and Turning Point. These are the other titles I have and enjoy. Blues From Laurel Canyon Hard Road Bare Wires Empty Rooms Jazz Blues Fusion USA Union Crusade The Blues Alone I had the enjoyment of seeing John tour behind Jazz Blues Fusion in a large old church in my hometown of Grand Rapids, MI (Fountain something maybe) whose name escapes me but it was an awesome, shall I say soulful, experience.
Thanks to this thread I’ve found myself slipping down yet another vast hole, the Mayall discography. By my count, and I might be missing something or other (wouldn’t surprise me), Mayall released 24 (no typo) albums over the course of 14 years (and I started with the Bluesbreakers album. Is there one before that? Before 1966?). I had (no longer as I lost all my lps): Bluesbreakers w/Clapton ‘66 The Blues Alone ‘67 The Turning Point ‘69 Empty Rooms ‘70 USA Union ‘70 Jazz Blues Fusion ‘72 Moving On ‘73 Ten Years Are Gone ‘73 New Year, New Band ‘75
Yes. John Mayall Plays John Mayall, a very decent live recording which I never got around to reviewing for this thread - the remaster also adds all the singles from the era. I currently have on CD: Bluesbreakers w/Clapton (mono+stereo but no bonus tracks) A Hard Road (w/ bonus tracks) Crusade (w/ bonus tracks) Blues from Laurel Canyon (w/ bonus tracks) The Turning Point (w/ bonus tracks) Jazz Blues Fusion "The Album", a grey-market release which contains all of Road Show Blues and Chicago Line plus some (sadly overdubbed with crap) live cuts from Power of the Blues & Behind the Iron Curtain Blues for the Lost Days Padlock on the Blues 70th Birthday Concert In the Palace of the King Tough A Special Life Find a Way to Care Talk About That Nobody Told Me
Thanks. I found the ‘plays John Mayall’ on Apple Music. 1965. So 25 lps in 15 years. Remarkable (an understatement).
Just stumbled on this thread ..I’ve been gradually working my way thru the Mayall catalogue via the remastered decca CDs when spotting them cheap over the last 12 months ...what an underrated talent Had the Beano album for donkeys years ..but .. The albums with Peter Green and Mick Taylor are superb ..very neglected by the media when classic blues rock brought up ...and I’m enjoying all his stuff from the debut to the USA Laurel Canyon years
Same here. “The Blues Alone” was one of the first blues albums I ever purchased, and played it so often on my little Silvertone record player I wore it out.
I’ve been working like mad to put together a Mayall playlist (now that I’m engrossed again in his music) and ended up putting nine of the 12 tracks from The Blues Alone onto it! 75%. Probably a record. Including the first six songs.