I have about a dozen John Mayall albums and I definitely agree with you, A Hard Road is excellent!
John Mayall has passed away
Sad. What a great talent. He was 90.
https://www.npr.org/2024/07/24/g-s1-13000/john-mayall-british-blues-pioneer-dies
23 responses Add your response
Very first concert I ever went to, around 16 years old (72 now), Washington State University, in a very small college town around 40 miles south of where I grew up, mostly. Warm up act, Duster Bennett, one man band, incredibly talented and entertaining. Main act, John Mayall and the Blues Breakers and I was blown away by the whole event, might of had a bit to do with loaves of bread, bottles of wine and huge joints being passed around to it seems everyone was partaking.... If my memory serves me right it was the first time to also see Eric Clapton but I am not certain. Over the years I was not that into much of JM music but it was always done incredibly well though I think his best aspect was introducing up and coming highly talented people which he did a great deal of. I will always remember that as a very special event in my life, including seeing Duster Bennett and the rest of JM's band though some it seems a big hazy for some reason. RIP JM, well deserved. Rick |
I didn’t mean any disrespect, but when I plugged JM name into a search engine (I hadn’t heard his name in 50 years or so), the SE spat out an article on Toots etc. another example of AI run amok. That gave me a laugh. I remember someone in my dorm had tha Bluesbreakers album and played it incessantly while trying to learn the guitar solo |
It's all good - one doesn't have to be better than the other. A bit off topic but if you like FM with P. Green then check out this one. Back to Mayall - This one is a fun listen to somebody that never let age get in the way of good music and a good time. Fortunately, I purchased mine b4 they became scarce - $heesh. Check out who is standing to his left. |
Clapton's playing on that album is indeed some of the best of his career. I can't say it's my favorite. Forced to choose just one album, I'd pick Layla, mostly because I prefer its more melodically and harmonically sophisticated song structures, but for straight Blues played by Brits, Beano is about as good as it gets. I love P. Green's playing with F. Mac but I can't honestly say it's better. |
It’s a good one. One of my favorite Mayall recordings from a guitar standpoint. F. Robinson’s jazzy approach is such a refreshing change from the Blues Rock approach... not that I don’t like that, as well. But his playing is, IMHO, a major contributor to the overall vibe of the record.
|