I'm breaking my Summer sabbatical to pay tribute to the Godfather of British blues, the great, now late, John Mayall. I can think of no better way to pay tribute to him than to select a few of my favorites by John in no particular order.
1. "Blues City Shakedown" U.K. Decca F.12120 1965
Released on the flip of John's second single "Crocodile Walk", "Blues City Shakedown" is a catchy little instrumental propelled along by Mayall's masterful harp blowing on top of his ivory tinkling with Roger Dean on guitar, John McVie on bass and Hughie Flint on drums. I'm not normally a fan of harmonica instrumentals but this one has such a catchy and melodic groove it's hard to say "no" to!
https://youtu.be/qviqDapTKc0?si=KuP002hf5c12yT4p
2. "On Top Of The World" compilation LP track recorded 1966 "An Anthology Of British Blues" U.S. LP Immediate Z 12 52 006 1968
This left over Immediate track was recorded during the same August 1965 session that yielded "I'm Your Witch Doctor" (see below) and did not see the light of day until 1968's "Blues Anytime" Immediate records sampler (issued as "An Anthology Of British Blues" in the North America). There's a charming shuffle to it with a mild boogie woogie feel on the piano that brings to mind Manfred Mann's jazz tinged r&b and Mayall's vocals are laid back and carefree and the closest he ever came to recording a "pop" song. Out of nowhere Clapton let's rip with an over the top, eerie guitar solo that returns during the fade out.
https://youtu.be/IAZIvIfOPv8?si=CZTdvDxeTOHVP1Qd
3. "I'm Your Witch Doctor" U.S. Immediate ZS7-502 1968
This one off recording for Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate imprint was first issued in Britain as Immediate IM 012 in October 1965. It was reissued in the U.K. again by Immediate in June of 1967 (as IM 051) and first issued in the States in 1968. In the Summer of 1965 Mayall's contract with Decca was about to expire and in August he and The Bluesbreakers went into the studio with Jimmy Page in the production chair to record some tracks for a possible single on Immediate records. "I'm Your Witch Doctor" is historic in that it marks's the debut of Eric Clapton following his departure from The Yardbirds and is also Mayall's first recording with his brand new Hammond M-100 organ (famously emblazoned with "JOHN MAYALL" in large lettering stenciled on the front). Without a doubt it's Mayall's most up beat and powerful single with an almost jazzy swing to it accented by his sinister organ and blistering guitar bursts from "God". Also along for the ride are John McVie on bass and Hughie Flint on drums.
https://youtu.be/lseUZfS514Y?si=W2xe6P9NJW02YjiV
4. "All Of Your Love" LP track "Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton" U.S. LP London PS 492 1966
From the legendary "Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton" album (aka"Beano") "All Of Your Love" opens the LP with Clapton's incredible sonic assault on the ears complemented by Mayall's funky new Hammond organ on top of John McVie (bass) and Hughie Flint's (drums) solid backbeat while Mayall croons his heart out. Later recycled by The Bluesbreakers in the Peter Green era on their "solo" 45 rpm outing without Mayall, "Curly".
https://youtu.be/rUUEtCBhn_Q?si=lXM9RZV98p0UP0C2
5. "Suspicions" U.K. Decca F 12684 1967
Mayall's seventh single for Decca was the unveiling of an all new (all star) Bluesbreakers featuring a young Mick Taylor (formerly of the Gods) on lead guitar, future Free member Andy Fraser on bass, Dick Heckstall-Smith (recently demobbed from the Graham Bond Organization) on sax, future Wynder. K. Frog member Chris Mercer on sax and recently departed Artwoods drummer Keith Hartley . Heavy on the horns it marks a departure from what you would expect from The Bluesbreakers but Taylor's electrifying guitar licks remind the listener just what made his backing band so legendary. Mayall belts his heart out soulfully in an ode to his woman who is stepping out.
https://youtu.be/neUNdz25gSs?si=MIoBtICdm03eji0V
6. "Jenny" U.S. London 45-LOS-20037 1968
One of my favorite Mayall tunes is this unusual single from '68, unusual because it features no one but Mayall but there are some bluesy guitar licks that were played by Peter Green but there is no bass or drums, just bare bones , haunting vocals with an odd echo and guitar. Savaged by the press at the time of it's release it's unique and is a predecessor of Mayall's later drummer-less recordings.
https://youtu.be/xcjNxrnxw1E?si=IIRf463V-jwd3qCU
7. "Ridin' On The L. And N." E.P. track "John Mayall's Bluesbreakers With Paul Butterfield" U.K. Decca DFE-R 8673 1967
From the E.P. that featured four tracks cut in November 1966 with visiting American blue eyed blues dude Paul Butterfield, this number is a brilliant effort by the two of the most famous white bluesmen from both sides of the Atlantic! Sung by Mayall with Butterfield blowing some harp that sounds like it's been dredged from some lonesome train yard it is easily the strongest track from the E.P. Despite what has been written no members of the Butterfield Blues Band played on the E.P.'s sessions.
https://youtu.be/EWrL_N5QW1A?si=FjlPGA_9jbC2SPFv
8. "Sitting In The Rain" U.K. Decca F.12545 1967
Mayall's fifth Decca single is this simple, musically sparse (see "Jenny" above) number that evokes the rural blues feel of someone sitting on a porch with the simple hands slapping thighs as percussion and some very simple guitar licks while Mayall croons on top of it all. Despite it's lacking bass or drums it works, but the public, like most if not all of Mayall's 7" releases, couldn't be bothered.
https://youtu.be/X8IOeuGnrjc?si=kQyer1FmtcwznoiH
9. "Key To Love" U.S. London 45-LON 20016 1966
From the above mentioned ""Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton" album "Key To Love" is a driving stormer of a track with blistering guitar by Eric Clapton and the powerful horn section of Alan Skidmore (tenor saxophone) and Dennis Healey (trumpet). It's uptempo delivery really packs a punch and it was issued in the U.S. (and the U.K.) as the b-side to the album's reading of Mose Allison's Brit r&b standard "Parchman Farm".
https://youtu.be/gDkPEDTcVMg?si=Z07hU28gRE4wPySW
10. "Crawling Up A Hill" U.K. Decca F.11900 1964
This is where it all started for me. In 1989 I came across this track on the incredible Kent compilation LP "Rhythm N' Blue Eyed Soul". Mayall's debut single was this catchy original that perfect encapsulated the mid 60's British mod/jazz term "Flamingo jazz" (named for the venue that was home to the likes of Mayall, Georgie Fame. Chris Farlowe, Zoot Money etc). It's got some incredible harp wailing, laid back Mose Allson style lead vocals, combo organ and an amazing guitar solo by Bernie Watson (who left the band soon after it's May 1964 release).
https://youtu.be/cc_mr7FnnBs?si=YL3UuXb3GGva9AGN
The author is EXTREMELY indebted to the incredible book "Strange Brew: Eric Clapton & The British Blues Boom 1965-1970" by Christopher Hjort which was invaluable in providing information on many of these recordings.
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| Yours truly with John Mayall, Phoenixville, PA 2014 |
1 comment:
Nice tribute to John Mayall, one of the first "Underground" artists I got into when I was in my teens. My first exposure to Mayall was when I was 17. I was hanging out with a friend of mine from my neighborhood that I had recently gotten acquainted with, we were both musicians and were heavily into music, anyway, he invites me over to his house to "hang out". We're up in his room and he proceeds to start smoking a joint, something that I was a complete novice at in that stage in my life, then he starts playing John Mayall's "Thru The Years" (a compilation L.P. only available in the States) on the stereo and I just flipped. Have you ever heard "Fire" from "Bare Wires" while being completely stoned? At seventeen? Yeah, it was quite an experience. Thanks again for the John Mayall tribute, he'll always be one of my favorites.
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