Record Reviews

JOHN MAYALL ~ PADLOCK ON THE BLUES EAR MUSIC 4029759138174 (Barcode: 4029759138174) ~ UK ~ Blues-Rock Recorded: 1998 Released: 1999 This is an album by the Godfather of British Blues vocalist / guitarist / pianist / songwriter / bandleader John MayallFind albums by this artist. He is supported by a basic trio of guitarist Buddy WhittingtonFind albums by this artist, bassist John PaulusFind albums by this artist and drummer Joe YueleFind albums by this artist, all seasoned American Blues veterans who played with Mayall for many years. Additionally many guests appear on the album on selected tracks: Blues Legend John Lee HookerFind albums by this artist, guitarists Coco MontoyaFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Ernie WattsFind albums by this artist, organist Tommy EyreFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Darrell LeonardFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Joe SublettFind albums by this artist, percussionist Steve LeshnerFind albums by this artist and banjo / dobro player Mike MartsolfFind albums by this artist. The album presents thirteen original songs, eleven of which were written by Mayall, one was co-written by him and Maggie MayallFind albums by this artist and one was co-written by Whittington and Yuele. There is no doubt that Mayall´s music was a major influence on my personal musical identity and the bands he led over the years and the musicians that played in his bands were the branches of an enormous "family tree" that created over the years some of the best music on this planet. His figure of a musical "guru" influenced so many great musicians, that to understand his impact on music since 1960s on, one has to be familiar with thousands of albums representing all Rock sub-genres, but also Jazz-Rock Fusion and other, seemingly unrelated areas. One of the amazing qualities of Mayall is his remarkable consistency and level of artistry, which he managed to preserve throughout his career, in spite of his constant metamorphosis and migration into diverse stylistic niches. His recording legacy presents an impressive collection of over fifty albums, without not even one of them being an artistic compromise. Same goes for his songwriting, which against all odds, manages to ignore the limitations of the Blues idiom and create wonderful new material without being derivative. This album, recorder towards the end of the 20th Century, sounds absolutely as fresh and inspired as his classics recorded in the mid to late 1960s, i.e. thirty years earlier. Not surprisingly the same applies to his albums recorded in the 2010s, another twenty years in the future, maintaining a career lasing over six decades. Overall this is a wonderful album, absolutely perfect as far as Blues is concerned, with great instrumental performances by all the musicians and superb vocals by Mayall, who refuses to stay behind and let his imitators to take over. This is an absolute must have in any serious Blues collection!

Updated: 07/07/2020Posted: 07/07/2020

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

JOHN MAYALL ~ THE POWER OF THE BLUES ENTENTE 57270683 ~ UK ~ Blues-Rock Recorded: 1987 Released: 1987 This is a live album by the Godfather of British Blues, the iconic John MayallFind albums by this artist, recorded with his BluesbreakersFind albums by this artist quintet comprising of American guitarists Coco MontoyaFind albums by this artist and Walter TroutFind albums by this artist, bassist Bobby HaynesFind albums by this artist and drummer Joe YueleFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, a mixture of Mayall originals and Blues standards. The music was recorded between April 19 and 21, 1987 during a tour in Germany. The second part of recordings from that tour will be released only thirty-seven years later (2024) as “The Power Of The Blues, Pt, IIFind albums with this title”. Mayall, who died in July 22, 2024, was definitely one of the key figures in the 20th Century music, and left an incredibly rich and extensive recorded legacy. Following his recent death, the market will be most likely flooded by less or more legal live recordings made by him over time, but this album was released “while still hot”. Luckily for music lovers, Mayall never played a bad gig in his life and everything he ever played is worth listening to. The sound quality of this album and the superb performances, especially the guitar soloing by both guitarists, as well as Mayall’s vocals, are all first class and therefore a worthy addition to his recorded legacy. Overall, although there is nothing extraordinary herein, other that the superb quality of the music of course, this is definitely a joyful listening experience for the many fans and followers of Mayall’s long career. Definitely worth investigation!

Updated: 01/01/2025Posted: 01/01/2025

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JOHN MAYALL ~ THE POWER OF THE BLUES, PT. II MIG 03282 (Barcode: 885513032829) ~ UK ~ Blues-Rock Recorded: 1987 Released: 2024 This is an archival live album by the Godfather of British Blues, the iconic John MayallFind albums by this artist, recorded with his BluesbreakersFind albums by this artist quintet comprising of American guitarists Coco MontoyaFind albums by this artist and Walter TroutFind albums by this artist, bassist Bobby HaynesFind albums by this artist and drummer Joe YueleFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, a mixture of Mayall originals and Blues standards. The music was recorded between April 19 and 21, 1987 during a tour in Germany. The first part of recordings from that tour was released thirty-seven years earlier (1987) as “The Power Of The BluesFind albums with this title”. Mayall, who died in July 22, 2024, was definitely one of the key figures in the 20th Century music, and left an incredibly rich and extensive recorded legacy. Following his recent death, the market will be most likely flooded by less or more legal live recordings made by him over time, like this one. Luckily for music lovers, Mayall never played a bad gig in his life and everything he ever played is worth listening to. The sound quality of this album and the superb performances, especially the guitar soloing by both guitarists, as well as Mayall’s vocals, are all first class and therefore a worthy addition to his recorded legacy. Overall, although there is nothing extraordinary herein, other that the superb quality of the music of course, this is definitely a joyful listening experience for the many fans and followers of Mayall’s long career. Definitely worth investigation!

Updated: 03/01/2025Posted: 03/01/2025

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Remastered Recommend To A Friend

JOHN MAYALL ~ WAKE UP CALL MUSUC ON CD 13149 (Barcode: 8718627221495) ~ UK ~ Blues-Rock Recorded: 1992 Released: 2014 This is a reissue of an album by the Godfather of British Blues, vocalist / guitarist / keyboardist / harmonica player / bandleader John MayallFind albums by this artist. “Wake Up CallFind albums with this title” was the first of the three albums released in the 1990s by the American SilvertoneFind albums on this label label and it finds Mayall accompanied by guitarist Coco MontoyaFind albums by this artist, bassist Rick CortesFind albums by this artist and drummer Joe YueleFind albums by this artist. Several additional musicians, like saxophonist Joe SublettFind albums by this artist, organist Tom CanningFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Darrell LeonardFind albums by this artist and others play on most tracks, as well as special guests: guitarist / vocalist Buddy GuyFind albums by this artist, guitarist Mick TaylorFind albums by this artist and vocalist Mavis StaplesFind albums by this artist, who participate on selected tracks. The album presents twelve tracks, four of which are Mayall’s originals and the rest are Blues standards. Mayall used the BluesbreakersFind albums by this artist moniker for the second time between 1982 and 2008 and this album was also released as such. This is one of the strongest albums by Mayall in a while and includes some superb guitar soloing and overall excellent instrumental work by the entire crew. Time made absolutely no dent on this music whatsoever and it sounds every bit as fresh and inviting as it did at the time of its release. One of the amazing qualities of Mayall is his remarkable consistency and level of artistry, which he managed to preserve throughout his career, in spite of his constant metamorphosis and migration into diverse stylistic niches. His recording legacy presents an impressive collection of over fifty albums, without not even one of them being an artistic compromise. Same goes for his songwriting, which against all odds, manages to ignore the limitations of the Blues idiom and create wonderful new material without being derivative. Overall this is a most welcome initiative to bring this album back in circulation, as it was getting a bit tough to find on the market. For Blues / Blues-Rock fans this is of course as indispensable as any other Mayall album.

Updated: 29/08/2021Posted: 17/07/2021

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