John Mayall - The Turning Point (1969)

John Mayall is a British blues singer and multi-instrumentalist who was a major figure in the 60s British blues scene.

At the 60s drew to a close, John Mayall's contract with Decca Records was up. He signed with Polydor, put together a new band and moved to California. With his new band he took a different direction, planning to play low volume music with no drums. The lineup was very interesting - John Almond on flute and saxes, Jon Mark on acoustic fingerstyle guitar and Stephen Thompson on electric bass guitar. Mayall himself sang and played harmonica and electric guitar. There was no drummer or percussionist. The new group debuted their new sound at the 1969 Newport Jazz Festival, and released their first album shortly afterwards.

The Turning Point was recorded live at the Fillmore East, and was indeed quite a change for Mayall. It was still blues of course, but a new low-key, rootsy style of blues, with lots of room for jazzy improvisation. This was no doubt very welcome, as the template of loud electric guitar-driven blues was perhaps getting a bit stale after nearly ten years. The album was a definite success artistically, and helped make Mayall very popular in the US as he began to call California home.

Looking Back (1969) <|> Empty Rooms (1970)
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John Mayall - Looking Back (1969)

John Mayall is a British blues singer and multi-instrumentalist, who was a major figure in the 60s British blues scene.

By 1969 John Mayall had retired the Bluesbreakers name, and his contract with Decca Records was almost up. His most loyal sideman for the past two years, young guitarist Mick Taylor, had taken up a job offer in the summer and joined The Rolling Stones. Mayall himself moved to L.A. the same year, where he began performing with a new group with a very different sound.

With Mayall's blessing, Decca records collected together a number of songs that had not been released on LPs before, mostly singles and b-sides. Looking Back came out in 1969, containing songs that covered the period from 1964 to 1968. It featured various different lineups of The Bluesbreakers, with appearances from Taylor, Eric Clapton and Peter Green, as well as the group's first (and least well known) guitarists, Bernie Watson and Roger Dean.

Blues From Laurel Canyon (1968) <|> The Turning Point (1969)
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John Mayall - Blues From Laurel Canyon (1968)

John Mayall is a British blues singer and multi-instrumentalist, who was a major figure in the 60s British blues scene.

In 1968 John Mayall stopped using the Bluesbreakers name for his backing band, and started releasing his albums as simply John Mayall. For Blues From Laurel Canyon, his second studio album of 1968, he put together a small three-piece group to back him, consisting of guitarist Mick Taylor (who had been with him since '67), bassist Stephen Thompson and drummer Colin Allen. The new album thus had more of a stripped back sound compared to its predecessor Bare Wires, though it still managed to stay interesting throughout and not fall into the trap of predictive blandness that was familiar to much of the British blues scene.

Despite the title, the album was recorded in London. Rather it was supposed to be a musical diary of sorts of his recent visit to the US. He was soon to move there permanently.

It turned out to be the last album he recorded for Decca Records, and also his last one with Mick Taylor, who joined the Rolling Stones the next year.

Bare Wires (1968) <|> Looking Back (1969)
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John Mayall - Bare Wires (1968)

John Mayall is a British blues singer and multi-instrumentalist, who was a major figure in the 60s British blues scene.

After a successful US tour, 1968 continued with more lineup changes for the Bluesbreakers, Bassist Keith Tillman left and was replaced by a young Andy Fraser, who himself didn't last long (he went on to be a founding member of Free) and was replaced by Tony Reeves. Drummer Keef Hartley also left and was replaced by Jon Hiseman (who had been previously playing with The Graham Bond Organization). They also found a new member in Henry Lowther, who played both cornet and violin. So when they came to recording their next album, the band consisted of John Mayall (vocals/harmonica/keyboards/guitar), Mick Taylor (lead guitar), Dick Heckstall-Smith (sax), Chris Mercer (sax), Henry Lowther (cornet/violin), Tony Reeves (bass) and Jon Hiseman (drums).

Bare Wires was released in the summer of 1968, and it turned out to be a very interesting milestone in Mayall's career. With this album he started to experiment more, stepping outside of the familiar blues constraints, incorporating more jazz elements. With the new lineup the focus was no longer just on Taylor's lead guitar, and there were plenty of solos from Heckstall-Smith, Mercer and Lowther. The material was also by now all original, as he no longer was relying on covers of American blues songs. The first half of the album was one twenty minute track labelled as a suite, but in realtiy was just several seperate songs strung closely together.

Heckstall-Smith, Reeves and Hiseman all left after this album to form Colosseum. Mercer and Lowther also didn't stay for much longer, and before long only Taylor remained by Mayall's side. Bare Wires was actually the last album to feature the Bluesbreakers name - after this his albums would be simply credited to him as a solo act, though it didn't change his relationship with his backing musicians in any way, and he was soon recruiting new musicians to play with.

Diary Of A Band (1968) <|> Blues From Laurel Canyon (1968)
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John Mayall - Diary Of A Band (1968)

John Mayall is a British blues singer and multi-instrumentalist, who was a major figure in the 60s British blues scene.

Bassist John McVie left the Bluesbreakers in 1967, to join fellow allumni Peter Green and Mick Fleetwood in their new group Fleetwood Mac. With a few more lineup changes, John Mayall's band soon consisted of Mayall himself with Mick Taylor (lead guitar), Dick Heckstall-Smith (tenor & soprano sax), Chris Mercer (tenor & baritone sax), Paul Williams (bass) and Keef Hartley (drums). Heckstall-Smith was a veteren of the British blues scene, having previously played with both Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and The Graham Bond Organization. Williams didn't last long on bass, and was replaced by Keith Tillman.

Whilst on tour throughout 1967, Mayall recorded the band's performances with a portable 2-track tape recorder. From over sixty hours of tape, a live album was put together, released as two seperate LPs in 1968 - Diary Of A Band Vol 1 and Vol 2. It had a rough bootleg feel to it, with long extended solos and jams in an intimate club setting. The songs themselves were interspersed with on-stage dialogue and interviews with the band (where they discussed their new find in young Mick Taylor, and how various members had left to form their own groups). Together with the rough sound quality, it hardly made for a conventional live album. However it does give glimpses of some wonderful playing from all six members, and today serves as a really interesting look into the British blues scene of the 60s.

This version has both original LPs put together into a double album.

The Blues Alone (1967) <|> Bare Wires (1968)
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John Mayall - The Blues Alone (1967)

John Mayall is a British blues singer and multi-instrumentalist, who was a major figure in the 60s British blues scene.

At the same time that he was recording and touring with the Mick Taylor-era Bluesbreakers, John Mayall found time to record and release an album without his backing group. The Blues Alone came out in 1967, and apart from the drums played by Bluesbreaker Keef Hartley, all the instruments were played by Mayall himself - guitar, harmonica, piano, organ and bass. He also wrote all twelve songs. The plan came together very well, showcasing Mayall's talents as a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, proving he didn't need the presence of some flashy young guitar hero to make excellent blues music, and it further consolidated his position as Britain's number one blues artist.

Crusade (1967) <|> Diary Of A Band (1968)
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John Mayall - Crusade (1967)

John Mayall is a British blues singer and multi-instrumentalist, who was a major figure in the 60s British blues scene.

With Peter Green having left the Bluebreakers to form Fleetwood Mac in 1967, John Mayall had yet again had to find a new lead guitarist. Green's replacement was an 18-year old prodigy by the name of Mick Taylor. A new drummer was also needed, as Mick Fleetwood had gone with Green, and Mayall found one in Keef Hartley. With the addition of Rip Kant and Chris Mercer on horns, and John McVie still on bass, this new Bluebreakers lineup recorded Crusade, released in late 1967. It was another solid album of electric British blues, forming the third part of an unintentional trilogy that began with Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton and A Hard Road. Mick Taylor's fluid lead guitar proved to be up to the task of following Clapton and Green, and unlike his predecessors he actually ended up staying with the Bluesbreakers for more than just one album. Though there would be many more confusing lineup changes over the next few years, Taylor stayed by Mayall's side for a while longer.

A Hard Road (1967) <|> The Blues Alone (1967)
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John Mayall - A Hard Road (1967)

John Mayall is a British blues singer and multi-instrumentalist, who was a major figure in the 60s British blues scene.

1966's Bluesbreakers album had given John Mayall his breakthrough - it has become regarded as one of the most influential blues albums of the 60s, and put him on the map as the Britian's foremost blues artists. It also elevated his lead guitarist Eric Clapton to god status. However with Clapton's departure to form Cream not long afterwards, how was he to produce a follow-up?
He found a replacement in a young Peter Green. Green was already familiar with Mayall's band, as he had actually briefly filled in for Clapton when he had disappeared for a few months back in 1965. He proved to be easily as good a guitarist, and fans who were wary at first were soon won over.
The new album was released in early 1967. Bassist John McVie was still on board, making it his third John Mayall album. Drummer Hughie Flint left during the recording, and was replaced by Aynsley Dunbar, so the finished product featured performances from both of them. It also featured horns from John Almond, Alan Skidmore and Ray Warleigh. The result was another pioneering blues album in much the same style as its predecessor. Green got to sing lead on a couple of songs, and also contributed the stunning instrumental "The Supernatural", which showcased his delicate minor-key guitar style.
The album was another great success, getting to #8 on the charts.
However more changes were underfoot for the Bluebreakers. Drummer Aynsley Dunbar lef to form The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, and was replaced by Mick Fleetwood. Fleetwood wasn't around for long, and was apparently fired for drunkeness. However he did form a bond with Green and McVie, and Green soon asked the two of them to come with him to form a new band. Fleetwood agreed, but McVie stayed with Mayall for a while longer. Whilst Green and Fleetwood formed Fleetwood Mac, Mayall had to find yet more new members for his band...

Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton (1966) <|> Crusade (1967)
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John Mayall - Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton (1966)

John Mayall is a British blues singer and multi-instrumentalist, who was a major figure in the 60s British blues scene.

After the release of his debut live album and a couple of non-charting singles, John Mayall had to find a new lead guitarist for his band The Bluesbreakers, after the departure of Roger Dean. He found one in the young Eric Clapton, who had recently left The Yardbirds as he was unhappy with their move away from blues into pop. It was a match that suited both of them - Mayall got a flashy hot-shot guitarist to give his group a new appeal, and Clapton got to continue playing his beloved blues music with one of Britain's top artists in the genre. Clapton joined in April 1965.
With Clapton, the Bluesbreakers started to attract considerable attention, and they recorded a single ("I'm Your Witch Doctor" b/w "Telephone Blues"). However in August he suddenly disappeared to Greece, and Mayall had to quickly find a replacement, which he soon found in Peter Green. At the same time bassist John McVie was replaced by Jack Bruce from the Graham Bond Organization. But Clapton returned in November and took up his position as guitarist again. McVie also returned. The group (with Hughie Flint on drums) then went to the studio, and in three days recorded a new album, released on Decca Records in July 1966.
Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton proved to be a highly influential album, and a cornerstone in the British blues genre. Most importantly, Clapton's fluid and powerful guitar playing was entirely new at the time - it was one of the first instances of the Gibson Les Paul guitar and Marshall amplifier combination, and introduced a whole new sound to the electric guitar. It has since achieved the status of a classic guitar album, and elevated Clapton to 'God' status amongst British guitar enthusiasts.
The songs were a mix of blues and R&B covers (including Otis Rush's "All Your Love", Freddie King's "Hideaway", Robert Johnson's "Ramblin' On My Mind" and Ray Charles' "What'd I Say") and originals from Mayall. Mayall played organ, piano and harmonica and was the lead singer, though Clapton got to sing his first lead vocal on "Ramblin' On My Mind". On several songs the group were fleshed out by a three-piece horn section.
Clapton only stayed with the Bluesbreakers for little over a year. By July 1966 he had gone, to form Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. The album turned out to be a small but majorly significant stepping stone in his career. For Mayall, it turned out to be a much-needed boost in popularity and recognition, and remains today his best-known album.

John Mayall Plays John Mayall (1965) <|> A Hard Road (1967)
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John Mayall - John Mayall Plays John Mayall (1965)

John Mayall is a British blues singer and multi-instrumentalist, who was a major figure in the 60s British blues scene.

A young John Mayall began playing blues in the late 50s, and was among the first Brits to adopt the American musical form as their own. Under the persuasion of British blues' authority Alexis Korner, he took up music full time and moved to London. Korner helped Mayall find gigs, and introduced him to other similarly-minded musicians. Mayall formed his own group, the Bluesbreakers, and began playing at the Marquee Club in 1963. They recorded a couple of non-charting singles on the Decca label, but it wasn't until 1965 that Mayall's first LP came out. It was a live album, recorded in late '64 at Klook's Kleek. By this time American R&B had been brought to the British pop market by bands including The Rolling Stones, The Animals and The Yardbirds.
The line-up of the Bluesbreakers that appears on John Mayall Plays John Mayall consists of Mayall himself (vocals/harmonica/organ), Roger Dean (guitar), Nigel Stanger (sax), John McVie (bass) and Hughie Flint (drums) - this is the only release featuring this early line-up. It's some seriously raw, energetic blues - you can really sense the intimate club atmosphere. Compared to what the afore-mentioned R&B-based bands were doing, the Bluesbreakers' blues were much closer to the true roots of the genre. As a result it was never going to be as commerically successful. But this album is an essential and overlooked document of the true early 60s blues scene in Britain, even if it was released a year or two too late.

|> Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton (1966)
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