Force of nature (John Mayall) (LP 3113 - 3129)

John Mayall  Back To The Roots (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1971) ***  

John Mayall  Memories (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1971) ***

John Mayall  Jazz Blues Fusion (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1972) ***** 

John Mayall  Moving On (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1972) *** 

John Mayall  The Latest Edition (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1974) ** 

John Mayall  New Year New Band New Company (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1975) ***

John Mayall  Notice To Appear (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1975) ***

John Mayall  A Banquet In Blues (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1976) ***

John Mayall  A Hard Core Package (Vinyl, ABC Records - test pressing/white label, 1977) ***

John Mayall  Return of The Bluesbreakers (Vinyl, Aim Records, 1985) **** 

John Mayall  Wake Up Call (Vinyl, Silvertone Records on blue vinyl, 1993) ****

John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers  Blues For The Lost Days (Vinyl, Silvertone Records, 1997) ***

John Mayall  Nobody Told Me (Vinyl, Forty Below Records, 2019) ****

John Mayall  Looking Back (Vinyl, Decca Records, 1970) *** 

John Mayall  The World of John Mayall (Vinyl, Decca Records, 1970?) ***

John Mayall  The Giant of The Blues (Vinyl, Karussell Records, 1970) *** 

John Mayall  Stormy Monday (CD, Karussell Records, 1994) ***

Genre: Blues 

Places I remember: Passionate About Vinyl, Real Groovy Records, The Vinyl Soulution (San Mateo), music shop in Melbourne, JB Hi Fi. Record Fairs.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Blue Fox (Back To The Roots)

Gear costume: Exercise in C (Jazz Blues Fusion)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: This is a roundup of all the John Mayall albums that I haven't mentioned so far on this blog and there have already been a number of those - just check on the search function.

In between times, the great man has passed away in July of last year, aged 90, so this post is a further tribute to his life and music.

In various ways, he looked back a few times during his career, and that's the great thing about the blues - there are plenty of great moments in the genre to look back on. Back To The Roots is one such example, a double album that has Mayall teamed up with alumni such as Mick Taylor, Keef Hartley and Eric Clapton.

It's a lavish package of a double album with a large colour booklet (no doubt designed by Mayall) which has a page each for the musicians who appear. It's impressive, and fitting.

The songs are all Mayall originals, played expertly, with feeling, by this collection of past members of his bands over the previous seven years (up to 1971). Highlights: Blue Fox (some great harmonica by Mayall and violin by Sugarcane Harris); Television Eye has beautiful separation between instruments and a great tenor sax solo by Johnny Almond.

Memories is also well named. Mayall uses his autobiography as a source for the lyrics on the album as he fashions a blues album. It's genuine and heartfelt (i.e. Grandad is about the influence his grandad had on him when he was young), but not an album I return to much.

Jazz Blues Fusion is a live album from 1971. Blue Mitchell (trumpet) and Clifford Solomon (alto and tenor sax) augment the basic blues group of bass, drums, guitar and all the various instruments Mayall plays.

This is an awesome album - jazz fusion at its finest. Apart from the horns, Larry Taylor is the star of the show on bass (those bass runs are thrilling throughout) and the jazzy guitar textures on guitar are by Freddy Robinson. The whole band is cooking and all should take a bow.

John Mayall takes a back seat for the most part and even mildly rebukes an audience member for requesting Room To Move, saying they'd moved on from that, even though Exercise In C has a bit of chikka chikka in it.

Moving On is a second live album with the core of the Jazz Blues Fusion band intact (Keef Hartley in on drums this time), plus an additional horn section.

The increase in musicians tends to over-egg proceedings a tad and the material isn't as strong as Jazz Blues Fusion. A bridge too far I think.

The Latest Edition is from 1974 and incorporates jazz, funk, and pop elements. It's not that memorable, unfortunately, as Mayall seems a little lacking in inspiration during the mid to late seventies.

You can almost hear the sigh in the next album title - New Year New Band New Company (I think that's referring to a new record company, but it could also be John's latest lady - singer Dee McKinnie). This set veers more to the centre of the rock road (there's even prominent female vocals) and it's a competent set.

Notice To Appear is a second album from 1975 and Mayall is as restless as ever. This time he's teamed up with Allen Toussaint who writes the lion's share of the songs and plays on all of the album. John Mayall does the singing and playing along with the New Year band. 

Consequently, it has a max reading on the funk-o-meter. I think it's a valiant attempt, but it doesn't seem like a good fit. Weirdest moment is a cover of The Beatles' Hard Day's Night. John sings it unconvincingly (I think that's the kindest description).

A Banquet In Blues is way better! He's back in more familiar settings with the same players from his early seventies albums. People like Johnny Almond, Sugarcane Harris, Red Holloway, Jon Mark, Blue Mitchell, Larry Taylor and Soko Richardson. Even John McVie attends on one song. 

Favourite song: Sunshine (the one with John McVie on bass) gets the album off to a roaring start. The 14-minute Fantasyland ends this high-quality album in some prog fusion style. 

While in Monterey a few years ago I picked up a test pressing of A Hard Core Package from The Vinyl Soulution (sic) in San Mateo. It cost me $US14.89 (I've left all the stickers on the cover). It's a more mellow sound than A Bouquet In Blues, without the highs. Still a pretty good funky rock sound though. 

Sadly, I don't have information on who the musicians were who appeared on it, but special kudos to the lead guitarist for some stunning/stinging runs.

We jump forward a few years now to the dreaded eighties - 1985 to be precise, for The Return of The Bluesbreakers (featuring Mick Taylor). I went with friends to watch this band at Auckland Town Hall, and it was baaad (not in a good way). The sound was too loud and too thin so Mick Taylor and Mayall's strengths were buried as a consequence.

Return Of The Bluesbreakers points to what we missed. Side one is a studio set from the early eighties with Don Nix producing (more on him when we get to the Ns). It's great, with not one synth in sight.

Side 2 is a live set with Mick Taylor featured on guitar (he's not part of the studio set). He's in brilliant form and shows what we missed in the dodgy sound/ performance at the Town Hall. He provides some blistering guitar to Ridin On The Sante Fe.

A jump in time now to 1993 and Wake Up Call (I've previously included his 1990 album A Sense Of Place). Mick Taylor, Buddy Guy and Mavis Staples guest and provide some terrific sharpness to proceedings. The material is uniformly terrific with Mailorder Mystics, Maydell and Light The Fuse being favourites.

Blues For The Lost Days is an okay album but the material isn't that inspired, although the playing is fine. The 'limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on green marbled vinyl' gimmick is a bit of a giveaway. Mine is #001241.

Nobody Told Me is the most recent album I have of his (his final release during his lifetime was The Sun Is Shining Down - released when he was in his eighties). 

I always think he rises to the occasion when he has legendary guests. On board this time are Joe Bonamassa, Todd Rundgren, Alex Lifeson and Little Stevie Van Zandt among others. It's a strong album in every way: Mayall's voice is strong, so is the material and the band. Remarkably, this album could have come from the eighties, nineties, and so on. He still had it, right to the end!

That just leaves some compilations to discuss. I've got five and they all stand up. I'll start with Looking Back which came out in 1969.

This compilation looked back at 9 different groups. Settled lineups were never his thing. The photomontage on the inner sleeve is worth the price of admission on its own. It's made up of non-LP singles from 1964 to 1968, featuring almost all of the notable musicians that passed through the Bluesbreakers throughout the decade. Sitting in the Rain is with Peter Green, and Stormy Monday is one of the few songs from 1966 that briefly featured both Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce.

The World of John Mayall is next. This turned out to be Volume 1, The World of John Mayall Vol. 2 I've mentioned previously here. This and Stormy Monday (CD) and The Giant of The Blues (vinyl) cover similar territory - non-album tracks mixed with album tracks from the sixties. 

The more budget the better is my philosophy with these things. So, I'm especially fond of the two volumes of The World of John Mayall and The Giant of The Blues.

If, like me, you find his album output a tad bewildering, a how-to-buy guide can be found on the interweb. 

The following are my recommendations.

First a list of essentials, IMHO.

Five-star classics:

• Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton 
• A Hard Road 
• The Turning Point  
• Jazz Blues Fusion

Four-star not quite essential but near as dammit:

• Bare Wires
• Blues From Laurel Canyon
• Empty Rooms
• USA Union
• A Sense Of Place
• Return Of The Bluesbreakers
• Wake Up Call
• Nobody Told Me

Where do they all belong? He was prolific and he never stopped, so there are plenty of other albums to collect from his catalogue.