CD Review: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers' Live In London 1967 - Volume Two (2016)

As the old counter-culture saying goes, “too much of a good thing is never enough.” It’s particularly true in this instance – the (mostly) unexpected arrival of a second volume of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers' Live In 1967 – which gives foaming-at-the-mouth fans like myself a baker’s dozen of rarer-than-rare, previously released anywhere on the planet, historic albeit lo-fi performances by a short-lived but influential superstar Bluesbreakers line-up.

As so kindly explained in my review of the first Live In 1967 collection, a hardcore Bluesbreakers fan from Holland named Tom Huissen hid a one-channel reel-to-reel tape recorder under his jacket while attending several John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers shows in London back in swinging ’67, using it to record the band’s performance each night. The tapes were stored in a dusty attic somewhere and unheard for better than 40 years until they were acquired by Mayall. These rusty, antique tapes were restored to something resembling acceptable sound quality by Forty Below Records’ Eric Corne, and a compilation of the band’s best performances from the period was released in early 2015 as the aforementioned Live In 1967.

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers’ Live In 1967 – Volume Two

Fast forward roughly a year and this second collection offers so much bluesy goodness that Mayall fans should be swooning in their buttermilk (or an equivalent alcoholic beverage). Thirteen  new (old) tracks featuring frontman Mayall, the legendary Peter Green on guitar, and a rhythm section comprised of bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood, who also performed similar duties for a little band you may have heard of by the name of Fleetwood Mac – whatever happened to them, anyway?

As I also mentioned in my review of the first volume, the audio quality here is quite different than what many music fans are used to hearing from digitally-recorded albums that have had the stuffing squeezed out of ‘em by Pro Tools. The performances here are deep and hollow and somewhat boomy, like you might hear when you’re standing against the back wall of your favorite club. Recording tech in ’67 was Cro-Magnon level at best, and Huissen’s good intentions were somewhat defeated by his primitive recording rig. Corne has done an admirable job of cleaning up the sound, though, and if what is essentially an audience-sourced bootleg is too raw for your tender ears, grab me a tissue Nancy ‘cause I’ll be laughing until I cry over what you’re missing...

Tears In My Eyes

At its heart, Live In 1967 – Volume Two is another superb collection of firecracker performances that display just how white-hot this particular Bluesbreakers roster could be on even the smallest of stages. Mayall’s original “Tears In My Eyes” is a smoky, slow-burning blues dirge captured live at The Marquee Club in London. Mayall’s vocals are somewhat obscured, but not even the lowest of fidelity can rob his voice of the deep-blue emotion welling up through the microphone. Green’s guitar licks are spot on, complimenting the boss’s vocals and channeling some serious Buddy Guy-styled soulfulness.

An already rowdy Sonny Boy Williamson deep track “Your Funeral and My Trial” is made all the more raucous by Mayall’s raging harmonica riffs, Green’s energetic guitar bashing, and a rhythm section that stays out of the way while still building a firm musical foundation. “So Many Roads,” recorded but not used for the A Hard Road album (it shows up on expanded CD releases), is an eight-minute-plus blues jam that showcases the immense chemistry of the band, with Green’s amazing fretwork meshing perfectly with McVie’s strong bass lines and Fleetwood’s propulsive, high-energy percussion.

Sweet Little Angel

A cover of B.B. King’s “Sweet Little Angel” is played slowly and soulfully, Mayall’s falsetto vocals complimented by Green’s jazzy guitarplay and Mayall’s own subdued but timely keyboard flourishes. Green’s guitar licks pierce the cloudy sound of The Ram Jam Club to establish the song’s blues bona fides while the rest of the guys nicely fill in the edges. T-Bone Walker’s blues standard “Stormy Monday” is cut from similar cloth as “Sweet Little Angel.” A fiery, mid-tempo moan designed to singe the side-stage curtains at the Klook’s Kleek club, the performance further cements Green’s status as one of the finest British blues guitarists of the 1960s, his instrumentation running parallel to Mayall’s mournful vocals and keyboards, the two working in tandem to kick out a phenomenal reading of an old (even in ’67) blues treasure.

The instrumental “Greeny” is really a guitar-driven excuse to allow the master instrumentalist to vamp onstage for six-plus minutes, the McVie-Fleetwood tag-team delivering a steady boogie beat while Mayall pounds the keys in the background. It’s a fine example of Green’s six-string prowess, the guitarist throwing blues, rock, and jazz licks into the blender and coming up with a heady brew, indeed. Mayall’s “Chicago Line” features his locomotive harpwork, Fleetwood’s tribal drumbeats, and even an engaging, hypnotic McVie bass solo while a cover of the Otis Rush gem “Double Trouble” – another cutting-room outtake from A Hard Road – further highlights the band’s ability to wrest the essence of a vintage blues classic and make it their own.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

I’m not really sure why John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers original Live In 1967 album received no love from The Blues Foundation earlier this year – not a single damn Blues Music Award nomination – but then again, I can’t find a BMA nomination for anything Mayall has released over the past couple of decades, an egregious oversight that should be remedied immediately by his induction to the Blues Hall of Fame (yeah, I don’t know why Mr. Mayall, O.B.E. hasn’t been provided that honor, either...).

But I digress with my well-meaning (and accusatory) rant…Live In 1967 – Volume Two is a welcome bookend to its predecessor. This additional volume offers more of a good thing by documenting the explosive performance ability and musical chemistry of a Bluesbreakers line-up that blinded like a supernova, if only for a meager three months, before burning out and splitting into two separate celestial bodies. Mayall fans, and those who genuflect before the altar of British blues, will find Live In 1967 – Volume Two an enchanting trip back to swinging London for some of the best blues you’ve never heard. Grade: B+ (Forty Below Records, released May 6, 2016)

Related content: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers' Live In 1967 CD review

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CD Preview: John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers’ Live in 1967 - Volume Two

Fans of British blues legend John Mayall found a lot to like with the release of the critically-acclaimed Live In 1967 album last year. Rescued from obscurity by a hardcore Bluesbreakers fan from Holland by the name of Tom Huissen, who taped the London shows that would become Live In 1967, the album showcased rarer-than-rare, previously-unreleased recordings by the short-lived Bluesbreakers line-up of Mayall, guitarist Peter Green, bassist John McVie, and drummer Mick Fleetwood – three of whom would soon leave the band and go on to form Fleetwood Mac.

On May 6th, 2016 Forty Below Records will release Live In 1967 - Volume Two by John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, a second highly-anticipated collection of vintage live recordings that feature never-before-heard performances by the aforementioned legendary Bluesbreakers line-up. Live In 1967 - Volume Two was produced by Forty Below’s Eric Corne and John Mayall, who also did the cover photography, artwork, and design. The pair worked from the original one-channel reel-to-reel tapes recorded by Huissen, cleaning up and restoring the sound of each performance to as close to modern sonic standards as possible from nearly fifty-year-old recordings…they ain’t hi-fidelity, but they sound good enough for rock ‘n’ roll, if you know what I mean...

Live In 1967 - Volume Two features performances recorded during the spring of ’67 at such London venues as Bromley, The Marquee Club, The Ram Jam Club, and Klook’s Kleek. Among the album’s thirteen tracks are Mayall originals like “Chicago Line” and “Tears In My Eyes” and Peter Green’s instrumental guitar showcase “Greeny,” as well as raucous covers of classic blues tunes like Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Your Funeral and My Trial” and Otis Rush’s “Double Trouble. Of the new album’s thirteen tracks, only three songs appeared on the first volume, but these new performances were recorded on different nights. A cover of the T-Bone Walker gem “Stormy Monday” features guest vocalist Ronnie Jones, a former American serviceman and original member of Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated band.  

“I am so happy that the remaining usable tracks from these London club dates have been released as a follow-up to the well-received Volume One,” says John Mayall in a press release for the new album. “Peter Green as before is on fire throughout and this set includes a great instrumental based on his composition, ‘Greeny.’ There are a couple of Otis Rush tracks that were included on the first volume, but they are from different venues and totally different. I couldn’t possibly let these slide. With these new tracks added to the collection, it pretty much features all the material we had in our repertoire at that time and I’m very glad that you can now enjoy this great piece of rock/blues history.”

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers’ Live In 1967 - Volume Two track list:

1. Tears In My Eyes
2. Your Funeral And My Trial 
3. So Many Roads 
4. Bye Bye Bird  
5. Please Don’t Tell
6. Sweet Little Angel
7. Talk To Your Daughter  
8. Bad Boy    
9. Stormy Monday 
10. Greeny   
11. Ridin’ On The L&N  
12. Chicago Line  
13. Double Trouble

Related Content: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers' Live In 1967 CD review

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers' Live In 1967 - Volume Two

CD Review: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers' Live In 1967

Chances are that you’ve never heard John Mayall’s first album. I know I haven’t, and although a few folks through the years have told me that John Mayall Plays John Mayall (released in 1965) is quite fetching, it’s also quite obscure, and few outside of the U.K. have had the experience. Recorded live at a London club called Klook’s Kleek, the LP featured the first draft of the classic Bluesbreakers band which included guitarist Roger Dean (who would go on to do session work), bass player John McVie (if you don’t know Mr. McVie, why are you reading this?), and drummer Hughie Flint (who would pull duty later with both Savoy Brown and the Blues Band).

What a difference a year makes, though, and when former Yardbirds’ guitarist Eric Clapton replaced Dean for the seminal Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton album, Mayall and crew created one of the most commercially successful, critically acclaimed, and undeniably influential works in British blues music. In many ways, the album would overshadow everything Mayall would later record, so much so that few remember that the bandleader released a second, nearly as successful album a few months later. When Clapton flew the coop to barnstorm Greece for a few months, he was replaced by the capable and underrated guitarist Peter Green for the equally classic A Hard Road album.   

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers Live In 1967

My point is that the difference between legend and obscurity is often a combination of luck, timing, and cosmic alignment (which probably falls under the ‘luck’ category, but for the sake of argument, we’ll consider it the great ephemeral unknown). Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton is recognized and rightfully lauded by even the most casual of British blues fans, A Hard Road not nearly as much. In the wake of A Hard Road, Mayall led various Bluesbreakers bands on tour, near-mythical shows that were seemingly fated to faded memories and eventual obscurity as none of the performances were thought to have been caught on tape.

One remarkable Bluesbreakers line-up during this period featured Mayall up front, Green on guitar, bassist McVie, and a young drummer named Mick Fleetwood. Although the four of them only played together for a few months before the three guys that weren’t Mayall bolted to form Fleetwood Mac, they performed some memorable shows together during that short time. It’s lucky for us, then, that a hardcore Bluesbreakers fan from Holland by the name of Tom Huissen tucked a one-channel reel-to-reel recorder under his jacket while attending several of Mayall’s London shows in early 1967 and recorded the band’s performance each night. These tapes remained unheard and unreleased for over 40 years until they were recently acquired by Mayall who, working with Forty Below Records’ Eric Corne, restored them to a good enough quality to release as Live In 1967.

Capturing Blues History

An important note – the audio quality of Live In 1967 is less than crystal clear; it’s hollow and kind of boomy, and many performances sound like you’re standing in the back of a large, deep cave, hearing the amps echo off the paintings on the wall. Remember, however, that recording technology was in the stone age at the time and, while Huissen’s heart was in the right place, his equipment was low-fi even by the primitive standards of the time. No matter how much it’s been shined up and polished, Live In 1967 sounds like the audience-sourced bootleg that it is, and if that’s a deal breaker for your tender ears, then you probably should stop reading right now…

If you possess the intestinal fortitude to sojourn onward, however, you’ll be richly rewarded with a mighty fine performance by one of the best and brightest, albeit short-lived blues bands in old Britannia. Live In 1967 kicks off with a smokin’ read of Otis Rush’s “All Your Love.” The McVie/Fleetwood rhythm section lays down a sly groove that is embroidered by Green’s fluid guitarwork, Mayall’s soulful vocals accompanied by sparse keyboard notes to really pay tribute to the Chicago blues gem. The Bluesbreakers swing for the fences with the original “Brand New Start,” the rhythm monsters building a strong foundation atop which Mayall blows a mean harp like Little Walter and bangs the keys like Booker T. while Green unreels some greasy, soulful fretwork that sounds unlike anybody else at that time.  

So Many Roads

Returning to the Otis Rush songbook, they take on “Double Trouble,” a song so damn good that Stevie Ray Vaughan would name a band after it. With a little better fidelity (apparent across the five tracks recorded at Manor House in May), “Double Trouble” benefits from a swaying rhythm, dashes of Mayall’s mournful keyboards, and some nicely-textured and blues-drenched guitar courtesy of St. Peter. Another Manor House performance, “So Many Roads,” has become a de facto Mayall signature song. Recorded by Otis Rush in 1960 and since then by Joe Bonamassa and Foghat, among others, here Mayall and crew amp up the emotion and make the performance bolder and bluesier than anybody else, Green’s incredible guitarplay channeling more tears and heartache than his predecessor in the band ever could.

Willie Dixon’s “I Can’t Quit You Baby” is played straight, that is as an old-school Chicago blues torch song with Mayall’s saddened vocals paired with Green’s elegantly tortured guitar while the rhythm section shuffles along slowly and respectably behind the two frontmen. Mayall leads his crew through a trio of vintage Freddie King numbers – most notable among them a raucous instrumental romp through “San-Ho-Zay,” although “Someday After Awhile” is quite a tearjerker with some lovely fretwork – before finishing up Live In 1967 with a spot-on reading of T-Bone Walker’s blues standard “Stormy Monday” that features some of Green’s most nuanced string-bending.    

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Once you get past its limited sound quality (turn it up!), you’ll agree that Live In 1967 is a momentous musical find, a literal time capsule of classic British blues-rock. The album offers thirteen lively, inspired, and long-lost Bluesbreakers performances from a handful of now-legendary London-area clubs, including The Marquee and Klook’s Kleek, a high-energy mix of classic blues covers and Mayall originals that should thrill any British blues fan. 

Live In 1967 is also an invaluable document that shines a well-deserved spotlight on the immense talents of, and all-too-brief collaboration between Messrs. Mayall, Green, McVie, and Fleetwood. While Mayall would go on to make a lot of great music during the ensuing years (including 2014’s A Special Life album), Live In 1967 proves that his legacy and the long shadow Mayall casts across the British blues tradition is based on more than just that one single album. Grade: B+ (Forty Below Records, released April 21, 2015)

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CD Preview: John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers’ Live In 1967

The storied career of British blues-rock legend John Mayall spans seven decades now and, as proven by the release of Mayall’s critically-acclaimed 2014 album A Special Life, it shows no signs of slowing down as the man approaches his 82nd birthday this year. Mayall has better than 50 studio and live albums to his credit and, as a bandleader, he’s discovered or enlisted talents like Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Walter Trout, Harvey Mandel, Jack Bruce, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, and many others. As an artist, Mayall has explored and expanded the boundaries of rock, blues, and jazz-fusion and although not a household name stateside (save among blues fans), he’s certainly influenced a number of musicians that are much better known.

With all this to his credit, Mayall is still largely acclaimed for one single album – 1966’s Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton – the foundation on which Mayall’s legacy is based and which launched Clapton to superstardom, first with Cream then with Derek and the Dominos. Few remember that Mayall released a second, just as successful album a few months later in 1967’s A Hard Road, which featured the extraordinarily-talented guitarist Peter Green. Charting just a few spots below its predecessor, many Mayall aficionados would argue that A Hard Road is the better of the two albums released nearly back-to-back.

However you want to slice it, the period from mid-1966 to mid-67 was a heady, productive, and commercially-fruitful one for Mayall. Sadly, none of the legendary and talented band line-ups he fronted at the time were caught on tape – until now. Forty Below Records (which released Mayall’s A Special Life) has announced an April 21st, 2015 release date for John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live In 1967, a rare live recording by one of the best of the many Bluesbreakers line-ups. Although the band of Mayall, Peter Green, bassist John McVie, and drummer Mick Fleetwood were together a mere three months, they made some mighty fine music together before the three guys that weren’t Mayall flew the coop to form Fleetwood Mac.

This special live recording is available courtesy of a hardcore Mayall fan from Holland by the name of Tom Huissen, who concealed a one-channel reel-to-reel tape recorder on his person as he attended shows at a handful of London clubs (including the legendary Marquee) in early 1967, recording the band’s performance each night. The tapes Huissen made of these shows remained unheard and unreleased until they were recently acquired by Mayall who, working with Forty Below’s Eric Corne, restored them to releasable condition. “While the source recording was very rough and the final result is certainly not hi-fidelity, it does succeed in allowing us to hear how spectacular these performances are,” says Corne in a press release for the new album.

“I'd known for a decade or two of the existence of these tapes and, in fact, Tom Huissen had sent me a CD with 50 second teasers for some of the tracks that he'd secretly recorded at our London shows,” recalls Mayall in the press release. “Last year, Tom decided he wanted the world to hear these performances and work soon began on restoring the already fine quality on the old reel-to-reel tapes.” The band’s set list for their 1967 performances included songs from both Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton and A Hard Road as well as Mayall’s forthcoming album Crusade (which featured future Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor). Along with Mayall’s original songs were inspired covers of classic blues numbers by artists like Freddie King and Otis Rush (see full track list below).

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live 1967 is a momentous find, a veritable time capsule of classic British blues-rock that provides an invaluable glimpse into the past and shines a well-deserved spotlight on the immense talents of, and too-brief collaboration between Messrs. Mayall, Green, McVie, and Fleetwood. 
 
John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967 tracklist:

1. All Your Love
2. Brand New Start
3. Double Trouble
4. Streamline
5. Have You Ever Loved A Woman
6. Looking Back
7. So Many Roads
8. Hi Heel Sneakers
9. I Can’t Quit You Baby
10. The Stumble
11. Someday After Awhile
12. San-Ho-Zay
13. Stormy Monday

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