John Mayall's Bluesbreakers - Crusade (1967 uk, amazing classic blues rock, 2007 SHM remaster with extra tracks)

Mayall was outraged by the untrumpeted death of J.B. Lenoir, and Crusade was his attempt to force the blues down the throat of the mainstream (“I hope you’ll join forces with me,” he writes in the sleeve notes).

With Green gone, his eye had settled on a teenage Mick Taylor, who brings equal parts soul and swagger. Crusade took just seven hours to record and mix, which perhaps accounts for its wham-bam brilliance. The band tips its hat on The Death Of J.B. Lenoir, and Taylor arguably pips Clapton’s Hideaway with his jaw-dropping instrumental Snowy Wood.

by Henry Yates

The final album of an (unintentional) trilogy, Crusade is most notable for the appearance of a very young, pre-Rolling Stones Mick Taylor on lead guitar. Taylor's performance is indeed the highlight, just as Eric Clapton and Peter Green's playing was on the previous album. The centerpiece of the album is a beautiful instrumental by Taylor titled "Snowy Wood," which, while wholly original, seems to combine both Green and Clapton's influence with great style and sensibility. 

The rest of the record, while very enjoyable, is standard blues-rock fare of the day, but somewhat behind the then-progressive flavor of 1967. Mayall, while being one of the great bandleaders of London, simply wasn't really the frontman that the group needed so desperately, especially then. Nevertheless, Crusade is important listening for Mick Taylor aficionados. 

by Matthew Greenwald

Tracks
1. Oh, Pretty Woman (A.C. Williams) - 3:33
2. Stand Back Baby - 1:44
3. My Time After Awhile (Ron Badger, Sheldon Feinberg, Robert Geddins) - 5:08
4. Snowy Wood (John Mayall, Mick Taylor) - 3:36
5. Man of Stone (Eddie Kirkland) - 2:25
6. Tears in My Eyes - 4:15
7. Driving Sideways (Freddie King, Sonny Thompson) - 3:57
8. The Death of J. B. Lenoir - 4:23
9. I Can't Quit You Baby (Willie Dixon) - 4:30
10.Streamline - 3:14
11.Me and My Woman (Gene Barge) - 4:00
12.Checkin' Up on My Baby (Sonny Boy Williamson II) - 3:56
13.Curly (Peter Green) - 3:23
14.Rubber Duck (Peter Green, Aynsley Dunbar) - 3:46
15.Greeny (Peter Green) - 3:54
16.Missing You (Peter Green) - 1:57
17.Please Don't Tell - 2:27
18.Your Funeral and My Trial (Sonny Boy Williamson II) - 3:55
19.Double Trouble (Otis Rush) - 3:21
20.It Hurts Me Too (Malvene R London) - 2:54
21.Suspicions (Part One) - 2:48
22.Suspicions (Part Two) - 5:30
All songs written by John Mayall except where indicated

Personnel
*John Mayall – Vocals, Organ, Piano, Harmonica, Bottleneck Guitar
*Mick Taylor – Lead Guitar
*John Mcvie – Bass Guitar
*Keef Hartley – Drums
*Chris Mercer – Tenor Sax
*Rip Kant – Baritone Sax
*Peter Green - Lead Guitar (Tracks 13-20)
*Aynsley Dunbar - Drums (Tracks 13-18)
*Mick Fleetwood - Drums (Tracks 19-20)
*Paul Williams - Bass Guitar (Track 21)
*Paul Schaeffer - Bass Guitar (Track 22)

1966  John Mayall Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton (Japan SHM double disc set)
1967  John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers - A Hard Road (Double Disc Set)
1969  John Mayall - The Turning Point (Remaster And Expanded)
1972  John Mayall - Moving On (2009 remaster)
1967  Various Artists - Raw Blues

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