John Mayall Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton (1966 uk, masterpiece, japan SHM double disc set)

 Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton was Eric Clapton's first fully realized album as a blues guitarist -- more than that, it was a seminal blues album of the 1960s, perhaps the best British blues album ever cut, and the best LP ever recorded by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.

Standing midway between Clapton's stint with the Yardbirds and the formation of Cream, this album featured the new guitar hero on a series of stripped-down blues standards, Mayall pieces, and one Mayall/Clapton composition, all of which had him stretching out in the idiom for the first time in the studio. This album was the culmination of a very successful year of playing with John Mayall, a fully realized blues creation, featuring sounds very close to the group's stage performances, and with no compromises.

Credit has to go to producer Mike Vernon for the purity and simplicity of the record; most British producers of that era wouldn't have been able to get it recorded this way, much less released. One can hear the very direct influence of Buddy Guy and a handful of other American bluesmen in the playing.

And lest anyone forget the rest of the quartet: future pop/rock superstar John McVie and drummer Hughie Flint provide a rock-hard rhythm section, and Mayall's organ playing, vocalizing, and second guitar are all of a piece with Clapton's work. His guitar naturally dominates most of this record, and he can also be heard taking his first lead vocal, but McVie and Flint are just as intense and give the tracks an extra level of steel-strung tension and power, none of which have diminished across several decades.

by Bruce Eder



 Tracks

Disc 1
1. All Your Love (Otis Rush) – 3:36
2. Hideaway (Freddie King, Sonny Thompson) – 3:17
3. Little Girl (Mayall) – 2:37
4. Another Man (Mayall) – 1:45
5. Double Crossing Time (Clapton, Mayall) – 3:04
6. What'd I Say (Ray Charles; Interpolating Day Tripper By John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 4:29
7. Key To Love (Mayall) – 2:09
8. Parchman Farm (Mose Allison) – 2:24
9. Have You Heard (Mayall) – 5:56
10.Ramblin' On My Mind (Robert Johnson, Traditional) – 3:10
11.Steppin' Out (James Bracken) – 2:30
12.It Ain't Right (Little Walter) – 2:42  
13.All Your Love (Otis Rush) – 3:36
14.Hideaway (Freddie King, Sonny Thompson) – 3:17
15.Little Girl (Mayall) – 2:37
16.Another Man (Mayall) – 1:45
17.Double Crossing Time (Clapton, Mayall) – 3:04
18.What'd I Say (Ray Charles; Interpolating Day Tripper By John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 4:2
19.Key To Love (Mayall) – 2:09
20.Parchman Farm (Mose Allison) – 2:24
21.Have You Heard (Mayall) – 5:56
22.Ramblin' On My Mind (Robert Johnson, Traditional) – 3:10
23.Steppin' Out (James Bracken) – 2:30
24.It Ain't Right (Little Walter) – 2:42
Tracks 1-12 Original Album in Mono
Tracks 13-24 Original 1969 Album in Stereo

Disc 2
1. Crawling Up A Hill (Mayall) – 2:08
2. Crocodile Walk (Mayall) – 2:23
3. Bye Bye Bird (Sonny Boy Willamson, Willie Dixon) – 2:49
4. I'm Your Witchdoctor (Mayall) – 2:11
5. Telephone Blues (Mayall) – 3:57
6. Bernard Jenkins (Clapton) – 3:49
7. Lonely Years (Mayall) – 3:19
8. Cheatin' Woman (Mayall) – 2:03
9. Nowhere To Turn (Mayall) – 1:42
10.I'm Your Witchdoctor (Mayall) – 2:10
11.On Top Of The World (Stereo Mix) (Mayall) – 2:34
12.Key To Love (Mayall) – 2:02
13.On Top Of The World (Mayall) – 2:34
14.They Call It Stormy Monday (T-Bone Walker) – 4:35
15.Intro Into Maudie (John Lee Hooker, Mayall) – 2:27
16.It Hurts To Be In Love (Dixon, Toombs) – 3:22
17.Have You Ever Loved A Woman (Myles) – 6:44
18.Bye Bye Bird (Williamson, Dixon) – 3:51
19.Hoochie Coochie Man (Dixon) – 3:53
Tracks 1-3 BBC Saturday Club Session
Tracks 4-7 appeared as singles
Tracks 8-10 BBC Saturday Club Session
Track 11 unreleased stereo mix
Tracks 12-13 BBC Saturday Club Sessiong
Tracks 14 from Lookin Back
Tracks 15-19 appeared on Primal Solos with Jack Bruce on bass

The Bluesbreakers
*John Mayall – Lead Vocals, Piano, Hammond B3 Organ, Harmonica
*Eric Clapton – Guitar, Lead Vocals On "Ramblin' On My Mind"
*John McVie – Bass Guitar
*Hughie Flint – Drums
Additional Musicians
*Alan Skidmore – Tenor Saxophone
*John Almond – Baritone Saxophone
*Derek Healey – Trumpet
*Jack Bruce – Bass (Disc Two Tracks 14-19, Not Featured On Original Album)
*Geoff Krivit – Guitar (Disc Two Tracks 8-10, Not Featured On Original Album)

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