Similar Albums:
- Artist: John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1966 07
- Total Time: 37:06
- Genre: Rock
Review
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. [In 1998, Polygram Records issued a remastered version of this album on CD, featuring both the stereo and mono mixes of the original tracks and new notes.] ~ Bruce Eder, All Music GuideTracks
CD 1
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| All Your Love [Mono Mix] | Willie Dixon, Otis Rush | Eric Clapton, |
(3:37) |
| Hideaway [Mono Mix] | Freddie King, Sonny Thompson | Eric Clapton, |
(3:15) |
| Little Girl [Mono Mix] | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(2:35) |
| Another Man [Mono Mix] | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(1:46) |
| Double Crossing Time [Mono Mix] | John Mayall, Eric Clapton | Eric Clapton, |
(3:03) |
| What'd I Say [Mono Mix] | Ray Charles | Eric Clapton, |
(4:28) |
| Key to Love [Mono Mix] | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(2:08) |
| Parchman Farm [Mono Mix] | Mose Allison | Eric Clapton, |
(2:21) |
| Have You Heard [Mono Mix] | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(5:56) |
| Rambling on My Mind [Mono Mix] | Robert Johnson, Traditional | Eric Clapton, |
(3:08) |
| Steppin' Out [Mono Mix] | Eric Clapton, |
(2:30) | |
| It Ain't Right [Mono Mix] | Little Walter | Eric Clapton, |
(2:44) |
| All Your Love [Stereo Mix] | Willie Dixon, Otis Rush | Eric Clapton, |
(3:36) |
| Hideaway [Stereo Mix] | Freddie King, Sonny Thompson | Eric Clapton, |
(3:16) |
| Little Girl [Stereo Mix] | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(2:35) |
| Another Man [Stereo Mix] | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(1:47) |
| Double Crossing Time [Stereo Mix] | John Mayall, Eric Clapton | Eric Clapton, |
(3:03) |
| What'd I Say [Stereo Mix] | Ray Charles | Eric Clapton, |
(4:28) |
| Key to Love [Stereo Mix] | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(2:07) |
| Parchman Farm [Stereo Mix] | Mose Allison | Eric Clapton, |
(2:23) |
| Have You Heard [Stereo Mix] | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(5:54) |
| Rambling on My Mind [Stereo Mix] | Robert Johnson, Traditional | Eric Clapton, |
(3:08) |
| Steppin' Out [Stereo Mix] | Eric Clapton, |
(2:29) | |
| It Ain't Right [Stereo Mix] | Little Walter | Eric Clapton, |
(2:41) |
CD 2
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Crawling Up a Hill | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(2:08) |
| Crocodile Walk | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(2:23) |
| Bye Bye Bird | Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson | Eric Clapton, |
(2:49) |
| I'm Your Witchdoctor | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(2:11) |
| Telephone Blues | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(3:57) |
| Bernard Jenkins | Eric Clapton | Eric Clapton, |
(3:49) |
| Lonely Years (Lyrics) | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(3:19) |
| Cheatin' Woman | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(2:03) |
| Nowhere to Turn | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(1:42) |
| I'm Your Witchdoctor | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(2:10) |
| On Top of the World [Stereo Mix] | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(2:50) |
| Key to Love | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(2:02) |
| On Top of the World | John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(2:34) |
| They Call It Stormy Monday | T-Bone Walker | Eric Clapton, |
(4:35) |
| Intro into Maudie | John Lee Hooker, John Mayall | Eric Clapton, |
(2:27) |
| It Hurts to Be in Love | Eric Clapton, |
(3:22) | |
| Have You Ever Loved a Woman | Eric Clapton, |
(6:44) | |
| Bye Bye Bird | Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson | Eric Clapton, |
(3:51) |
| Hoochie Coochie Man (Lyrics) | Willie Dixon | Eric Clapton, |
(3:53) |
