John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
Padlock On The Blues
(Purple Pyramid CLP0597-2)
John Mayall is one of the founding fathers of the
British blues scene with a recording career that spans 35 years. Over the
years, his band has included guitar legends such as Eric Clapton, Peter
Green and Mick Taylor. Other recent guitarists in his band have included
Coco Montoya and Walter Trout. Mayall's current band consists of John
Paulus on bass, Joe Yuele on drums and Fort Worth's own Buddy Whittington
on guitar.
This version of the Bluesbreakers has been together for awhile
and provide Mayall with an extremely tight backing band. I must confess
that while owning some of Mayall's recordings made in the '60s featuring
Clapton and Green, I have not heard any of his recent music and am not a
big fan of British blues in general. However, when I played this CD for
the first time, two things struck me right off the bat. The first thing
that I noticed was how good the band was, especially Whittington who is a
worthy successor to the Bluesbreakers guitar spot. The other thing that I
noticed was how much Mayall's vocals have improved over the years. On his
earlier recordings, his thin vocals often detracted from the instrumental
work that was going on behind him, but on this new recording his voice has
grown into an instrument worthy of being featured with the great
instrumentalists that he chooses to work with.
The album leads off with
"Don't Turn Your Back" which features the tenor saxophone of
Ernie Watts snaking through Mayall's jazzy electric piano work. The band
also remakes Mayall's '60s classic "A Hard Road" with Mayall's
vocals and Whittington's guitar taking centerstage on this tune. The
albums strongest cut is the slow blues of the title cut where Mayall's
singing recalls the timbre of Buddy Guy's voice while Whittington's guitar
burns throughout the song. John Lee Hooker also makes a guest appearance
on guitar for a few songs on this disc but does not really contribute
anything significant to the recording.
John Mayall has made many albums
over the years. Some have become classics and others have been long
forgotten. His latest CD may not become a classic but it is a good one.
- Barry T. Gober -
Southwest Blues CD Review - August 1999
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1999 Reviews - available at our store
