John
Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967 CD Coming April 21 from Forty
Below Records
Previously
Unreleased Live Recordings Feature John Mayall, Peter Green, John McVie and Mick
Fleetwood
LOS ANGELES, CA – Forty Below Records announces an April 21
release date for John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967 (Never Before
Heard Live Performances), a very special archival recording of one the
best of the Bluesbreakers band lineups, featuring legendary musicians John
Mayall (vocals, keyboards, harmonica), Peter Green (lead guitar), John McVie
(bass) and Mick Fleetwood (drums). Distributed by Sony/RED, John Mayall’s
Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967 showcases a band that was together for only
a scant three months, yet created a lasting legacy, made an immense impact on
music and led to the formation of one of the most acclaimed groups of all-time
when Green, McVie and Fleetwood left to form Fleetwood Mac.
The genesis of Live in
1967 came about because a staunch fan from Holland, Tom Huissen, was
able to sneak a one channel reel-to-reel tape recorder into five London clubs
(including the famed Marquee) in early 1967 and capture this exciting glimpse
into music history. For nearly 50 years these tapes remained unheard until John
Mayall acquired them recently and began restoring them with the technical
assistance of Eric Corne of Forty Below Records. “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.
“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. “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.”
John
Mayall has some fond memories about how this band came about. “Through most of
1966, Peter and John were both regular members of the Bluesbreakers and Aynsley
Dunbar was the drummer,” states Mayall. “However, even though Aynsley was a
great drummer, it was starting to become apparent that his jazz influenced style
of playing was veering away from the blues. As I recall, Peter had been close
friends with Mick Fleetwood for some time and he suggested I give him a shot.
And so for a short period of only about three months Mick became a
Bluesbreaker.”
The band’s repertoire on the tracks of
Live in 1967 includes some songs that were originally recorded on
The Bluesbreakers first two albums, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
featuring Eric Clapton and A Hard Road (which featured
Peter Green), plus the soon-to-be recorded Crusade album, which
featured young guitarist Mick Taylor after Peter Green left the band. Other
songs on the new CD make their live debuts after having been recorded originally
as singles in the UK and would later appear on Mayall’s Looking Back
album. In addition, several of the songs on Live in 1967
make their first appearance in any form on a Bluesbreakers
album.
Two long-time mainstay influences
on John Mayall’s storied career – Freddy King and Otis Rush - are well
represented here with live versions of songs long-associated with the two blues
giants. “All Your Love,” “Double Trouble,” “So Many Roads” and “I Can’t Quit You
Baby” come from the Otis Rush canon of blues classics; and Freddy King’s “The
Stumble,” “San-Ho-Zay” and “Someday After Awhile,” are given resounding
treatments here by the quartet playing with a sense of energy and
urgency.
“Ever
since Eric Clapton joined the band, we both had a great interest in the recorded
work of Otis Rush and Freddy King and many of their classic songs became part of
our live performing catalogue,” Mayall says about the two blues icons. “Their
guitar work was always an inspiration for Eric, Peter Green and Mick Taylor in
those early years.”
The
music on John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967
showcases a band that although only together for a short time, was incredibly
tight and in-the-pocket while still allowing room for improvisation, none more
so than Peter Green, whose guitar work on this CD will stand as some of his
best-ever on record. All of Green’s guitar trademarks - the stop time
signatures, his incredible sustain and a hair-raising powerful tone – are
presented here in all their glory, highlighting a musician who was more than
able to assume the mantle as the guitar player following in Eric Clapton’s
well-trod footsteps as a member of one of blues music’s all-time aggregations,
John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.
John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers
– Live in 1967 Track Listing
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
