John Mayall - John Mayall Plays John Mayal (Japan SHM-CD 2007)

ohn Mayall's very first album, released in March 1965. It was recorded at a concert in the London club Klooks Kleek, held in December 1964. Together with John (vocals, harmonica, organ) they play Roger Dean (guitar), John McVie (bass), Hughie Flint (drums) and, on several numbers, Nigel Stanger (saxophone). The rhythm section here is the same as on John Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton’s first studio CD, but he still didn’t know about Eric (he learned soon after the release of the record and immediately drove Roger Dean). Of the twelve songs of this concert recording, Mayall himself composed eleven, which is reflected in the title of the disc, whose only cover is the slurred potpourri of Night Train / Lucille. Among John's things there are a number of rather successful ones (including those released on the singles Crawling Up A Hill and Crocodile Walk), but some sound pretty naive. The recording quality is very decent. In terms of music, it’s a British rhythm and blues, with less blues content than on the next few Bluesbreakers albums. Reprinting this disc on a compact album is a real gift for all fans of the genre! It remains to add that there are five bonus tracks on the disc, recorded in 1964-1965 and previously released on singles or collections.