| CD REVIEW (This review was also published on www.701.com) |
| Ever since hearing Laurel Canyon Blues (circa 1970), I instantly became a fan of this British bluesman. While I can�t boast of owning more than a half-dozen of his immense recording portfolio and haven�t followed his progress religiously over the years, my affinity for his musical projects was rekindled upon hearing about the call-list of players he had assembled for his latest masterpiece. Ontario�s own Jeff Healey guests on the opening track, �A World of Hurt� (Silbar/Clark), and barely recognizably then, considering Jeff�s prowess as a blues-rock guitarist, but it�s still a worthy feather in his cap. A second helping would have been greatly appreciated. There�s a couple of other Canadian connection to note, as Bluesbreaker keyboardist Tom Canning apparently played with The Band�s Robbie Robertson at one point and the father of Bluesbreaker bassist Hank Van Hickle, used to play bass in dance clubs in Canada in the �40s. Renowned keyboardist Billy Preston follows on the title track and �World War Blues�, Billy Gibbons (Z.Z. Top) plays lead guitar on Walter Trout�s �Put It Right Back�, which shows where Stevie Ray Vaughan got his influence. This track also reminded me of Mayall�s own tribute song to Jimi Hendrix, �Accidental Suicide�, from the Back to the Roots album, now re-mastered on CD, with some re-worked versions of classic tracks from the original set. �That�s Why I Love You So� offers Jonny Lang and Reese Wynans the opportunity to prove their respective fortes on lead guitar and Hammond organ, respectively. Crystal Taliefero and Wendy Moten supply soulful backing vocals on this track, as well as on �Testify� (with blues-rock teen sensation Shannon Curfman on vocals and lead guitar). The original Fleetwood Mac members (Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green and John McVie) are reunited with Mayall (on vocals, harmonica, clavinet), along with Steve Miller and Lenny Castro on Tony Joe White�s �Yo Yo Man�. The first of a few smoldering slow-blues tunes, �If I Don�t Get Home�, features Gary Moore on lead guitar, Joe Delgado on guitar, Reese Wynans on Hammond and John Mayall on vocals. The CD really starts heating up on �Testify� with Shannon Curfman�s sultry vocals, which are slightly better than her intriguing lead guitar work, exemplified by David Z on wah-wah rhythm guitar. �Early in the Morning� (Bartley/Hickman/Jordan) is an �all-stars� get-together with the Fleetwood gang, John Mayall on vocals (shared by Chris Rea), piano and Hammond, Steve Miller and Andrew Fairweather-Low sharing rhythm guitar duties, Dick Heckstall-Smith polishing it up with an alto saxophone and Lenny Castro keeping everyone on track, beat-wise. The current Bluesbreaker line-up (Americans Buddy Whittington, Tom Canning, Joe Yuele, and Hank Van Sickle � not appearing on this CD) get to strut their stuff on �Something About My Baby�, while �So Many Roads� � definitely the jewel of the CD itself � spotlights Otis Rush on vocals and Greg Rzab on bass, temporarily replacing David Smith. It was very interesting to read the bios of these players on John Mayall�s website, as their backgrounds are quite wide-ranging in the blues-jazz spectrum of notoriety. Mr. Mayall then gets back to his trademark harmonica and vocals on �World War Blues� (Eric Bibb), as well as on a much-requested collaboration by John Mayall and Steve Thompson (long-time Mayall bassist), i.e. �California� (from The Turning Point album). Red Holloway gets sexy on tenor saxophone, underscored by Tom Canning on Hammond and Davy Graham on acoustic guitar on this mellow jazz-blues fusion, while Mick Taylor (another early Bluesbreaker) splendidly closes off the concerto with his lead guitar on the heavily percussive �She Don�t Play By the Rules�. David Z takes the much-deserved credit for producing, engineering and mixing for Supersonic Productions Inc. Stay tuned for yet ANOTHER CD to be released early in 2002! |
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| ALONG FOR THE RIDE - JOHN MAYALL |
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