John Mayall, "Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton" (Decca/London, 1966)
In early 1965, the Yardbirds released a single called "For Your Love" that propelled the band from a top club act to the wave of rock superstars emerging in Britain at the time.
The song reached No. 3 on the UK charts and No. 6 in the United States, the band's best showing here. And despite its rather primitive production and editing, it still stands up as an all-time classic.
The downside to "For Your Love" is that it apparently led to the departure of lead guitarist Eric "Slowhand" Clapton, still a teenager at the time. Rock 'n' roll lore has him leaving because the pop orientation of the song betrayed the band's roots in the blues.
The record's flip side, and instrumental called "Got to Hurry," was more up Clapton's alley, and he took full advantage of it, ripping an audacious lead over a simple and repetitive riff. The sounds he made caught the attention of a London bandleader who emphasized the blues above all else, and he quickly enlisted the services of the young guitarist.
The John Mayall-Eric Clapton collaboration didn't last all that long - by the following year, the guitarist had jumped ship (with then-Mayall bass player Jack Bruce) to form Cream. But their work together is considered a groundbreaking venture in merging blues with rock, and Clapton's playing served as a template for much of the rock guitar that followed.
Their one full-length album together, billed as Mayall's "Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton," paved the way for the British blues boom that dominated the late '60s. While the band members - also John McVie, later of Fleetwood Mac, on bass and Hughie Flint on drums - tried to stay relatively faithful to the artists they covered, they also put their own stamp on the album's dozen tunes, creating a hard-driving sound that has wowed audiences on both sides of the Atlantic ever since.
Clapton steps right into the spotlight at the start of the opening track, Otish Rush's "All Your Love," playing with an intonation that evokes the passion of the subject matter. The tempo picks up and he rips into a searing lead that announces his presence in no uncertain terms.
Listeners have hardly any time to catch their breath before Clapton blazes away on Freddie King's "Hideaway," doing the seemingly impossible feat of matching the playing on the original. The track is essential in any compilation that attempts to reflect Clapton's mastery of the guitar.
The band's rock 'n' roll leanings come to the forefront in a Mayall original, "Little Girl," which features a hard-edged riffs and lyrics that, fortunately, cast the song's subject as having "been through 18 years of pain."
Clapton takes a couple of breaks on the album, letting Mayall and his harmonica take over on two tracks, the traditional "Another Man" (other artists have titled it "Another Man Done Gone") and Mose Allison's "Parchman Farm."
Three other originals make appearances: the standard 12-bar exercises "Double Crossing Time" and "Have You Heard," and the horn-driven "Key to Love," a fast-tempo number in which Clapton steals the show with frenzied playing on the break. The album closes with Walter Jacobs' "It Ain't Right," another harmonica showcase.
Clapton would take two songs with him to perform for years to come. The instrumental "Steppin' Out" served as a vehicle for extending jamming, particularly some of the marathon versions he did with Cream. And Robert Johnson's "Ramblin' On My Mind" always was a highlight of his '70s live shows; it also helped introduce the semi-mythological blues giant to a vast audience. (Clapton released an entire album of Johnson songs, "Me and Mr. Johnson," in 2004.)
The only potential weak link of "Blues Breakers," if you want to call it that, is Ray Charles' "What'd I Say," which starts off hot enough but is interrupted by a lengthy Flint drum solo. Shades of what Clapton would face with Ginger Baker in Cream, apparently.
Mayall went on to make many fine albums afterward, including work with Peter Green, who went on to form Fleetwood Mac, and Mick Taylor, later of the Rolling Stones.
But "Blues Breakers" always will stand as his record that matters, thanks in no small part to the incendiary playing of young Mr. Clapton.
In early 1965, the Yardbirds released a single called "For Your Love" that propelled the band from a top club act to the wave of rock superstars emerging in Britain at the time.
The song reached No. 3 on the UK charts and No. 6 in the United States, the band's best showing here. And despite its rather primitive production and editing, it still stands up as an all-time classic.
The downside to "For Your Love" is that it apparently led to the departure of lead guitarist Eric "Slowhand" Clapton, still a teenager at the time. Rock 'n' roll lore has him leaving because the pop orientation of the song betrayed the band's roots in the blues.
The record's flip side, and instrumental called "Got to Hurry," was more up Clapton's alley, and he took full advantage of it, ripping an audacious lead over a simple and repetitive riff. The sounds he made caught the attention of a London bandleader who emphasized the blues above all else, and he quickly enlisted the services of the young guitarist.
The John Mayall-Eric Clapton collaboration didn't last all that long - by the following year, the guitarist had jumped ship (with then-Mayall bass player Jack Bruce) to form Cream. But their work together is considered a groundbreaking venture in merging blues with rock, and Clapton's playing served as a template for much of the rock guitar that followed.
Their one full-length album together, billed as Mayall's "Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton," paved the way for the British blues boom that dominated the late '60s. While the band members - also John McVie, later of Fleetwood Mac, on bass and Hughie Flint on drums - tried to stay relatively faithful to the artists they covered, they also put their own stamp on the album's dozen tunes, creating a hard-driving sound that has wowed audiences on both sides of the Atlantic ever since.
Clapton steps right into the spotlight at the start of the opening track, Otish Rush's "All Your Love," playing with an intonation that evokes the passion of the subject matter. The tempo picks up and he rips into a searing lead that announces his presence in no uncertain terms.
Listeners have hardly any time to catch their breath before Clapton blazes away on Freddie King's "Hideaway," doing the seemingly impossible feat of matching the playing on the original. The track is essential in any compilation that attempts to reflect Clapton's mastery of the guitar.
The band's rock 'n' roll leanings come to the forefront in a Mayall original, "Little Girl," which features a hard-edged riffs and lyrics that, fortunately, cast the song's subject as having "been through 18 years of pain."
Clapton takes a couple of breaks on the album, letting Mayall and his harmonica take over on two tracks, the traditional "Another Man" (other artists have titled it "Another Man Done Gone") and Mose Allison's "Parchman Farm."
Three other originals make appearances: the standard 12-bar exercises "Double Crossing Time" and "Have You Heard," and the horn-driven "Key to Love," a fast-tempo number in which Clapton steals the show with frenzied playing on the break. The album closes with Walter Jacobs' "It Ain't Right," another harmonica showcase.
Clapton would take two songs with him to perform for years to come. The instrumental "Steppin' Out" served as a vehicle for extending jamming, particularly some of the marathon versions he did with Cream. And Robert Johnson's "Ramblin' On My Mind" always was a highlight of his '70s live shows; it also helped introduce the semi-mythological blues giant to a vast audience. (Clapton released an entire album of Johnson songs, "Me and Mr. Johnson," in 2004.)
The only potential weak link of "Blues Breakers," if you want to call it that, is Ray Charles' "What'd I Say," which starts off hot enough but is interrupted by a lengthy Flint drum solo. Shades of what Clapton would face with Ginger Baker in Cream, apparently.
Mayall went on to make many fine albums afterward, including work with Peter Green, who went on to form Fleetwood Mac, and Mick Taylor, later of the Rolling Stones.
But "Blues Breakers" always will stand as his record that matters, thanks in no small part to the incendiary playing of young Mr. Clapton.
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