The final album of an (unintentional) trilogy,
Crusade is most notable for the appearance of a very young, pre-
Rolling Stones Mick Taylor on lead guitar.
Taylor's performance is indeed the highlight, just as
Eric Clapton and
Peter Green's playing was on the previous album. The centerpiece of the album is a beautiful instrumental by
Taylor titled "Snowy Wood," which, while wholly original, seems to combine both
Green and
Clapton's influence with great style and sensibility. The rest of the record, while very enjoyable, is standard blues-rock fare of the day, but somewhat behind the then-progressive flavor of 1967.
Mayall, while being one of the great bandleaders of London, simply wasn't really the frontman that the group needed so desperately, especially then. Nevertheless,
Crusade is important listening for
Mick Taylor aficionados. [The 2007 UMVD import edition includes bonus tracks.] ~ Matthew Greenwald