For
John Mayall fans, especially those of his '70s period (good Lord, the man has had more bands than anyone except for
Duke Ellington and Count Basie), this live CD from 1971 is a curious, and perhaps a treasured thing. Recorded in Canada between 1970 and 1971, these shows -- all in fine sound quality -- reveal the sheer magic of the
Bluesbreakers when bassist
Larry Taylor, guitarist
Harvey Mandel, and drummer
Paul Lagos were almost consistently in the band, and others such as violinist
Don "Sugarcane" Harris, drummer
Keef Hartley, trumpeter
Blue Mitchell, guitarist
Freddy Robinson, and even
Victor Gaskin were either members or guests, briefly. It was a fully fluid time of transition for
Mayall, but the blues he was putting down were some of the rawest, most immediate and funky of his career.
Mayall has led great bands since that time, and this is one of those arguments for checking the man's later work as well. This particular version of the
Bluesbreakers never got their due at the time, though they were one of the hottest acts around musically. There is no use singling out particular tunes because everything on this two-CD set simply rocks. Get it. ~ Thom Jurek