John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers

Live in ’67
Forty Below Records   

During the spring of 1967, a 16-year-old Dutch lad, Tom Huissen, followed John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers around London with his single-channel, reel-to-reel tape deck in tow, and managed to capture several of the band’s incendiary gigs in various local London clubs. This rather short-lived edition of The Bluesbreakers — John Mayall on keyboard, vocals, and harp, John McVie on bass, Peter Green on guitar and vocals, and Mick Fleetwood on drums — apparently never recorded in the studio, and according to Pete Frame’s musical genealogy of Fleetwood and McVie, only performed together during April and May of 1967. Fortunately though, Huissen’s remarkable tapes resurfaced and found their way to John Mayall, who’s now released them — and we owe him a huge debt for it.

While obviously far from high fidelity, this disk oozes authenticity. It’s a collection of gut-busting, wall-shattering performances combined with roughly hewed, seat-of-the-pants recordings that reveal a glimpse into the nascent blues scene percolating around the UK during this era. It’s no secret that many British artists from this era cut their musical teeth listening to American blues artists, and in doing so partially enabled the blues resurgence in America. As artifacts of that period, these performances are priceless.

Highlights include a searing rendition of Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s “Looking Back,” (available also on Mayall’s 1969 release Looking Back), and Peter Green’s edgy version of Freddie King’s “The Stumble.” But to call these “highlights” is a bit of a misnomer; all the cuts on this album are worthy of that recognition — they’re simply that good.

Frankly, though, the odd bit about this album is Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. For those of us of a certain vintage, these guys were the ultimate purveyors of laid-back, LA-infused, high-school date music. To hear them here, tearing up these joints like British Dervishes overdosing on Red Bull, causes some dissonance — I guess it’s just the incongruity of thinking about what they’d be up to in ten short years.

But never mind. Fleetwood and McVie’s time with Mayall and this collection of live performances solidifies their place in Cooperstown, and we all ought to be thankful for Mr. Huissen and his magic reel-to-reel tape deck.

1:16:24

All Your Love / Brand New Start / Double Trouble / Streamline / Have You Ever Loved a Woman / Looking Back / So Many Roads / Hi Heel Sneakers / I Can’t Quit You Baby / The Stumble / Someday After Awhile / San-Ho-Zay / Stormy Monday /