Basket Items

Your basket is empty.

Recent Places

John Mayall - Blues Crusader

John Mayall - Blues Crusader

John Mayall was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire on November 29th 1933. Discovering the worlds of blues and jazz at a young age through his father, an avid collector, Mayall pioneered the acceptance of the Blues as a valid musical art form in Britain at a time when there were few musicians brave enough to do so. Always remaining true to his beliefs and values and eschewing commercial considerations, he single handedly nurtured some of the finest popular musicians to emerge from the British Isles. Notable members of the Bluesbreakers included such luminaries as Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Keef Hartley and Aynsley Dunbar. Without Mayall it is doubtful if they would have scaled the musical heights many of them later reached. John Mayall’s recordings for Decca records between 1964 and 1968 are perhaps some of the finest examples of the blues and R & B ever committed to tape by a British musician and serve as a continual reminder of his innovation and musicianship. John Mayall - The Blues Alone John Mayall - The Turning Point

Discovering The Blues With Savoy Brown

I remember distinctly buying two Decca singles at the same time in 1969 and feeling that they were the stuff of legend and the future of music itself. Caravan’s If I Could Do It All Over Again, I’d Do It All Over You and Savoy Brown’s Hard Way To Go were quirky guitar led tunes that somehow retained a commercial edge. In a time where people were moving more towards albums and Top Of The Pops even allowed album bands to air tracks rather than singles that had made the charts, these were heady times and Caravan’s pre-prog pop and the chugging blues rock of Savoy Brown were glorious cogs of new music. Blues was alien to me and my 14-year old classmates. But, in a period where Jimi Hendrix was king, Cream were his court players and Ten Years After’s star was in the ascendancy following their Woodstock performance, blues was the root that drove this new electric sound and the core of Savoy Brown. Along with Fleetwood Mac and Chicken Shack, the Sav’s deserved further investigation and it wasn’t long before guitarist Kim Simmonds was recognized at our school as a blues practitioner on a par with the best. On album, Savoy Brown had driven their early basic blues groove away from the traditional roots and, although they encouraged investigation of their American influences, they were already electrified and, with the vocals of Chris Youlden, they’d discovered a soulful foil for their meatier sound ready for the electrification of the ‘70s. Sadly Savoy Brown were usurped by Zeppelin’s heavy ended interpretation of the genre but they continued to deliver a fine string of albums with Simmonds reaching for new aching heights throughout. Through their influence thousands of British teenagers tuned into everyone from Muddy Waters to John Lee Hooker and delved deep into the bottomless well of authentic American blues in the 1970s, preparing the way for the MTV-powered ‘80s blues revival. Savoy Brown - Hellbound Train Savoy Brown - Raw Sienna

The John Dummer Band -

The John Dummer Band had given up the ghost after three albums and split only for their single Nine By Nine to suddenly start to do well. As a result they got back together for this bluesy jazz-tinged set that closes with the awesome nine minute Me And The Lady. Actually billed as The John Dummer Band Featuring Nick Pickett, it is indeed Pickett’s distinctive vocal, guitar, violin and organ that dominate proceedings here as they shift from blues rock jams to more frenetic, almost modal workouts.