Great Guitar, Poor Singing!I expect that anyone who's even viewing this product is well aware of what this is, and is probably looking to replace their original vinyl that's been stuck up in the loft since they were forced to put it in storage when the kids cam along in the 70's?!
However, for those few that dont fit into that category, this is Clappers' first real outting as a guitar god and it serves up a great dose of Les-Paul-Through-Marshall-Amp blues. Clapton is at his finest, and many would say that he never bettered the playing on here.
John Mayall's singing however, is pretty poor (only thing keeping ot from a 5)! But who cares, its not really about JM is it?!
Classic & essential BluesJust like the title says - if you are into the blues, you have to have this album.
Not a Bad track in Sight, Absolutely BrilliantI think this is the best offering from the blues scene that was prominent in England during the mid - sixties. Unlike morons such as the supposed 'Music Lover' who reviewed this on 9th April, I believe that there is no such thing as 'black' or 'white' music and such a notion is laughable. Do we say that a black violinist is stealing white music if he plays mozart? No because this would be utterly ridiculous. What's important is the musicians' skill and this album is Eric Clapton making his way into the hall of guitar legends. At times understated and melodic such as on 'Ramblin' On My Mind' but at other moments incendary such as on 'Have You Heard'.
It would also be difficult to describe this as only a blues album as it contains a number of other musical palettes: there is something of a country feel to a number of the songs; jazz elements also play a role, especially in the drumming; and the musical quotation of Day Tripper clearly marks this out as a product of the BRITISH minds that it came from.
If you want to just listen to the same chicago blues albums ad nuaseum, like 'Music Lover', don't buy this. If, however, you're not so bigotted as to think that only black people can make excellent blues music, give this a try because it is absolutely superb.
P.s. 'Music Lover' should check out Electric Mud which is Muddy Waters playing psychedelic arrangements of a number of songs (or 'white man' music as he might have it)
EmbarrassingWhy do you love this so much? They're British, not to mention white, yet they're singing like they're black Americans - it's embarrassing. And Clapped-Out's onanistic guitar heroing is all technique, zero soul.
If you like your music to be a poor imitation of something good then buy this, if you prefer the real deal then listen to Muddy Waters, BB King, or 1000s of others who are being themselves. These guys are pretending to be something they're not, and I feel ashamed for them, and even more ashamed for those of you who are so unimaginative and small-minded as to prefer a vastly inferior imitation to the infinitely superior real deal. Shame on you.
Best of the best from the Golden Age of R&BIt's albums like "Blues Breakers" for which the words "classic" and "timeless" were invented. Originally released by Decca Records in 1966, "The Beano" as it's sometimes known (look at the cover photo) firmly established the then 21-year-old Eric Clapton's reputation as the greatest and most innovative blues guitarist to emerge from the golden age of British R&B, a reputation he has sustained for more than 40 years.
If you are a fan of R&B, blues or rock and have never heard this album, then prepare to have your mind blown. With Clapton at the heart of this incarnation of the Blues Breakers was the great John Mayall, usually referred to as "The Father of British Blues". With John McVie on bass (who moved on to become the "Mac" of Fleetwood Mac) and Hughie Flint on drums, you have the perfect tight, energy-filled R&B line-up from the mid-sixties.
(There is a guest appearance by Dennis Healey on trumpet - not THAT Dennis Healey, surely? Anyone know for sure?)
Even after the passage of decades, these numbers sound crisp and fresh and will have you dancing round the room. I have the original vinyl album from 1966, and the CD is better. The sound is crisper and deeper, and there are two bonus tracks - "Lonely Hearts" and "Bernard Jenkins."
Clapton's guitar solo in the middle of "Key to Love" remains for me the quintessential example of the perfect 60-second solo: tight, disciplined, fast, virtuoso, clean, imaginative, pushing the main theme and, jazz-style, bringing it back to the root with perfect timing.
The music of The Blues Breakers has been endlessly imitated, covered, extended, and used as a benchmark by thousands of bands world wide for the past 44 years.
But it's never, ever been equalled.
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