Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton
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| Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton | ||
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| Studio album by Bluesbreakers | ||
| Released | July 1966 | |
| Genre | Blues rock | |
| Length | 37:06 | |
| Label | Deram | |
| Producer(s) | Mike Vernon | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bluesbreakers chronology | ||
| John Mayall Plays John Mayall (1965) |
Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton (1966) |
A Hard Road (1967) |
| Eric Clapton chronology | ||
| Having a Rave Up with The Yardbirds (1965) |
Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton (1966) |
Fresh Cream by Cream (1966) |
Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton is a 1966 Electric Blues album by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton as lead guitarist. It is often referred to as The Beano album because the photograph on the album cover shows Clapton reading The Beano, a well-known British children's comic.
Apart from being one of the most overall influential albums in blues-rock history, it was likely the first time anyone had heard a Gibson Les Paul guitar through an overdriven Marshall amplifier; this unique sound would become particularly influential. The re-introduction of the Les Paul by Gibson was largely fueled by the blues boom that so often featured it. Clapton's incendiary playing inspired graffiti saying "Clapton is God" on the streets of London around the time of the album's release.
The Bluesbreakers included John Mayall on harmonica and a majority of the vocals, John McVie on bass, Hughie Flint on drums, and John Almond, Alan Skidmore and Dennis Healey as the horn section.
Much of the album was composed of blues standards by long-established blues artists such as Otis Rush, Freddie King and Robert Johnson, as well as a few originals penned by Mayall or Mayall and Clapton. The majority of the songs serve as showcases for the young Clapton's playing, apart from "Another Man" and "Ramblin' On My Mind." "Ramblin' On My Mind" was Clapton's very first recorded vocal performance. Although Clapton left the Bluesbreakers only a year after this album was made, it was still a huge step forward for his playing as far as improvisation and guitar tone, and it formed the bridge between his time with the Yardbirds and his later co-founding of the power trio Cream with fellow British blues-rock players Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 195 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
All songs by John Mayall except as noted
- "All Your Love" (Willie Dixon/Otis Rush) – 3:36
- "Hideaway" (Freddie King/Sonny Thompson) – 3:17
- "Little Girl" – 2:37
- "Another Man" – 1:45
- "Double Crossing Time" (Clapton/Mayall) – 3:04
- "What'd I Say" – (Ray Charles) – 4:29
- "Key To Love" – 2:09
- "Parchman Farm" (Mose Allison) – 2:24
- "Have You Heard" – 5:56
- "Ramblin' On My Mind" (Robert Johnson/Traditional) – 3:10
- "Steppin' Out" (James Bracken) – 2:30
- "It Ain't Right" (Little Walter) – 2:42
[edit] Reissues
2001: A remastered reissue includes two bonus tracks from a single
13 "Lonely Years" – 3:21
14 "Bernard Jenkins" (Clapton) – 3:48
2002: A remastered reissue includes all tracks in both mono and stereo:
1-12 as above in mono
13-24 as 1-12 above in stereo
2006: Deluxe 40th anniversary edition with 43 tracks:
1-24 as above
25 Crawling Up a Hill
26 Crocodile Walk
27 Bye Bye Bird
28 I'm Your Witchdoctor
29 Telephone Blues
30 Bernard Jenkins
31 Lonely Years
32 Cheatin' Woman
33 Nowhere to Turn
34 I'm Your Witchdoctor [Stereo Mix]
35 On Top of the World
36 Key to Love
37 On Top of the World
38 They Call It Stormy Monday
39 Intro into Maudie 2:07
40 It Hurts to Be in Love 3:14
41 Have You Ever Loved a Woman 6:25
42 Bye Bye Bird 3:36
43 Hoochie Cochie Man 3:39
25-6,30-1 appeared as singles;38-43 appeared on Primal Solos (with Jack Bruce on bass);38 is on Looking Back; the remaining are BBC sessions
[edit] Influences
--The guitar riff which begins at 3:32 in "What'D I Say" is borrowed from the Beatles' "Day Tripper," written the year before (1965)
[edit] Personnel
- John Mayall - Lead Vocals, Hammond, Guitar, Harmonica
- Eric Clapton - Lead/Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar
- John McVie - Bass Guitar
- Hughie Flint - Drums
- Gus Dudgeon - sound engineer
- Mike Vernon - producer
