This is my current album that I can't stop playing. I have never owned it before, although I was familiar with the it from around 1971 or 2. I bought it last week from Play.com.
John Mayall visited the USA on holiday and stayed in Los Angeles in 1968 after The Bluesbreakers split up following the Bare Wires album.
The album features the talents of the young Mick Taylor on lead guitar, Colin Allen on drums and Stephen Thompson on bass, with Mayall himself on guitar, harmonica, keyboards and vocals.
The album is one where all the tracks flow into one another, creating a feel that is almost like a concept album. John Mayall wrote each song about people he met and things that happened while he was staying in Laurel Canyon.
The album was recorded in London when he returned home. The entire thing was recorded in three days in August 1968.
Although the line-up was much smaller than the last version of The Bluesbreakers, the music is pretty complex and features interesting rhythms and tabla drums.
Like so much of Mayall's post Beano work, this album uses the blues as a start point and heads off for other places.
The original vinyl release was;
1. Vacation (2:47)
2. Walking On Sunset (2:50)
3. Laurel Canyon Home (4:33)
4. 2401 (3:42)
5. Ready To Ride (3:32)
6. Medicine Man (2:43)
7. Somebody's Acting Like A Child (3:27)
8. The Bear (4:40)
9. Miss James (2:30)
10. First Time Alone (4:49)
11. Long Gone Midnight (3:27)
12. Fly Tomorrow (8:59)
Inevitably, the CD release has two bonus tracks;
13. 2401 (3:56) [Single version]
14. Wish You Were Mine (8:36) [Live '68, previously on Primal Solos]
It's in the Dropbox
https://www.getdropbox.com/share/RR%20dropbox#/RR%20dropbox/Blues%20From%20Laurel%20Canyon/
8 comments:
Carole: You're in the same time zone as me, I've been listening to a fair bit of early 70's lately. Just replayed Ziggy Stardust, Forever Changes and Time has come.
Walking on Sunset became popular here.
Lovely album Carole. Last week in another post I mentioned how much influence my big brother's record collection had on my lifelong thing for the blues. This album was part of it and I remember looking at the cover for ages. Gorgeous artwork. Thanks for the reminder.
Glad people are enjoying the album.
I forgot to mention tha the track 2401 is about John Mayall meeting Frank Zappa and The Bear is about the late Bob Hite of Canned Heat.
Is this the official AOTW (not that it really matters)?
I'm going through my dads John Mayall at the moment converting them from vinyl.. this has just saved me an album... cheers!
I'd love it to be AOTW, shoey. I don't know who decides such things though.
I don't think there's a decider for these things Carole, you just add aotw to the title of your post and there you go.
I have an album I want to share with the class but not as an aotw necessarily. Maybe I should wait. And I think seine else reserved a space - abahachi, maybe?
Nah, he decided to go with vegetable of the week.
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