Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Sun Is Shining Down , from one of the fathers of modern blues, John Mayall and it's quite good. Opening with Hungry and Ready , Mayall on harmonica and lead vocals, Melvin Taylor on lead guitar, Greg Rzab on bass, Jay Davenport on drums and Carolyn Wonderland on rhythm and with Ron Dziubla on sax, Mark Pender on trumpet, Richard Rosenberg on trombone providing a power horn sound. Dynamic opener. Markus King really hits hard on Can't Take No More with slashing guitar riffs over the tight rhythm by Davenport. With it's driving bass line by Rzab, Chills and Thrills , Mayall plays a nicely phrase piano solo and adds B3 warmth and Mike Campbell lays down a strong guitar lead. Very nice. Slower blues, A Quitter Never Wins showcases Mayall on lead vocal nicely, floating on his own key backing and intuitive harmonica punctuation. One of my favorites on the release is Driving Wheel again featuring Melvin Taylor o...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (February 22, 2019), Nobody Told Me , from John Mayall and it's quite good. Opening with Magic Sam's, What Have I Done Wrong , a solid  blues rocker, Mayall on lead vocal, keys and harp is joined by Greg Rzab on bass and Jay Davenport on drums and features Joe Bonamassa on guitars. Great opener. Larry McCray joins on The Moon Is Full with blistering guitar riffs over a really hard driving bass line by Rzab. Excellent! Rush veteran, Alex Lifeson joins on Evil And Here To Stay , a lumbering blues track with a healthy dose of Mayall on vocal, harp and piano. Lifeson shows an excellent adaptability from his hard driving rock sound to soulful blues riffs. Very nice. Little Milton's That's What Love Will Make You Do has a funky bass line by Rzab and tune master Todd Rundgren fires off some blistering blues guitar riffs of his own. Gary Moore's, The Hurt Inside , is one of my favorites on the release again...

Blues Hall of Fame Member John Mayall Announces New Album,  Nobody Told Me Featuring Todd Rundgren, Little Steven Van Zandt, Alex Lifeson and Joe Bonamassa. On February 22nd Forty Below Records will release  Nobody Told Me , the new studio album from The Godfather of British Blues, John Mayall. As with his last handful of albums, Mayall again shares production duties with Forty Below Founder Eric Corne who also handles engineering and mixing duties. The album boasts an impressive and diverse list of guest guitarist...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Three For The Road , a new live album from John Mayall and it's quite cool. Opening with shuffle track, Big Town Playboy , Mayall is back full and strong on vocal, keys and harmonica with Greg Rzab on bass and Jay Davenport on drums. Classic, I Feel So Bad , is up-tempo and Mayall's piano playing gives it a jazzy feel. On piano boogie, The Sum Of Something , Rzab really nails the bass line and Mayall's piano rolls are super. A terrific display of what Mayall is all about. On Latin flavored, Streamline , Davenpot sets the stage on drums, accented by Rzab and Mayall's organ work balances nicely with his vocals. Extended organ soloing by Mayall really makes this track shine. Very nice. Bringing the tempo way down, Tears Came Rolling Down , on a great Sonny Boy Williamson bar is my favorite track on the release. Mayall's definitive vocals and poised piano phrasing coupled with Rzab and Davenport give thi...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Talk About That , from John Mayall and it's diverse with a wealth of blues. Opening with title track, Talk About That , John Mayall steps up with a funky blues track, bucked by Rocky Athas on guitar, Greg Rzab on bass and Jay Davenport on drums. Mayall's vocals are solid with super funky organ and cool bass riffs. Blues rocker, It's Hard Going Up has a nice guitar vamp and cool horn work from Ron Dziubla on sax, Mark Pender on trumpet and Nick Lane on trombone. Funky blues number, The Devil Must Be Laughing has a sweet guitar intro and soloing by Joe Walsh and with it's dark overtones, is one of my favorite tracks on the release. New Orleans flavored, Gimme Some Of That Gumbo , highlights the drum work of Davenport and Mayall's piano playing is super of course with terrific horn work. Athas breaks loose with hot riffs of his own on this one adding flame to an already smoking track. Chicago style bl...

Forty Below Records Set to Release John Mayall’s Talk About That Album on Vinyl February 17 Vinyl Package to Include Free Download Card LOS ANGELES, CA – Forty Below Records announces a February 17 release date for the vinyl edition of iconic musician and Blues Hall of Fame member John Mayall’s latest album, Talk About That . Originally released on CD January 27, the vinyl version will also include a free download card. Joining Mayall (vocals, keyboards, harmonica and guitar) and Greg Rzab (bass), Jay Davenport (drums) and Rocky Athas (guitar) as special guest is legendary guitarist Joe Walsh, who plays on two tracks, “The Devil Must Be Laughing” and “Cards on the Table,” both John Mayall compositions. John Mayall will begin a lengthy European tour in early February. His most-recent American dates included several days onboard the “Legends Cruise,” and featured an exciting special guest appearance from another legend – Todd Rundgren – who jammed on...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Man of the World: The Peter Green Story and it's riveting. Many blues fan have been listening to the original Fleetwood Mac and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Peter Green for a long time and most have seen video clips of their performances but this release is seriously great! Rather than paste together more clips with music that may or may not be released, this film takes a totally new direction playing Peter Green's music in full fidelity between and behind excellent candid interviews with John Mayall, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Peter's brothers and many others. This film is focused and fresh, showing the band as it was ... up close and really personal questions regarding Green, his talent, his problems and how the band Fleetwood Mac got it's name. It's tormented yet sensitive. It's done in an organized fashion so that it's easy to follow but not oversimpli...

Blues Hall of Fame Member John Mayall Set to Release New CD, Talk about That , on January 27, 2017, from Forty Below Records Latest Album Features Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Member Joe Walsh as Special Guest  on Two Tracks LOS ANGELES, CA – Iconic musician and Blues Hall of Fame member John Mayall will release his latest CD, Talk about That , on January 27 from Forty Below Records. Joining Mayall (vocals, keyboards, harmonica and guitar) and Greg Rzab (bass), Jay Davenport (drums) and Rocky Athas (guitar) as special guest is legendary guitarist Joe Walsh, who plays on two tracks, “The Devil Must Be Laughing” and “Cards on the Table,” both John Mayall compositions. The songs showcase Walsh’s amazing guitar work and are destined to be two of the many highlights on this new disc. Talk about That will be available for pre-orders at both Amazon.com and iTunes starting December 9. Watch a special preview video of the making of Talk about That : Prod...

THE BLUES FOUNDATION 2016 BLUES HALL OF FAME INDUCTION AND  37TH BLUES MUSIC AWARDS SET FOR MAY 4 AND 5   Best in blues recording, songwriting, and performance to be celebrated at the Memphis' Cook Convention Center.   All six living Hall of Fame inductees will be in attendance MEMPHIS, Tenn. — On Thursday , May 5, 2016 , the Blues Foundation will present its annual Blues Music Awards at the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, Tennessee...