Vinyl of the Week - 17 May 2020

Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton, John Mayall

This week we take a look at a very significant record in rock history. It was 1966 and a young up and coming guitar god joined John Mayall’s Blues Breakers. Eric Clapton had left The Yardbirds and Mayall had asked him to join the band. You can tell Clapton was a very sought after guitarist by the fact that he is actually named in the album’s title. Clapton only stayed for this one album then went on to form Cream. The record was nicknamed the ‘Beano’ album due to a very disinterested Clapton casually reading the popular English comic in the cover shot. In his autobiography, Clapton said he didn’t feel like being cooperative during the shoot. The result is a cult classic. For all the guitar geeks (of which I am unashamedly one) the Gibson Les Paul ‘59 burst that Clapton used is the cause of much conjecture in the guitar collecting community. It was stolen in late 1966 and has never been recovered. In mint condition a ‘59 burst is worth up to $600k, so if this guitar was to resurface it has been estimated it would fetch well over a million dollars. John Mayall and his Blues Breakers was an ever-changing lineup and has arguably helped the careers of many great musicians including Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor and many more. Mayall continued to produce albums and tour with various iterations of his band right up until 2008 when he retired the Blues Breakers and then continued performing live with different guest lineups. The Beano album was supposed to be a live recording, however the quality wasn’t good enough so instead it was recorded at Decca Studios. The music is mainly the bands take on classic blues standards and a couple of original songs penned by Mayall and Clapton. The track ‘Ramblin’ On My Mind’ was the first time Clapton did lead vocals. This record is now a timeless classic and showcases the brilliance of Clapton’s guitar skills. An essential album for music lovers and guitar geeks alike - DS