JOHN MAYALL RETURNS WITH NEW ALBUM Talk About That

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvq45t6fIuM

– tn-3 tn-10

Michael Hepworth

JOHN MAYALL RETURNS WITH NEW ALBUM “Talk About That”

JOE WALSH GUESTS ON TWO TRACKS

http://www.fortybelowrecords.com/news/john_mayall_talk_about_that_released_worldwide_today/

HOLLYWOOD(Perfect Music Today)1/30/17/–Veteran blues man John Mayall has just issued his latest release on a small label called Forty Below Records and recorded the album in just a few days at the House of Blues Studio in Encino. There are 11 tracks on the album that include eight originals written by Mayall, and three covers of work by Bettye Crutcher, Jimmy Rogers and Jerry Lynn Williams. Some of the tracks are augmented by a punchy three man horn section giving the music an extra dimension.

This writer has seen Mayall perform many times over the years, the most recent being a homecoming performance at the Whiskey in Hollywood in 2015. He has dabbled in jazz and swing as well as hard blues in his many incarnations, and this album sees him continue in that rich vein of music. Mayall is more an adequate than a great vocalist and musician, but he sure puts on a good show and of course the musicians he picks are the best.

That list includes Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Walter Trout, Mick Fleetwood and John Mcvie. Now you can add Joe Walsh to that hallowed crowd, even though he has not joined up and quit the Eagles quite yet. He appears on a couple of tracks here, and Walsh fans will need to check his work out, especially his soulful and bluesy solos on “The Devil Must Be Laughing.” The fact that it only took one take to record the song is quite staggering, and by all accounts he showed up at the studio around Noon, plugged in his guitar and was out of there in a couple of hours. Walsh has always wanted to play with Mayall and was quoted as saying “when you meet a hero who helped shape your career-it’s a wonderful feeling to find they’re even cooler than you always thought they were.”

Mayall’s regular guitarist is no slouch either, and the work by Rocky Athas on “Gimme Some of That Gumbo” is particularly good. However in a shocking and surprising development, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers are now performing as a trio since September 2016 following the departure of Athas. Apparently Athas missed some shows due to severe weather conditions, so the band had to perform as a trio and Mayall liked what he heard. It makes for a good story true or not, and the seven year veteran of the band Athas is now performing as a solo artist.

Mayall, who is now in his late eighties, continues to gig regularly, and is currently on a grueling European tour. The man who used to have the biggest pornography collection in the world before his house burnt down is still going strong.

www.johnmayall.com

http://www.fortybelowrecords.com

Michael Hepworth

287 S.Robertson Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211