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SACD

John Mayall & Friends – Along For The Ride (2001) [Audio Fidelity SACD 2003] [SACD / Audio Fidelity – AFZ 016]

adminMarch 28, 2026 10 Views

Title: John Mayall & Friends – Along For The Ride (2001) [Audio Fidelity SACD 2003]
Genre: Rock
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

By the time this was released in 2001, John Mayall was more known for the people who played in his seminal British band, the Bluesbreakers rather than his own accomplishments. The success of 1999’s Padlock on the Blues afforded Mayall the opportunity to fulfill his dreams and gather an all-star lineup of blues and rock luminaries. “A World of Hurt” and “That’s Why I Love You So” both typify the good but not great groove that permeates Along for the Ride. Better tracks “Yo Yo Man” and “Early in the Morning” are easygoing blues that feature the great rhythm section of John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Fellow Fleetwood Mac and Bluesbreaker alum, the reclusive Peter Green plays acoustic slide guitar on “Yo-Yo Man.” “So Many Roads” has Mayall dueting with Otis Rush, and it soon becomes a contest on who sounds more disgruntled. The playful “Testify” features vocals and subtle guitar lines from blues phenom Shannon Curfman. This ends on the strong note. The powerful and wry “She Don’t Play By the Rules” has Mayall with arguably the strongest and most subtle band with Mick Taylor on lead guitar and Andy Fairweather Low on acoustic guitar. Along for the Ride is produced, engineered, and mixed by David Z. Despite the camaraderie, a lot of the hooks here don’t stick, and fans of Mayall and superstar sessions will get the most from this effort.

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SACD

John Mayall & Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton (1966) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2011] [SACD / Universal – UIGY-9043]

adminMarch 28, 2026 9 Views

Title: John Mayall & Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton (1966) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2011 # UIGY-9043]
Genre:
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Features the 2010 DSD mastering based on UK original analog tape. Reissue features the high-fidelity SHM-SACD format (fully compatible with standard SACD player, but it does not play on standard CD players). DSD Transferred by Kevin Vanbergen. Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton was Eric Clapton’s first fully realized album as a blues guitarist — more than that, it was a seminal blues album of the 1960s, perhaps the best British blues album ever cut, and the best LP ever recorded by John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Standing midway between Clapton’s stint with the Yardbirds and the formation of Cream, this album featured the new guitar hero on a series of stripped-down blues standards, Mayall pieces, and one Mayall/Clapton composition, all of which had him stretching out in the idiom for the first time in the studio. This album was the culmination of a very successful year of playing with John Mayall, a fully realized blues creation, featuring sounds very close to the group’s stage performances, and with no compromises. Credit has to go to producer Mike Vernon for the purity and simplicity of the record; most British producers of that era wouldn’t have been able to get it recorded this way, much less released. One can hear the very direct influence of Buddy Guy and a handful of other American bluesmen in the playing. And lest anyone forget the rest of the quartet: future pop/rock superstar John McVie and drummer Hughie Flint provide a rock-hard rhythm section, and Mayall’s organ playing, vocalizing, and second guitar are all of a piece with Clapton’s work. His guitar naturally dominates most of this record, and he can also be heard taking his first lead vocal, but McVie and Flint are just as intense and give the tracks an extra level of steel-strung tension and power, none of which have diminished across several decades.

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2 min read