SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JOHN MAYALL – ROAD SHOW BLUES (REISSUE)

John Mayall
Road Show Blues (Reissue)
Cleopatra Records

This album has been reissued a goodly number of times since it saw the light of day in 1980, something of a fallow period for the Godfather Of British Blues following a decade when his music was far more experimental than during the classic Bluesbreakers era, and too early for him to have assumed elder statesmanship. Despite its popularity with record companies, it is not one of his best, however you want to look at it. It’s more keeping his name out there.

There are fine blues performances, of course. It’s good to hear him tackle J.B. Lenoir’s energetic “Mama Talk To Your Daughter” (John eulogized J.B. back in 1967), and Jimmy Reed was another Brit-blues staple, acknowledged with an onstage cover of “Baby What You Want Me To Do”, but Mayall’s own compositions are maddeningly inconsistent. Opener “Why Worry” rolls in  New Orleans fashion; in sharp contrast, “Road Show” is over-busy. “Big Man” is a soul-tinged piece, with a lengthy guitar break by James Quill Smith and as elsewhere here, plenty of John’s own harmonica playing, “John Lee Boogie” is self-explanatory if a little pop-py, and “Mexico City” (the other live track of the record) is certainly atypical, a rock- and Latin-styled number with some rather self-indulgent noodling for a minute or two.

Available in luxurious red marble vinyl in a gate-fold sleeve, or on CD, some may see this set as adequate enough. Really though, it will mainly appeal only to John’s existing fans.

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