SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JOHN MAYALL & THE BLUESBREAKERS – LIVE IN 1967 – VOLUME THREE

JOHN MAYALL & THE BLUESBREAKERS
LIVE IN 1967 – VOLUME THREE
FORTY BELOW RECORDS

While John Mayall may not get the recognition that he deserves towards popularising American blues in 1960s and ‘70s London, everyone he worked with has seemingly gone on to make waves within the genre and the evolution of rock. His latest collection of live material, Live In 1967 – Volume Three features a backing band consisting of none other than Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie, just months before they would depart The Bluesbreakers to form Fleetwood Mac.

Live In 1967 – Volume Three opens with “Brand New Start”, up-tempo blues that shine bright for a stunning performance from Green. The way his guitar fills the spaces between Mayall’s vocal melodies is seamless, without feeling overbearing. With Green and Mayall both taking solos in the song, this incarnation of The Bluesbreakers stands apart from Eric Clapton’s previous tenure, as well as that to come from Mick Taylor. Unfortunately, it is made apparent that the sound quality of the recording is quite poor which makes for a significantly less engaging listening experience.

Over the course of the remaining seven tracks, The Bluesbreakers soar through a masterclass of classic blues performance. Form the rich balladry of “Tears In My Eyes” to the shuffling “Your Funeral And My Trial” and the intensity of the closing “Double Trouble”, it is clear that this lineup of the Bluesbreakers was a thrilling live band. This, however, is greatly hindered by the worsening sound quality of the recording, something which only gets much worse after the opening two songs. Given the way it sounds, Live In 1967 – Volume Three feels less like a celebration of this era for the band, but rather something that only blues archivists and the most absolute diehard fans would find appealing. Even then, it is questionable how much replay value can be found on this album.

Live In 1967 – Volume Three is a display of traditional blues rock of its time. While the album suffers greatly from its poor sound quality, one cannot deny the skillful performance and chemistry between Mayall and his band, particularly that with Green. Due to the quality of the recording, it is questionable if this release was entirely necessary, however there remains something exciting to hearing a proto-Fleetwood Mac in such a bluesy context long before they became titans of popular music.

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