Eric Clapton – Blues Breakers

Any audiophiles aware if the OG is any big improvement over the mono re-issue in 67-68? Price difference is huge…

As bright and fresh as the day it was recorded. The definitive UK white electric blues album fuelled of course by Clapton's blistering guitar – the first in a long line of young guitarists John Mayall unearthed.
If you don’t own this album, shame on you – a timeless classic.

The 2nd Japanese press of this album (¥2000 obi) is listed as stereo but is actually MONO! It's not fake stereo - the organ in 'Hideaway' is barely audible like in the mono mix. It's a pretty good substitute for the mono UK, and not as expensive - my VG+/VG+ copy with obi and insert was only around £40. The more you know...

As a member of the Crawdaddy and Marquee clubs in 1966, (I still have my hip cards to prove it!) and living in Richmond, I followed Eric from the Roosters into the Yardbirds and out to John Mayall and I used to see them every time they came to play the Crawdaddy, so bought this album the day it came out and thus I know that this mono record is a very accurate representation of their actual live sound.
My copy still sounds great, but I find it's best to listen to it on period speakers - mine are big Wharfedale's using their 1960's Unit 5 kit of the time, (12" woofers) - as modern designs from Tannoy, (Reveal studio monitors in both original ive & 5A active versions), Acoustic Energy, Q-Audio and others all lose the mid range and drop Eric's guitar way down in the mix.

More than a little confused here. Just bought a new copy of this but don't know which release it is.

The sticker on the cover says "Back To Black" and Universal. When checking out the Back to Black website, it directs me to thesoundofvinyl.com where I can track down the release, only to find that it's listed as a 2008 Poydor release.

So here's my confusion. There are three Universal releases listed on Discogs and they are all CDs so it's clearly not one of them. I cannot find a single Polydor release from 2008, let alone any other year, on the list of 204 versions of this title.

Will I be able to figure this out without cracking the seal?

Just okay, but historically quite important

The musicianship is solid. The album must be heard in Mono, because it was mixed for Mono and it's what they approved in the control room originally. The Mono mix has Clapton's guitars more dominant. Mayall's keyboards are a bit low, but his harp playing comes out excellent.

The songs itself are good and have a good electric twist to them.

In the mid 60s, people were just starting to discover, that Rock N' Roll originated from Blues and that Blues was a pure American folk art created by descendants of slaves and "legal slaves" from the 1920s and 30s.

The Newport Folk Festival was a major event in 1964 and featured a lot of old blues artists from the past. This ushered in a wave of bands doing blues records on the BBC (Top Of The Pops) and on albums, but most of them did the same 10 or 12 songs.

This band, however chose slightly different material, but also does common songs, like, "What'd I Say", and "Parchment Farm". The album was different enough to stand out, showcase some rare covers and be relevant and influential for sometime.

How does it age? Well, 8 of these 12 songs are cover versions and that makes this album age badly. At the time, it was very important, because all the college kids that were into blues and rock didn't know it's origins, but now, not so much. One can skip this and simply go to the source and hear the original versions, because this album is written and produced quite generically for it's time.

If they had an amazing Soul singer like Eric Burdon and a guy like Alan Price on keyboards, it'd be totally a different story!

you have got to be kidding me. Clapton is on every song and you can tell it is him. Nobody had that sound. If it wasn't Clapton then you smarty pants tell me who it is. You are so wrong.

Indeed, the 1960’s were certainly some strange years. Of course The Beatles where ‘the’ group to listen to, from there it was but a single short step to The Rolling Stones, where AM Radio for the most part played a hybrid mixture of tunes designed for the masses, to be consumed without thinking. But there was an essence that lingered from much of the music of the 1950’s, and was certainly explored by Bob Dylan ... that being, ‘The Blues.’

Of course I traveled with my Stones albums and listening to Dylan with the ion I did raised many eyebrows among my friends. So when I showed up at school with this Blues Breakers album, I felt that I had stepped across some sort of imaginary line that indicated unacceptable behavior. The album cover was not attractive in the least, but for me it was compelling, revealing a gritty side of life that didn’t just call to me, it shouted my name out loud. I loved this cover, a true snapshot, nothing posed [though I was to find out later that it really was extremely posed], nothing manipulated, just the guys sitting at a train stop, waiting to relentlessly move on. I got it [!] ... for once it wasn’t about the clothes, or the cool hair cuts, it was about the music. This cover was not lost to the thinking of other musicians either, it became a subliminal message for saying, “It’s not , it’s about the music.” This cover has been copied in many variations, with probably the most famous being by Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

But it was what was inside that really got to me, this was like the music that came in on my small transistor radio during the wee hours on damp rainy nights; from places like Galveston, Baton Rouge and Memphis. I loved it, even if I couldn’t dance to it, because it settled in a fresh new spot, and I was addicted to the feeling. Oh yeah, I put the colourful scarves over the lamps in my room, creating atmosphere ... my head, neck, and shoulders developed their own relationship, and I tapped my foot in a very sexual manner. There were many changes taking place, and I was listening to the right thing at the right time.

Even the most superficial spin of this disc lets you hear what all the fuss was about. It gets under my skin that John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers have so unfairly been relegated to a lesser place in musical history, when all it takes is a listen to a song like “Parchman Farm,” to show you all that Cream would ever be. All of the music found here is innovative, and fluid ... just float with “What’d I Say,” hear how wonderfully they slow it down, and those choice notes from The Beatles “Day Tripper,” never fail to put a smile on my face. It is easy to see why John Mayall has remained such a propionate figure to so many, he not only uses instruments in ways that compliment each other, but the man has chosen cover songs that compliment his original works seamlessly. This is probably the first non jazz album I had ever heard that allowed its to stretch out with precision, traveling without wondering aimlessly.

This music is as bright and fresh as the day it was recorded ... it’s timeless and will endure through the ages. It doesn’t matter what genre you dig most, this is essential listening, and has effected every musician out there in one way or another, whether they know it or not. If you don’t own this album, shame on you ... if you’ve been meaning to score yourself a copy, then by all means get out there today and do so.

*** The Fun Facts: The album is also known as 'The Beano Album' because of its cover photograph showing Clapton reading The Beano, a British children's comic. Clapton stated in his autobiography that he was reading The Beano on the cover because he felt like being "uncooperative" during the photo shoot. The photographer was Derek Wedgbury and the location was near the Old Kent Road.

Despite being listed on the album jacket, Eric Clapton was responsible for but one single song on the release, and even that "Double Crossing Time," was co-penned by Mayall.

Originally, John Mayall intended for his second album to be also a live venture in order to capture the guitar solos performed by Eric Clapton. A set was recorded at the Flamingo Club, with Jack Bruce (with whom Clapton would subsequently work in Cream) on bass. Due to the shaky recordings of the concert and the lack luster quality of the performance, the adventure was cancelled.

Review by Jenell Kesler