John Mayall – Looking At Tomorrow
John Mayall – Prisons On The Road
John Mayall – Travelling
I realized recently that I hadn’t posted this album, which is fairly inexplicable since it’s one of my favorites to listen to, especially in the Fall and Winter. Back To The Roots is an interesting album for a variety of reasons. First, it is a reunion album that features many of the various sidemen that Mayall had been associated, stretching almost all the way back to the original Bluesbreakers in 1963 up to the latest incarnation at the time of this recording in 1971, which featured Larry Taylor “The Mole” and Sugarcane Harris. Mayall had a knack for finding exceptional guitarists and most of them (except for Peter Green) return for a song or two on this double lp set, including Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Harvey Mandel.
Another reason to seek this one out is the truly fantastic packaging. In addition to the gatefold, there’s a long booklet that should accompany the album that tells the story of the music, lyrics for the songs, biographies for all of the players and a “family tree” of all the players associated with Mayall over the years. The love and care put into this collection is a very rare thing indeed, but it was a testament to Mayall’s influence that he was allowed to produce an album and package like this.
In terms of the music (the main reason to pick this up), the playing, recorded in Los Angeles and London, is exceptional and wildly eclectic. Mayall’s songwriting at this point was also quite strong, regardless of the subject matter which varies just as much as the sounds, from the deeply personal to the more political and enviornmental. For years (I’m thinking I first came across this record while I was at Album 88 hosting their blues show Crossroads in the mid 1990s) “Travelling” was the first song that came into my head as I was leaving for an airport or once we’d safely made it in the air. The flute and the breezy accompaniment always puts me into a sublimely serene mood. “Prisons On The Road” is a quintessential Los Angeles song, written from the perspective of an outsider who simply can’t abide the traffic and the reliance on automobiles in such a beautiful space. “Looking At Tomorrow” might be one of my favorite tracks from Mayall’s entire career, just a gorgeous arrangement, gorgeous soaring solos from Clapton and lovely sentiments from Mayall.
Cheers,
Michael