Review: John Mayall
The Academy, Dublin
Blues legend John Mayall. Photo: Getty Images
Thursday July 23 2009
THIS might be the blues, but 75-year-old John Mayall and his merry band look like they're having the time of their lives.
Mayall's passion for music is infectious. He famously founded the Bluesbreakers, which saw Eric Clapton and Mick Fleetwood and a host of other distinguished players pass through its ranks.
Performing on vocals, a keyboard and harmonica, he looks like a guy with the blues flowing through his veins with an ever so slight Rolf Harris resemblance.
Standards such as Sonny Boy Williamson's 'Checking On My Baby' are delivered with aplomb. Whenever Mayall plays the harmonica, it's far preferable to the keyboard segments and lends the set a more muscular, rootsier feel.
The beauty of Mayall and his band's playing is that this is not a strictly blues-only zone. Elements of New Orleans funk and boogie and old-fashioned rock 'n' roll creep into the set. This is perfectly illustrated by the New Orleans classic 'Congo Square', referring to an open space in Louis Armstrong Park.
John introduces 'A Dream About The Blues' by recalling a real dream where he met all the Delta bluesmen. We're cast back to the Mississippi in 1924 with some ferocious harmonica blasts, a killer guitar break and a great narrative about the great old bluesmen from his 1999 album 'Blues Power'.
But it's his 1969 breakthrough hit 'Room to Move' that really shines. A growling epic, Mayall breaks off into a strange scat segment, as if using his own mouth as the harmonica. A fierce bass solo follows and then a chunky feel-good rock-out. At times it borders on cliche, but always manages to maintain a sense of class and craftsmanship.
- EAMON SWEENEY
