Rock the Blues Tonight (Live)

For John Mayall fans, especially those of his '70s period (good Lord, the man has had more bands than anyone except for Duke Ellington and Count Basie), this live CD from 1971 is a curious, and perhaps a treasured thing. Recorded in Canada between 1970 and 1971, these shows — all in fine sound quality — reveal the sheer magic of the Bluesbreakers when bassist Larry Taylor, guitarist Harvey Mandel, and drummer Paul Lagos were almost consistently in the band, and others such as violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris, drummer Keef Hartley, trumpeter Blue Mitchell, guitarist Freddy Robinson, and even Victor Gaskin were either members or guests, briefly. It was a fully fluid time of transition for Mayall, but the blues he was putting down were some of the rawest, most immediate and funky of his career. Mayall has led great bands since that time, and this is one of those arguments for checking the man's later work as well. This particular version of the Bluesbreakers never got their due at the time, though they were one of the hottest acts around musically. There is no use singling out particular tunes because everything on this two-CD set simply rocks. Get it.