Empty Rooms

When I was about fifteen years old, my dad suggested that we go see a musician at La Zona Rosa, someone named John Mayall. I'd never heard of him, but dad said he used to play with Eric Clapton, who I had heard of (and who was resurgently popular in the early 90s, when this story is set).

In preparation for the show, we drove to Waterloo Records and bought the 1962 "Beano album" on cassette. (The album is titled "John Mayall and Eric Clapton Blues Breakers" but it's known among fans as "the Beano album" because the cover features a photo of the band, in which Clapton is reading a Beano comic book.)

This remains my favorite album, thirty years after I first heard it in the passenger seat of Dad's Ford Taurus.

It is famous mostly because young Clapton revealed himself here as a generational talent, playing with all the soulfulness of Albert King and Freddie King (who Clapton was emulating), but with a barely-controlled chaos that was all his own. This was one of the first recordings of a cranked Marshall amplifier, which was indeed designed specifically to fit in the boot of Clapton's car at the time. This was before Clapton became "Slowhand" and before the influence of J.J. Cale--Clapton played fiercely and fastly and used feedback musically. This was the album that lead to Graffiti around London proclaiming "Clapton is God."

Mayall is remembered mainly as an impresario. He was an older professional musician who helped Clapton cut his teeth, and then also hired a succession of other future stars, including Mick Taylor and Peter Green.

And yes, it's Clapton who made Beano a masterpiece. But having listened to the album now many thousands of times, I've developed a deep appreciation of John Mayall's contributions on vocals, keyboard, harmonica and rhythm guitar. He sings at the upper limit of his register, and often just beyond his limit, with a cracking voice that compliments Clapton's distorting amplifier. It's worth noting that one of my favorite tracks on the entire album is "Parchman Farm" (on which Clapton doesn't even perform), featuring Mayall's virtuosic harmonica blowing. John Mayall is also great on piano in "Double Crossing Time," where the keys are constantly in dialog the guitar and the saxophone. Go listen to it! Probably his best vocal performance is on "Have You Heard?"

I got to see John Mayall twice. He died July 22, at age 90.