Name: As It All Began: The Best of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers 1964-1969
Brand: Polydor / Pgd
SKU: 213598
Availability: OutOfStock

As It All Began

Rating

Album: As It All Began: The Best of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers 1964-1969
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Crawling Up A Hill Version 1	More Info...	2:15
2)	Mr. James	More Info...	2:49
3)	Heartache Live	More Info...	3:14
4)	Crocodile Walk	More Info...	2:16
5)	Blues City Shake Down	More Info...	2:20
6)	Lonely Years Mono Album Version	More Info...	3:18
7)	Bernard Jenkins Mono Album Version	More Info...	3:48
8)	All Your Love Stereo Album Version	More Info...	3:34
9)	Parchman Farm	More Info...	2:21
10)	Looking Back	More Info...	2:35
11)	A Hard Road	More Info...	3:09
12)	Eagle Eye	More Info...	2:53
13)	Double Trouble	More Info...	3:21
14)	Broken Wings	More Info...	4:14
15)	The Death Of J.B. Lenoir	More Info...	4:19
16)	Me And My Woman	More Info...	4:00
17)	Suspicions Part One	More Info...	2:47
18)	Picture On The Wall	More Info...	3:02
19)	Miss James	More Info...	2:32
20)	Start Walkin' Live	More Info...	8:22

Album: As It All Began: The Best of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers 1964-1969
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Crawling Up A Hill Version 1	More Info...	2:15
2)	Mr. James	More Info...	2:49
3)	Heartache Live	More Info...	3:14
4)	Crocodile Walk	More Info...	2:16
5)	Blues City Shake Down	More Info...	2:20
6)	Lonely Years Mono Album Version	More Info...	3:18
7)	Bernard Jenkins Mono Album Version	More Info...	3:48
8)	All Your Love Stereo Album Version	More Info...	3:34
9)	Parchman Farm	More Info...	2:21
10)	Looking Back	More Info...	2:35
11)	A Hard Road	More Info...	3:09
12)	Eagle Eye	More Info...	2:53
13)	Double Trouble	More Info...	3:21
14)	Broken Wings	More Info...	4:14
15)	The Death Of J.B. Lenoir	More Info...	4:19
16)	Me And My Woman	More Info...	4:00
17)	Suspicions Part One	More Info...	2:47
18)	Picture On The Wall	More Info...	3:02
19)	Miss James	More Info...	2:32
20)	Start Walkin' Live	More Info...	8:22

Tracks

1. Crawling Up A Hill

2. Mr James

3. Heartache

4. Crocodile Walk

5. Blues City Shakedown

6. Lonely Years

7. Bernard Jenkins

8. All Your Love

9. Parchman Farm

10. Looking Back

11. A Hard Road

12. Eagle Eye

13. Double Trouble

14. Broken Wings

15. The Death Of J.B. Lenoir

16. Me And My Woman

17. Suspicions (Part One)

18. Picture On The Wall

19. Miss James

20. Start Walkin'

Performer Notes

Producers: Mike Vernon, John Mayall.
Compilation producer: John Mayall.
Includes liner notes by John Mayall.
All tracks have been digitally remastered by Jon Astley.
Personnel: John Mayall (vocals, guitar, slide guitar, harmonica, piano, organ); Roger Dean, Eric Clapton, Bernie Watson, Mick Taylor (guitar); Paul Butterfield (harmonica); Dick Heckstall-Smith (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Chris Mercer, Nick Newell (tenor saxophone); John Almond, Rip Kant (baritone saxophone); Henry Lowther (trumpet); Tony Reeves, John McVie (bass guitar); Colin Allen, Martin Hart, Jon Hiseman, Keef Hartley, Mick Fleetwood, Aynsley Dunbar, Hughie Flint (drums).
Audio Remasterer: Jon Astley.
Liner Note Author: John Mayall.
Recording information: 04/20/1964-08/28/1968.
Photographer: David Wedgbury.
John Mayall is justly credited with fostering the talents of some of rock's best musicians. Between 1964 and 1968, the personnel of Mayall's Bluesbreakers included young luminaries Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, and Paul Butterfield, not to mention Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and Peter Green (later of Fleetwood Mac). But the Bluesbreakers were also a mean blues-rock outfit in their own right and one of the pioneers of Britain's blues-influenced rock revolution.
Some of Mayall's output is uneven, which makes AS IT ALL BEGAN, a 20-track best-of compilation from his peak years, an excellent place to see what his band is really about. Sequenced chronologically, the set begins with Mayall's early R&B-influenced material (defined by a high-energy attack, deep groove, and Mayall's contributions on harmonica, organ, and vocals). But the music really takes off with the addition of Clapton (circa 1966) and an emphasis on traditional electric blues in the Chicago style (with searing, virtuoso work from Clapton). The raw-blues mode continues until the late '60s, with Green and Taylor filling Clapton's shoes admirably. As a history lesson in British blues-rock and a sampler of one of the era's most influential bands, AS IT ALL BEGAN is undeniably strong.