Blues Breakers [Remastered] - John Mayall

Advantages: Some great guitar work from Peter Green, introduced to a new genre of music
Disadvantages: The odd weak track, some over generic sounds.

...Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are a pioneering English blues band, led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall, OBE? Sounds interesting, I think I have heard of that guy before, but then some of the other band members struck me, namely, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie ? three of the founding members of Fleetwood Mac, and then Eric Clapton. So far so good, while blues isn?t a genre of music I am majorly fond of, I tend to like the older music, and with those members having been in the band, they have immediately gained some credence. To date, the band have released over 50 albums (so I really did have quite a few to choose from) and the members have evolved ridiculously, with Wikipedia listing about 25 ex-band members. So who is this John Mayall guy? Born in 1933 and still going? not too bad... Read review

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Advantages: Great night for British Blues fans....
Disadvantages: An expectation of vintage guitar work, somewhat lacking in conviction

...Mac. The band received an ovation rightly so, but for those expecting vintage Green, the disappiontment was evident. The second half of this concert was devoted to classic John Mayall with his new american back-up band, the Bluesbreakers. A confident and explosive start from guitarist Buddy Whittington was the platform through which Mayall amazed the audience with his powerful vocals. This was vintage Mayall and there is no doubt as the tempo of the set began to increase that most fans were to be given a treat. Proficient work by Mayall on vocals, guitar and keyboards throughout embossed the night as one to remember. This act alone could have commanded the attendance of the audience, and no one left feeling that Mayall did not fully justify his title as 'King of British Blues" Perhaps like myself, devotess may have expected Peter... Read review

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Advantages: Classic electro album, remastering adds a real boost
Disadvantages: None

...Metamatic was the first solo outing from John Foxx after he split with Ultravox! Ultravox! went on to rather greater fame with the replacement lead singer, some Midge Ure guy but for Ultravox! fans, John Foxx was the real deal. Metamatic deals with many themes and obsessions such as car crashes, Europe, relationships and too much J G Ballard and Philip K Dick which were bouncing around Foxx's head at the time as well as having elements of a story he was working on (and still is!). The lyrics are often full of grey cold imagery but all laced with an almost minimalist electro sound that was years ahead of it's time. It has to be said, he does also write some plain out and out baffling lyrics too - perhaps he uses the old Bowie 'cut up words' technique sometimes? Unlike the previous CD release which was fine but sounded like it was... Read review

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