IT’S THE RARE ARTIST THAT HAS TWO “BRAND NEW” RELEASES THAT ARE ALMOST 50 YEARS APART. FOUR SCORE +1 YEAR BLUES LEGEND JOHN MAYALL CONTINUES TO DRINK FROM THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH WITH ONE OF HIS LONGEST LASTING QUARTETS IN ROCKY ATHAS/G, GREG RZAB/B AND JAY DAVENPORT/DR. THE LATEST RELEASE, FIND A WAY TO CARE, HAS MAYALL SOUNDING AS FRESHLY INDIGO’D AS EVER, MIXING MUSIC LIKE A BRIDE WITH MATERIAL THAT IS OLD, NEW, BORROWED AND BLUE.
THE DIFFICULT THING WITH MAYALL IS THAT HE HAS TO CONTINUALLY COMPETE WITH HIS PAST. HIS EARLY RECORDINGS WITH ERIC CLAPTON, PETER GREEN AND MICK TAYLOR AS LEAD GUITARISTS ARE THE SUBJECT OF LEGEND, AND A BRAND NEW ‘UNDISCOVERED’ RECORDING OF THE 1967 MAYALL BAND WITH GREEN AT THE AX HAS JUST RESURFACED. WHAT IT LACKS IN AUDIO FIDELITY IT MORE THAN MAKES UP FOR IN ELECTRICITY.
WE RECENTLY CONTACTED MAYALL TO LET HIM PUT THE TWO ALBUMS IN PERSPECTIVE
YOU WERE MOVING AROUND LIKE A 20 YEAR OLD AT THE CANYON CLUB SHOW BACK IN AUGUST? HOW DO YOU KEEP IN SUCH GOOD HEALTH AND SHAPE?
Luckily, I’ve been very healthy all of my life, but playing the music is very invigorating to me. I haven’t noticed any signs of aging yet that interferes with my life.
DO YOU DO ANYTHING TO PERSERVE YOUR VOICE, BECAUSE UNLIKE OTHER SINGERS, YOU STILL SOUND GREAT.
No, I try not to give it too much of a work out, but it’s just that nothing’s changed too much over the years.
YOUR NEW ALBUM, FIND A WAY TO CARE, IS BEING ISSUED ON VINYL. IS THERE A REASON YOU’RE GOING BACK TO THE OLD SCHOOL OF PUTTING OUT MUSIC? DO YOU PREFER AN ALBUM ON CD, VINYL OR DOWNLOAD?
Vinyl has really been coming back the last few years, and every time we release an album people have been asking for it this way. We used to have to say no, but because there’s a big market again for people, we tried it. It’s a bit more expensive to produce it this way, but it does satisfy a lot of customers. They are growing in numbers.
I have no preference. I’ve played cds all these years and I can’t really tell the difference. People tell me that there’s a big difference between vinyl and cds, but I’ve never personally noticed it to any degree.
YOUR ALBUMS ALWAYS INCLUDE AT LEAST ONE OBSCURE BLUES NUMBER. HOW DO YOU FIND THEM?
I’ve got a really big record collection, I suppose, and I just pick a song that I think that I can identify with. I don’t think that I have an access to these records than most other people, but I just find songs that I can relate to.
SPEAKING OF SOMETHING TO RELATE TO, YOUR ALBUMS ALSO INCLUDE SONGS WITH A MESSAGE. THE NEW ALBUM HAD A POLITICAL STATEMENT. WHAT WAS THE IMPETUS FOR THAT ONE?
When I make an album and write tunes for it, it’s not that I sit down and think “What on earth can I write about?” It just naturally comes out and is about something going on in the world right now, with the subject matter being on the song. I’ll find the subject and write about it. I’m not a real political activist or anything like that, I’m just an observer of what’s going on around us.
YOU WERE PRESCIENT BACK A FEW DECADES WITH THE SONG “THE LAWS MUST CHANGE.”
Yes, that one, and also “Nature’s Disappearing” (Editor’s note-from 1970) which is something I picked up where things were being discussed in their early stages. Through the years these have become big subjects. These songs had an interesting thought around them and caused people to pay attention.
THIS BAND OF YOURS HAS BEEN TOGETHER LONGER THAN MOST ANY OTHER. WHAT KEEPS YOU AS A UNIT?
It’s a magic combination, really. It’s one of those rare things to be together all these years. They’re all top notch musicians. They’re not only great players, but we all get along so happily together on the road, so it’s a pleasure to play and create music with them . They are all first class musicians, but sometimes it’s difficult to find people that are compatible with you and we’re great friends. It shows up in the music.
ROCKY IS AS GOOD AS ANYONE YOU’VE HAD. I’M AMAZED HE DOESN’T HAVE A BIGGER NAME FOR HIMSELF.
I don’t know. It’s hard to tell what the public will go for. He’s a very interesting player with his own style. He does what he does, and that’s all right with me!
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE A “BRAND NEW” RECORD OUT FROM 1967?
That one came out a number of months ago. It’s doing very well. There was enough material from that same period with the same lineup with Peter Green which can have a second cd come out early 2016, I hope.
WERE YOU SURPRISED SOMEONE RECORDED THAT BAND IN CONCERT?
It was something that I had heard about vaguely, but there was so much else going on really that I didn’t pay much attention to it. When I found out that those tapes were available, I was able to do a deal with the guy that made them. It just came together very nicely.
They were all recording in different clubs in London. The guy that made them was from Holland. He seems to remember that I knew about them. All I know is that years and years later he sent me little snippets, a few bars of each song to show me the recording quality.
WHEN YOU FIRST HEARD IT ALL TOGETHER, WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION?
I felt it captured the magic of that lineup at that particular time. The music is very exciting.
HOW DID YOU FIRST MEET UP WITH PETER GREEN?
After Eric (Clapton) left, there was a succession of people trying out on a nightly basis. Some of them actually stayed for a couple of weeks or so. At that time we were doing 7-8 gigs a week. Peter was one of those people in the audience who would keep coming up afterwards and say “What are you using him for? I’m much better than he is.” He was very pushy. So, I finally gave him a chance and he was magnificent.
DID THE BAND LIKE HIM RIGHT AWAY, OR DID THEY HAVE TO GET USED TO HIM?
I don’t think it’s a matter of getting used to someone if it’s the right choice that I make. They were just happy from the word “go.”
HOW DID YOU COME ACROSS PAUL BUTTERFIELD, AS HE CAME ALONG ABOUT THE SAME TIME.
He was in the UK with his band and he was available. His producer Mike Vernon had the idea to put him together with us for a session, and so that’s how it came about. We also did an ep that was considered very rare for many decades, but with cds coming out it’s available easily on one of my cds as a bonus track.
WHAT IS SURPRISING MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT YOUR EARLY RECORDINGS IN COMPARISON WITH YOUR RECENT ONES IS THAT THE QUALITY OF YOUR MUSIC HAS STAYED CONSISTENT. THAT’S NOT AN EASY TASK FOR 50 YEARS.
Well, you have to keep up a standard, at least I do. I don’t want to put out any rubbish, so that’s the way it is.
IS IT SURPRISING HAVE TWO RECORDS 50 YEARS APART COMPETE WITH EACH OTHER?
It’s very interesting. I’m glad that they’re both out there. They are both very worthwhile recordings to listen to.
WHY DID YOU GET THE OBE AWARD?
It didn’t have anything to do with any concert I gave. I have no idea how it came about. I think it was just someone behind closed doors had a connection with a record company. It was a big surprise to me. It’s a mysterious fact of life, and I’m still quite glad that I’m able to go on the road and make great records for my audience. I’ve been able to outlast most people, and that’s most amusing.
WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT WHEN GREEN LEFT FLEETWOOD MAC HOW POPULAR THEY EVENTUALLY BECAME? THAT BAND WAS ESSENTIALLY YOUR 67 BAND WITHOUT FEMALE SINGERS!
Well, their success didn’t happen overnight. They struggled along just like the rest of us. It was only many years later that they had the combination that came up with the hit records. So, you know, people forget that they were around for years and years and years playing the same kind of stuff that we were. They were on the same circuit we were on.
AND YOU’RE STILL ON THE TOURING CIRCUIT!
We still do a hundred or so. This year it is 80-90. Last year it was `30.
STILL GOING STRONG WHEN MOST PEOPLE HIS AGE ARE SITTING AND ROCKIN’, MAYALL SHOWS THAT ON THE STRENGTH OF HIS ALBUMS THAT SPAN 9 PRESIDENTS AND COUNTLESS TRENDS, PLAYING THE BLUES ALWAYS HAS, AS THE ALBUM POINTS OUT, ROOM TO MOVE.