Few musicians have been in the business as long as John Mayall. In the 1960s, his ever-changing band The Bluesbreakers functioned as a sort of graduation class for many British blues rockers. Guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor learned the tricks of the trade with him, before playing with Cream, Fleetwood Mac and Rolling Stones respectively. On the album Stories (2002) the
… Bluesbreakers consist of guitarist Buddy Whittington, drummer Joe Yuele, keyboardist Tom Canning, percussionist Lenny Castro and bassist Hank Van Sickle. Mayall herself has now reached a respectable age. However, what applies to good wine often also applies to blues musicians: the older the better. Since Stories contains over forty years of experience, odes to blues legends like Little Walter (Southside Story) and Leadbelly (Oh, Leadbelly) pair perfectly with cover versions of modern classics like I Thought I Heard The Devil (Walter Trout) and Dirty Water (Buddy & Julie Miller). Stories drives like a well-maintained old-timer on the roads of music. (AD)more
