A Hard Road by John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers (Album, Blues Rock): Reviews, Ratings, Credits, Song list - Rate Your Music
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A Hard Road
By John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers
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ArtistJohn Mayall and The Bluesbreakers
TypeAlbum
Released17 February 1967
Recorded11 October 1966 - 11 November 1966
RYM Rating 3.67 / 5.00.5 from 1,241 ratings
Ranked#83 for 1967, #6,791 overall
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pastoral, energetic, lonely, rhythmic, passionate, male vocalist
Language English

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John Mayall / John Mayall's Bluesbreakers

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21 Issues

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21 Issues

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Credits

Credits

34 Reviews

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Today’s CD (actually mostly written yesterday) is “A Hard Road” by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. Released in February 1967, “A Hard Road” was John Mayall’s third album and second studio album. The first studio album – known as “The Beano” album – was released in July the year before and featured Eric Clapton on lead guitar. But by the time that album had been released, Clapton had left The Bluesbreakers. And drummer Hughie Flint was to leave to join Alexis Korner.

But the line up on “A Hard Road” is as good if not better than on “Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton”. John Mayall, of course remained with bass player John McVie. They were joined by Aynsley Dunbar on drums and most importantly, Peter Green on guitar. Green was initially given a hard time by Bluesbreakers fans but he was probably as good if not better than Clapton and this is proved on “A Hard Road”.

The original album has 14 songs and runs for just over thirty seven minutes. It does not make any compromises to pop trends of the time. This is a blues album. It was recorded at The Decca Studios in West Hampstead – which sadly is no longer there. (The Railway Pub is – and that was where the club Klook’s Kleek used to be. Many Decca artists recorded live albums there.) Eight of the songs were written by Mayall, two by Green and four blues covers including Freddie King’s “The Stumble” & Elmore James’ “Dust My Blues” (not to be confused with “Dust MY Broom” – although it is fairly similar.)

Playing the album today – because Peter Green passed away today – I am reminded that John Mayall was the piano and organ player with the band besides playing rhythm guitar and harmonica and that gave The Bluesbreakers a sound that was different from the other blues bands (and there were lots of them!) who were about at the time. There is also John Almond (some years later – a full time Bluesbreaker) and Alan Skidmore on saxophones and Ray Warleigh on wind instruments. And John Mayall was telling porkies in the sleeve notes when he assured the faithful that he would not be taking a horn section with him on live dates. The only reason he didn’t was cost.

“A Hard Road” starts with the title track – a slow moody blues – with Mayall playing piano. Peter comes in and you just know he was special. A surprising choice to open the album, but it works. “It’s Over” is a lively blues, with harmonica – remarkably cheerful song about the break-up of a relationship. “You Don’t Love Me” was written by Willie Cobb and is sung by Peter. It is a sign post to the first Fleetwood Mac album which was released a year after “A Hard Road”. “The Stumble” follows. Now everyone and his dog have played “The Stumble” but, of course, Peter plays it wonderfully. “Another Kind Of Love” – has brass – very effective - and Mayall playing organ. A terrific solo from Peter Green and an early indication of how the blues would lead to hard rock & heavy metal. “Hit The Highway” is a boogie woogie tune – piano based and sung by Mayall and I assume, Green. “Leaping Christine” is harmonica led and appears later on the CD – I will explain why later. It is almost jive and has a good organ solo from Mayall. A great tune and the brass join in near the end.

“Dust My Blues” sounds exactly as you would imagine – but Mayall, Green, McVie & Dunbar really play it well. And I don’t think that either Myall or Green are playing slide guitar. Jeremy Spencer would do that in Fleetwood Mac. “There’s Always Work” is a short piece with chants in the background and Mayall double tracked playing harmonica – (Left & Right stereo channels, in case you are wondering.) This leads to “The Same Way” written and sung by Peter Green – and it is again a sign post to “Fleetwood Mac”. He would write better songs but it is a good effort. The next track – an instrumental written and played by Peter Green, is the best thing on the album. “The Super-Natural” is extraordinary – if anyone wants to know why Peter Green is so highly thought of as a guitarist, play them this. “Top Of The Hill” is another Mayall original - as he says in the original sleeve notes, he did not get chance to play piano live – and on “A Hard Road” he makes up for it. Another great guitar solo. “Someday After A While (You’ll Be Sorry)” - which I am fairly sure was written by Freddie King with someone called Thompson. Anyway a good brass arrangement and great playing all-round. Some people don’t like Mayall’s voice – it may not be a traditional blues voice – but he could/can invest his songs with a lot emotion. “A Hard Way” finishes “Living Alone” which is not a conventional blues tune while still being a blues.

And..there’s more! A Lot more! The CD I have has another 14 tracks. First up is the single – “Looking Back” with its B-Side – “So Many Roads”. “Looking Back” was later the title track of a John Myall compilation album. It was written by Johnny “Guitar” Watson”. It is terrific and should have been a hit. Both it and its B-Side have brass arrangements and on “So Many Roads” Peter Green plays wonderfully. It was written by Paul Williams and Paul Marshall. Next up are a couple of J.B. Lenoir songs - “Mama, Talk To Your Daughter” and “Alabama Blues”. Lenoir was and probably still is one of Mayall’s heroes. These songs were originally released on another compilation album “Thru’ The Years.” Good stuff and “Alabama Blues” is sadly still true today.

The next for songs are from the EP recorded in November 1966 and is ludicrously rare – it was rare when it was released. The EP is “John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers with Paul Butterfield”. Apparently Elektra Records restricted its release to the UK only. – The songs are “All My Life”, “Ridin’ On The L & N” (which so many people have done), “Eagle Eye” and “Little By Little”. The EP is absolutely terrific – a meeting of likeminded musicians. The next two songs are another single – “Sitting In The Rain” and “Out Of Reach”. The later was written and sung by Peter Green. I don’t think “Sitting In The Rain” bothered the change compilers, but “Out Of Reach” is classic Peter Green. Absolutely wonderful.

The CD finishes with four songs that were recorded on January 23rd, 1967 for the BBC’s Light Programme show – Saturday Club. Gish I remember Saturday Club! The songs are – “No More Tears”, “Ridin’ On The L & N”, “Sitting In The Rain” & “Leaping Christine.” ”No More Tears” is just Mayall – I don’t if he is playing a five or nine string guitar but it is very good. But all these songs are great. A CD where the extra tracks are pretty essential.

Anyway, Peter Green is very much missed - and “ A Hard Road” is where he came in.

In 2001, I wrote this –

“This is a fine album with one track that is amongst the absolute best ever - if you know the album then you will be aware of Peter Green's "The Super-Natural" - a guitar instrumental which is Green's calling card. The rest of the album is very good and nice extra tracks - a couple of A & B sides, a "Saturday Club" session and all of the "John's Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Paul Butterfield". BUT these are in mono and sound great. The 14 tracks of the original album are stereo and to these ears inferior. It is not surprising that Sundazed records have recently issued "A Hard Road" in mono - sadly, I can't afford everything!”

I may try to get hold of the mono version!
Published
984 222-5 CD (2006)
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I got very lucky recently, and scored several dozen mint original issue cassettes of almost all the Bluesbreakers Decca and Polydor output.. almost. Missing is, sadly, this one (sigh)... mind you, I've also got the first fleetwood mac cassettes so.. it makes up.. but I still prefer this over most of the early FM albums.. this is one FINE album.
The "trilogy" of the Clapton , Green, and Taylor albums (of which this is the middle one) are ones I simply *can't* seem to get tired of..
Published
As John Mayall's only early album that can stand toe-to-toe with Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton, A Hard Road is an essential for blues rock and British blues fans alike. Left up to me, A Hard Road not only trumps its predecessor, it does so convincingly and is one of John Mayall's best works. With Eric Clapton out, Mayall brings guitarist Peter Green into the mix, a woefully under-appreciated guitarist (at least in the States).

Green's sound on A Hard Road at times mirrors Clapton's, but more often, he adds his own touch to the Bluesbreakers. This is most clearly seen on the albums finest track, “The Supernatural,” and instrumental making heavy use of sustained guitar notes and thundering vibrato. Certainly not a blistering solo by any means, the thing to look for is the incredible tone Green is able to achieve and the fluidity in his playing. The blues on this album is incredible with the majority of the tracks written by Mayall or Green. The unique drum rhythm on “Another Kinda Love” wonderfully accents Mayall's singing and their full-throttle rendition of Elmore James' “Dust My Broom” is fantastic as well. Must of the blues rock included on A Hard Road is much in the spirit of the finest blues rock found on Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton, but just as good, if not better.

I will admit that I have a high affinity for John Mayall's voice and his song writing abilities and both are in finest form throughout A Hard Road. Green also does a great job with the lead vocals on “You Don't Love Me.” Only the instrumental “There's Always Work” is of the average variety, the rest of the album shines as a pillar of British blues. This comes highly recommended – If you enjoyed Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton, you will enjoy this.

High Points: “The Supernatural,” “Dust My Broom,” “Another Kinda Love,” and “A Hard Road”
Published
An exceptionally classy blues record - the instrumentals elevate it to amazing heights - particularly "The Supernatural". Could have done with more Green vocals though, no offence to the amazing Mr Mayall.
Published
Mayall spares no praise to his new guitar player Peter Green, who he puts on the same pedestal as Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Clapton as the 5tet of up-and-coming guitarists who really mattered; and fairly so as Green proudly distances himself from the Clapton sound and style he had apparently tried to emulate when he had joined the Bluesbreakers and they were still doing Clapton-era material; but after 4 months in the 4tet he had already honed a distinctive style, and without needing to be as openly flashy as his predecessor he’s not only an example of dexterity, feeling and imagination, at best demonstrated on instrumentals such as “The Stumble”, but also of an unusual ability to step back and tastefully contribute with what better serves the song, the album’s sound ending up being all but a Blues Breakers pastiche.

The leader’s esteem is also directed towards the other newcomer, a young Aynsley Dunbar who gelled surprisingly well with John McVie (it would be difficult to find a better Blues bass guitarist in this Country (sic)) and brought in a punch, precision and anti-cliché attitude that makes this a no-territory-is-forbidden rhythm session.

The Muse seems to have appreciated the existing vibe: the album only contains 4 covers (a pair of Freddie King’s, a Willie Cobbs and an Elmore James), 8 Mayall originals – which range from piano driven Boogie to hard harmonica driven ones, a collection of diversified Blues and even one just harmonica and moaning reverb drenched chants Spiritual (“There’s Always Work”) - and a couple of Green’s, who not only proved a competent singer on the Cobbs cover “You Don’t Love Me” and on his own “The Same Way” as he contributed with the otherworldly instrumental “The Supernatural” which introduces one of his most defining signature sounds and would become almost a synonym for the man.

Relatively to the previous “Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton” Mayall enlarges his instrumental prowess, and besides the customary piano, organ and harmonica uses a 5-string guitar on an amazing slide duet with Green on the infectious rendition of the Elmore James classic “Dust My Blues” or while building the harmonic piano and guitar support on the sensuous “Top of the Hill”, and an huge-sounding 9-stringged guitar that can be appreciated in the finger-snapping “Living Alone” or on the meandering and undulating “Another Kinda Love”, a theme where Green goes to sonic-heights ; moreover, promises that he won’t augment the band’s line-up seem to be premonitorily contradicted by the great effect the horns trio (John Almond, Alan Skidmore and Ray Warleigh) bring to some tracks as on the grandiose reading of King’s “Someday after a While”, while simultaneously proving that Mayall did knew how to keep his repertoire varied and enthralling.

Somehow dwarfed by its imposing predecessor, this is nevertheless a magnificent and as worthy example of the dynamism of Mayall’s school and another benchmark in the British Blues man career.
Published
PS 502 Vinyl LP (1967)
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I personally like this one more than the famous Blues Breakers record. Peter Green is a remarkable replacement for Eric Clapton and plays some astonishing blues phrases all over the record. But on "The Supernatural" he is not out of this world.

Other key tracks are the title track "A Hard Road", just at the start of the record, and "Dust My Blues", one of the best uptempo blues pieces you might ever hear on a John Mayall record.

What gives this record an additionally depth I really appreciate are the few tracks containing an additional horn section.

Top tracks:
A Hard Road
Dust My Blues
The Supernatural
Published
Absolutely the best british blues album ever made...just listen to the supernatural.
Published
984 222-5 CD (2006)
My attention span is pretty short when it comes to these British blues records. I don't mind the genre at all, I don't care that much about its "authenticity" (or lack thereof), it's just that I know beforehand how every song will go. 12 bar blues, some pentatonic scales, lots of string bending, etc... Thankfully John Mayall understands the high risk of staleness that comes with the territory and if the songwriting stays firmly rooted in the blues, at least he keeps the tunes short and sweet and the arrangement and production display a wide range of ideas.

To give an example of what I mean, the standout for me is the minor blues "Another Kinda Love" - tremendous amounts of echo on everything, cool Stax soul horns and organ playing, and a drummer throwing in some rim-shots. Following this is the piano-and-guitar-only "Hit the Highway", very sonically dry by contrast. Following that, the horns return for the fast, swinging "Leaping Christine". Elsewhere, the band shows how effective they can be at Latin-Rock ("The Supernatural" is the blueprint for Carlos Santana, not surprisingly Peter Green later wrote Santana's hit "Black Magic Woman"). Best of all is the use of slide on a couple of tunes. "Dust My Blues" has some intertwining electric and slide guitar lines going for it and "Living Alone" features an incredibly *hard* slide sound from Peter Green. I'm not sure how he pulls it off, but it sounds like there's so much sliding that he's almost out of tune with the rest of the band.

So yes, A Hard Road is blues through and through, but there's plenty of variety to be found here within the genre, happily keeping my attention throughout.
Published
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Catalog

Ratings: 1,241
Cataloged: 1,110
Track rating sets:Track ratings: 65
Rating distribution
Rating trend
Page 1 2 .. 8 .. 16 .. 24 .. 33 .. 41 .. 49 .. 58 .. 66 .. 74 .. 83 >>
18 May 2024
14 May 2024
Basementlord Digital2.50 stars B- Palatable
10 May 2024
mf2hd  3.00 stars Good, but flawed ☔🎢
5 May 2024
HermitCook  3.00 stars Good
4 May 2024
Soulmann2001  3.50 stars 7 (Bueno/Good)
30 Apr 2024
scholtenbradley Digital3.50 stars
  • 3.00 stars A1 A Hard Road
  • 3.00 stars A2 It's Over
  • 4.00 stars A3 You Don't Love Me
  • 4.00 stars A4 The Stumble
  • 2.00 stars A5 Another Kinda Love
  • 3.00 stars A6 Hit the Highway
  • 3.00 stars A7 Leaping Christine
  • 4.00 stars B1 Dust My Blues
  • 2.00 stars B2 There's Always Work
  • 4.00 stars B3 The Same Way
  • 4.00 stars B4 The Supernatural
  • 3.00 stars B5 Top of the Hill
  • 4.00 stars B6 Someday After a While (You'll Be Sorry)
  • 3.00 stars B7 Living Alone
26 Apr 2024
21 Apr 2024
Ririss  4.00 stars
6 Apr 2024
4 Apr 2024
ghodius  2.50 stars Okay
4 Apr 2024
29 Mar 2024
WK_RYM  4.50 stars
27 Mar 2024
Herbie  4.00 stars
25 Mar 2024
timofeyverzun  3.50 stars good
19 Mar 2024
Milkyhighway  3.00 stars respectable. might even enjoy bits
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John Mayall / John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
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Track listing

Credits

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Contributions

Contributors to this release: jonathan, dgr45, Internaut, Krautroach, lombow, PTycz, THRAK, [deleted], [deleted], jccrabman, smzig99, PC_Music, snellius, fixbutte
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