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A Hard Road (2003 Expanded Edition) - John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers


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A Hard Road (2003 Expanded Edition) (2003) - John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers


    Featuring »

Aynsley Dunbar, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, Peter Green, Keef Hartley, John Mayall, John Mayall, John McVie, Peter Green & John Mayall

    Tracklisting »

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Regular Album Tracklisting:
A Hard RoadLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966, Running Time: 3:12
It's OverLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966, Running Time: 2:51
You Don't Love MeLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966, Running Time: 2:50
The StumbleInstrumental
  Date Performance: 1966, Running Time: 2:54
Another Kinda LoveLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966, Running Time: 3:06
Hit The HighwayLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966, Running Time: 2:17
Leaping ChristineLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966, Running Time: 2:25
Dust My BluesLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966, Running Time: 2;50
There's Always Work
  Date Performance: 1966, Running Time: 1:38
The Same WayLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966, Running Time: 2:11
The Super-NaturalInstrumental
  Date Performance: 1966, Running Time: 2:57
  Comments: Sometimes incorrectly billed as "The Supernatural" or "Supernatural".
Top Of The HillLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966, Running Time: 2:40
Someday After Awhile (You'll Be Sorry)Lyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966-10-00, Running Time: 3:02
  Comments: Recorded in London.
Living AloneLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966, Running Time: 2:23

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2003 Expanded CD Edition Bonus Tracks - Disc One:
Evil Woman BluesLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966-10-00, Running Time: 4:05
  Comments: by Peter Green & John Mayall. Recorded during the "A Hard Road" sessions.
All My LifeLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966-11-26, Running Time: 4:23
  Comments: Sometimes incorrectly billed as "All Of My Life". Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
Ridin' On The L & NLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966-11-26, Running Time: 2:27
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
Little By LittleLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966-11-26, Running Time: 2:45
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
Eagle EyeLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966-11-26, Running Time: 2:52
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.

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2003 Expanded CD Edition - Disc Two:
Looking BackLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966-09-30, Running Time: 2:34
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
So Many RoadsLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966-09-30, Running Time: 4:46
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
Sitting In The RainLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966-10-11, Running Time: 2:56
  Comments: Recorded during the "A Hard Road" sessions.
Out Of ReachLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966-10-11, Running Time: 4:42
  Comments: Recorded during the "A Hard Road" sessions.
Mama, Talk To Your DaughterLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1966-10-19, Running Time: 2:37
  Comments: Recorded during the "A Hard Road" sessions.
Alabama BluesLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1967-10-19, Running Time: 2:32
  Comments: Often incorrectly billed on US vinyl pressings as "Alabama March" (which is a different song altogether). Recorded during the "A Hard Road" sessions.
CurlyInstrumental
  Date Performance: 1967-02-16, Running Time: 4:49
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
Rubber DuckInstrumental
  Date Performance: 1967-02-16, Running Time: 3:57
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
GreenyInstrumental
  Date Performance: 1967-02-16, Running Time: 3:54
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
Missing YouLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1967-02-16, Running Time: 1:57
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
Please Don't TellLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1967-03-08, Running Time: 2:26
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
Your Funeral And My TrialLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1967-03-08, Running Time: 3:54
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
Double TroubleLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1967-04-19, Running Time: 3:19
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
It Hurts Me TooLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1967-04-19, Running Time: 2:55
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
JennyLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1967-12-04, Running Time: 4:36
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
Picture On The WallLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1967-12-05, Running Time: 3:01
  Comments: Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
First Time AloneLyrics available
  Date Performance: 1968-08-00, Running Time: 5:00
  Comments: Recorded between August 26-28,1968 at Decca's West Hampstead Studios.
    Guest Appearances »

Colin Allen, John(ny) Almond, Paul Butterfield, Gus Dudgeon, Peter Green, Henry Lowther, Nick Newel, Al(l)an Skidmore, Stephen/Steve Thompson, Mike Vernon, Ray Warleigh

    Released »

2003-09-23

    Format »

Domestic Vinyl/CD Album

    Other Appearances »
Derek Varnals (Engineer), Dan Burley (Songwriter), Willie Cobbs (Songwriter), Aynsley Dunbar (Songwriter), Aynsley Dunbar (Songwriter), Peter Green (Songwriter), Peter Green (Songwriter), Peter Green (Songwriter), Lionel Hampton (Songwriter), Elmore James (Songwriter), Joe (Joseph) Josea (Bihari) (Songwriter), Freddie/Freddy King (Songwriter), J.B. Lenoir (Songwriter), Mel London (Songwriter), John Mayall (Songwriter), John Mayall (Songwriter), Marshall Paul (Songwriter), Tampa Red (Hudson Whittaker) (Songwriter), (Lonesome) Jimmy/Jimmie Lee Robinson (Songwriter), Otis Rush (Songwriter), Sonny (Alfonso) Thompson (Songwriter), Johnny (Guitar) Watson (Songwriter), Junior Wells (Amos Blackmore) (Songwriter), Sonny Boy (Aleck Ford Rice) Williamson (Willie) (Miller) (Songwriter), Vartan (Art Direction), Mike Fink (Design), Scott Schinder (Liner Notes), John Tracy (Liner Notes), John Mayall (Cover Painting By), John Mayall (Cover Painting By), John Mayall (Produced By), Mike Vernon (Produced By), Suha Gur (Mastered By), Gus Dudgeon (Recording Engineer), Monique McGuffin (Production Coordination), John Mayall (Sleeve Design By), John Mayall (Sleeve Design By), Bill Levenson (Compilation Produced By), Paschal Byrne (Analog To Digital Transfers By), Ryan Null (Photo Coordination), Kelly Martinez (Licensing By), Jenny Shapiro (Licensing By), John McVie (Original Sleeve/Back Cover Photography), John McVie (Original Sleeve/Back Cover Photography)

    Record Label »
Universal

    Running Time »

54:48/59:55

    Liner Notes »

Recorded at Decca's West Hampstead Studios on: October 11, 1966
October 12, 1966
October 19, 1966
October 24, 1966
November 11, 1966

Mastered at Universal Mastering Studios-East, Edison, New Jersey
Analog to digital transfers at The Audio Archiving Company, London
Sadie transfers done at Glenn Schick Mastering, Atlanta, Georgia
Special thanks to Vikki Silver

Original album liner notes:

The personnel of the Bluesbreakers having changed since our last LP, this album serves as a proper introduction to two new members of the group...Peter Green on lead guitar and Aynsley Dunbar on drums. I think that most people will realize what a tough time lay ahead in the way of comparison and criticism for any guitarist in this country faced with replacing the acknowledged master of blues guitar, Eric Clapton, in my band. However Peter Green took over the job and managed to brave out the storm. At first he sounded like a Clapton copyist, not unnaturally since he was having to play the current repertoire that Eric helped to make famous, and the transition to new material had to be gradual. Within weeks though he began to develop his own ideas, and the technique to express them, until now it is obvious that both Peter and Eric have separately improved beyond recognition but in totally different directions. Speaking of the modern young blues guitarists that I've heard ‘live’ I would certainly cram Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Eric Clapton and Peter Green on the same pedestal. In my opinion they all sound completely individual but they share the same emotional greatness. All I can say of Peter is that, having worked with him nearly every night since last July and witnessed his rapid progress as a blues player, he is the ideal guitarist for the overall band sound and a great person to work with.

Our new drummer, Aynsley Dunbar, is also a major musical talent and throughout the album he shows his strength and blues feel along-side bass guitarist John McVie in the rhythm section. Although John has been through good and bad times with us, I know from experience that a better blues bass guitarist would be difficult to find in this country. As a great rhythm section Aynsley and John should not be underestimated in their importance to every number on which they are heard.

A quick word about the use of horns which are heard on “Another Kinda Love”, "Someday After Awhile" and a couple more...I find them an advantage on some numbers but I would assure all our followers that I have no intention of augmenting the Bluesbreakers in the future, except for recording purposes.

These days I play guitar on many of the numbers in our repertoire and my 5 string can be heard on the great Elmore James classic “Dust My Blues” and again “Top of the Hill”. I play my old 9 string guitar on “The Same Way” and “Living Alone”. Harmonica crops up on “It's Over”, “Living Alone”, “Leaping Christine”, “You Don’t Love Me” and “There's Always Work”. The weird backing sound for the latter was achieved by greatly amplifying the faulty pedal click and hum emanating from the organ tone cabinet whilst Mike Vernon, Gus Dudgeon and I did the chanting and moaning sounds. As it is almost impossible to use a piano for club appearances. I always look forward to using one on our recordings. I overdubbed piano onto a few of these titles and featured it on “A Hard Road”, and “Hit The Highway”.

Peter is featured, as lead singer on “You Don’t Love Me” and on his own composition “The Same Way”. His guitar playing is well exposed on “The Stumble” and particularly on “The Super-natural” which he wrote specially for inclusion on this LP. I consider this one the most meaningful instrumentals I’ve heard and certainly stand as one of the high spots on the record.

The music contained here means far more to me than anything we’ve recorded before and I hope you will find your own special favorite tracks from the many contrasting types of blues represented here. Blues in it’s true form is a reflection of man’s life and has to stem from personal experiences good and bad, I accept that I’ve unwittingly hurt a lot of people who’ve known me, I’ve few friends left, and now the only thing to live for is the blues. “I’m trying to tell you people that the blues have hit me in my life. You know I was born for trouble and it’s a hard road ‘till I die”.

John Mayall

2003 Expanded (CD) Edition Liner Notes:

JOHN MAYALL AND THE BLUESBREAKERS A HARD ROAD

One of the most enduring albums of the 1960s British blues revival, A Hard Road marks the historic convergence of two of the movement’s most important figures, singer/multi-instrumentalist John Mayall and soon-to-be-legendary guitar hero Peter Green. Green’s year-long tenure in Mayall’s seminal combo the Bluesbreakers yielded a wealth of memorable music that ranks with the most accomplished and influential electric blues ever recorded.

By the time his third LP, A Hard Road, was released in February 1967, John Mayall had already established himself as one of the U.K. blues boom’s leading lights, combining a deep affinity for tradition with a restless experimental streak. While most of his peers were concentrating on covering material by American blues greats, Mayall’s repertoire was comprised largely of his own compositions, which merged a knowledgeable mastery of trad blues idioms with a more personal, contemporary sensibility. Mayall was also an exacting bandleader with a knack for discovering and nurturing instrumental talent; a remarkable number of future stars would pass through the Bluesbreakers’ ever-shifting lineup.

Mayall, who’d performed in semi-pro blues outfits around his hometown of Manchester since the mid-’50s, was already in his early 30s in 1963 when, at the suggestion of British blues godfather Alexis Korner, he moved to London. After relocating, his career quickly gained momentum.

Signing with Decca, he released his first album, the live John Mayall Plays John Mayall, in early 1965. The debut disc was followed by the landmark Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, which emerged as a surprise commercial smash in the U.K., and played a crucial role in establishing ex-Yardbird Clapton as a star.

When he first teamed with Mayall, Peter Green (nee Greenbaum) was a 19-year-old working-class Londoner whose limited resume included membership in Shotgun Express, alongside a young Rod Stewart, future Them/Camel keyboardist Peter Bardens and drummer Mick Fleetwood. After Clapton abruptly left the Bluesbreakers in mid-1965 to take an extended holiday in Greece, Green successfully lobbied Mayall for the job, but only got to play a handful of gigs before Clapton returned. Six months later, Clapton quit for good and Green was back in the lineup. He quickly proved himself up to the challenge of filling his predecessor’s formidable shoes, overcoming fans’ initial skepticism with his impassioned, economical playing, which conveyed a broad range of emotion with a minimum of gimmickry.

Producer Mike Vernon was reportedly apoplectic when Mayall and band-which also featured the dynamic rhythm section of bassist John McVie and drummer Aynsley Dunbar-first showed up at the studio without Clapton, but was quickly won over by Green’s instrumental skills. The new guitarist’s emphasis of tone and nuance over showy pyrotechnics was apparent on his recorded debut with the Bluesbreakers, on a non-LP single pairing distinctive covers of Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s upbeat R&B workout “Looking Back” and Otis Rush’s “So Many Roads”, both recorded on September 30, 1966 and released three weeks later. Even when slugging it out with an aggressive horn section, Green’s raw tone, fluid riffing and concise solos announce his arrival in fine style.

Green also makes his presence felt within the first few seconds of A Hard Road’s eponymous opening track, complementing Mayall’s pleading vocal with a tightly-coiled restraint that exemplifies the tension and subtlety that he consistently brought to his work with Mayall. Elsewhere, the chugging “It’s Over” boasts some sublime interplay between Green’s guitar and Mayall’s harmonica, while “Another Kinda Love” features an ominous groove that’s driven home by Green’s menacing riffage and Mayall’s burbling organ. Mayall’s double-tracked vocal and buoyant barrelhouse piano drives the spare “Hit the Highway”, while the boisterous boogie “Leaping Christine” bubbles with nervous energy and hyperactive harmonica. Meanwhile, the dual harmonicas and ethereal vocal chant of the minute-and-a-half “There’s Always Work” illustrate the penchant for adventure that’s always made Mayall more artist than archivist.

Green steps into the spotlight on a pair of his own compositions. He delivers a persuasive vocal and an explosive solo on the loping, stop-start “The Same Way”, followed by the exotic instrumental “The Super-natural”, whose brooding mood and proto-psychedelic effects presage the mystical vibe that would infuse Green’s subsequent work with Fleetwood Mac.

The album’s cover material is similarly impressive. A steamy take on Willie Cobbs’ “You Don’t Love Me” features a strong lead vocal by Green, while a raucous dual-guitar rendition of the Elmore James standard “Dust My Blues” offers a riveting vehicle for Green’s stinging tone and fleet-fingered picking. Ditto for a pair of Freddie King classics, i.e. the assertive instrumental “The Stumble” and the torchy “Someday After A While (You’ll Be Sorry)”. The latter finds Mayall in particularly compelling vocal form.

Along with the fourteen songs that comprised the original A Hard Road LP, this package incorporates 22 more tracks-many of them previously collected on the Mayall compilations Looking Back (1969) and Thru the Years (1971)-that further document the richness of Green’s tenure with the Bluesbreakers. These include outtakes from Hard Road sessions, e.g. the haunting Green showcases “Evil Woman” and “Out of Reach”, as well as Green’s solo interpretation of J.B. Lenoir’s “Alabama Blues”; several non-LP singles, notably a smoldering reading of Otis Rush’s “Double Trouble”; some Bluesbreakers numbers cut by Green, McVie and Dunbar without Mayall, including the jazzy “Greeny” and the proto-metal “Curly”; and four tunes cut with American singer/harpist Paul Butterfield for the one-off EP John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers with Paul Butterfield. (Although it isn’t represented here, in March 1967 Mayall, Green, McVie and Aynsley Dunbar also backed veteran Mississippi singer/pianist Eddie Boyd on Boyd’s Mike Vernon-produced LP Eddie Boyd & His Blues Band).

Also included here are a trio of songs recorded by Mayall and Green after Green’s departure from the Bluesbreakers. The languid ballad “Jenny” and the country-bluesy “Picture on the Wall” originally comprised a 1968 single that briefly reunited the pair. The eerie “First Time Alone”, from Mayall’s 1968 LP Blues from Laurel Canyon, finds Green guesting with a Bluesbreakers lineup that includes his replacement, future Rolling Stone Mick Taylor.

By mid-1967, Green had moved on to launch Fleetwood Mac, taking Bluesbreakers John McVie and Mick Fleetwood (who’d recently replaced Aynsley Dunbar) with him. Fleetwood Mac made its public debut in August 1967, a month before Mayall introduced a new Bluesbreakers band on his next LP Crusade. Green would lead Fleetwood Mac through several albums of forward-thinking psychedelic blues-rock through the end of the ‘60s, when a heartbreaking descent into mental illness would lead him to withdraw from the music industry; he would make an unexpected return to active duty in the mid-1990s, touring and recording extensively with the Peter Green Splinter Group. Mayall has continued to record and perform prolifically, remaining one of the world’s foremost-and most adventurous-exponents of contemporary blues.

Meanwhile, the music that John Mayall and Peter Green made together retains its original passion and resonance, standing as a timeless testament to the talents of these two one-of-a-kind musicians.

Scott Schinder
New York City, July 2003

    Reviews »
Add your review here.

4/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.0
Important Green stepping stone
Review written by John Fitzgerald, February 4th, 2005

After the fiery "Bluesbreaker with Eric Clapton" album, "A hard road" may seem tame in comparison but it's subtle playing grows on you that will eventually have you thinking nearly as highly about it as you may about the Clapton platter. The best track here by far is the moody Green instrumental "The supernatural" which marks the beginning of Green's own unique style which retains it's liquid power to this day. There is another guitar instrumental though, the by now usual Freddie King cover, this time it's "The stumble" which has John McVie throbbing away on bass and Green has the Clapton sound in motion, still works though may be viewed by some as a copy cat. Peter sings lead on two tracks also, a cover of "You don't love me" (which is faster than usual here though basically straightforward and harmonica led but impressive vocals from Green really brings a kick to this track) and a Green original, the underrated stroller "The same way" on which Peter's vocal stylings are even more at home though I prefer his work on the former better as Mayall doesn't intrude on that one as he does on the choruses here). As for the rest, the opening title track is like a "Drifting" type stinger (but not as strong), "It's over" is a shuffle on which the guitar takes a back seat to the harmonica and organ echoings. "Another kinda love" is a honking tapper and "Hit the highway" is an odd sounding track with plinky piano along with high (ukulele sounding almost) acoustic guitar strumming but it's helped by a good Green solo in the middle. "Leaping Christine" is blues harp drenched breakneck pep, "Dust my blues" is a pulsing shuffling cover (it's ragged guitars and faster pace helps it's shuffle leanings) but "There's always work" is an insignificant harp chirping, "ah" vocalizing throwaway. "Top of the hill" is a passable piano, bass, guitar shuffler (though oddly has the same opening riff that was later heard on an unused track eventually showing up on the Mayall "Thru the years" compilation called "Mama talk to your daughter"), "Someday after awhile (You'll be sorry)" is a slow blues yowler (that sounds fuller than most tracks here making it one of the better moments on the album) and the closing "Living alone" is an almost pop like chunker with a strange sounding slide part at the beginning that sounds like a technical speeded up tape problem but then you hear it again later after the song has kicked in and then you know it's for real. Again though, you may first hear this album and think "So what's the big deal?" but after some listens you'll at least understand some of the tracks and why they are thought of the way they are.

    Last Modified »
2010-05-26
    Tracklisting »
Discography entry submitted by Jeff Kenney.