John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers and Friends

70^th Anniversary Birthday Concert (CD/DVD set)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B     Extras: C-     Concert: B     CD Sound: B-

 

 

Now that Eagle Rock has given us two vintage films on John Mayall (reviewed elsewhere on this site), they now give us a recent concert where Mayall has a long-overdue reunion with Eric Clapton and for a very special reunion concert for Mayall’s 70^th Birthday.  He’s in great form for any age and the concert is a nice surprise.  Joined by Mick Taylor, Chris Barber, the current Bluesbreakers and company deliver fine renditions of the following hits:

 

1)     Southside Story

2)     Kids Got The Blues

3)     Dirty Water*

4)     Someone’s Acting Like A Child

5)     Blues For the Lost Days

6)     Walking On Sunset*

7)     Oh, Pretty Woman

8)     No Big Hurry

9)     Please Mr. Lofton*

10)  Hideaway*

11)  All Your Love

12)  Have You Heard*

13)  Hoochie Coochie Man

14)  I’m Tore Down

15)  It Ain’t Right*

16)  Talk To Your Daughter*

 

·         * - Denotes songs featured on the CD, with California a track on the CD only, sandwiched between the last two tracks above.

 

There are vocals on some of the songs, but this concert really shines when it is an all-instrumental affair.  Though it is nice to see the unexposed talents going all out and still being formidable decades later, it should be noted that Clapton is always good, but is even in a better element than usual here.  He fits in so well and has a certain mood (or vibe?) going that I have not seen on the many recent concerts he has participated in.  We have covered so many Blues concert DVDs already, but this is one of the very best.  Maybe it is Clapton feeling right at home in a way where he can concentrate on Blues more than usual, eschewing his repertoire of hits and the Rock genre in general.  Being the icon he is, it is easy to forget how much of a true blue blues artist he is, but being surrounded by those who remain the best in the business give him peers to play off of.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was shot on digital High Definition, but is a bit better than expected, though there are some limits due to the darker than usual shooting environment than is meant to set a blues mood.  The sound is not epitome of 5.1 mixing, but it is very good nonetheless and the DTS is the winner in capturing the bass and deep details needed to hear and appreciate Blues.  As a matter of fact, this is one of the best Blues concerts sonically on DVD to date as a result.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo with Pro Logic surrounds are a comedown by comparison, while the CD’s PCM 2.0 Stereo is a bit richer than either Dolby, but cannot compete against the DTS.  The CD is just for convenience, of course and not a bad bonus to have in the case.  The only actual extra on the DVD is a brief interview with Mayall, but there is also a nice paper pullout write-up inside the DVD case worth reading.  All in all, this is one of the first of the new 2-disc sets Eagle Vision is issuing and they have been great so far, so we strongly advise the company to continue because this is the kind of deal the consumer deserves.  When the concert is as good as this John Mayall 70^th Birthday Concert, it is like the opening of a new chapter in music DVDs.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo