John Mayall Three For The Road

John Mayall
Three For The Road
Forty Below Records

Despite showing him with a guitar, this latest album by the veteran blues stylist has him leading a trio (the Three in the title) on piano and harmonica backed by bassist Greg Rzab and drummer Jay Davenport. It is surpising given his association with so many guitarists in the past, but this live 2017 German recording is a surprising in focusing solely on his effective piano and harmonica and appealing, gravelly, if occasionally stilted, vocals.

There is nothing fancy or contrived about the performances that include 7 covers and two Mayall numbers opening with a relaxed shuffle treatment of the Little Johnny Jones/Eddie Taylor "Big Town Playboy," that is followed by a medium tempo, choppy groove for Chuck Willis' "I Feel So Bad," which is credited to Lightnin' Hopkins. His piano playing comes off better than his limited rack harmonica playing. There is an infectious quality to his piano playing and the backing on Curtis Salgado's "The Sum of Something," with a nice drum solo. Mayall switches to organ for his train blues, "Streamline," with a nice groove and one of his better vocals here. Rzab and Davenport are strong in supporting his bouncy solo.

I believe it was Walter Davis who did the original of Henry Townsend's "Tears Came Rollin' Down," and with Mayall's somewhat gloomy piano sets somber mood for his vocal on a lengthy rendition of this blues. An unexpected cover is of a Lionel Hampton song, "Ridin' on the L&N," followed a rendition of Jerry Lynn Williams' "Don't Deny Me," with more greasy organ. After a lengthy rendition of his own "Lonely Feelings," he opens Sonny Landreth's "Congo Square" on harmonica before his rhythm join in for a lengthy jam although his vocal suffers compared to others who have done this number.

Certainly a diverting hour or so of music, generally well-played (and again praise to Rzab and Davenport), and credibly sung. In this age of blues-tinged rock, this solidly played set of straight blues has definite charm and appeal.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the March-April 2018 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 377). Here is a relatively recent performance by Mayall and his band.