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John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - 70th Birthday Concert

John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - 70th Birthday Concert

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Watch Eric Clapton watch Buddy Whittington i awe
Review: All I can say, is Buddy Whittington's playing in this program is nothing short of amazing. His tone .... his style ....

Even Eric Clapton at many points in the show just has to stop and stare at Buddy Whittington's tone and playing.

Just goes to show you what a great player, playing with great folks, through a great amp (Dr. Z MAZ SR and Z-best 2x12 cabinet) can do.

A must for any blues fan, John Mayall fan, or guitar player wanting to hear things done RIGHT on the money.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Blues Rock At It's Best
Review: At 70 years of age John Mayall shows us that he still has what it takes to deliver two hours of great blues rock. I acknowledge that he doesn't have the best voice around (what blueman does?), but is there nothing he can't do? In this concert he shows us all his talents. Whether it's playing guitar, keyboards, or harmonica, Mayall goes at it with the skill of a master and the energy of a much younger musician. He even plays both keyboard & harmonica at the same time!

This concert has a good set list containing many classics, and a variety of sounds played by his own band and the guitar legends Mick Taylor and Eric Clapton, but also an old bloke (who I had never heard of & can't remember his name now) playing surprisingly good blues on a trombone!

All the guys Mayall has got together for this concert are consummate professionals. None of them try to steal the show or compete with each other, which could easily have happened. Instead they respect each other's talent, play their bit, and then step back and let someone else have their moment in the spotlight. This results in a smooth flowing blend of sound.

We all know how good these musicians are, but what you want to know if you are reading this review is whether they deliver the goods in this concert. The answer is yes they do. The quality of sound is fantastic, as is the picture quality. The interview with Mayall is ok, but nothing fantastic. However, the concert is a superb show that I recommend to any fan of blues rock. The only disappointment is that the CD version has three extra tracks not included on this DVD.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Blues Rock At It's Best
Review: At 70 years of age John Mayall shows us that he still has what it takes to deliver two hours of great blues rock. I acknowledge that he doesn't have the best voice around (what blueman does?), but is there nothing he can't do? In this concert he shows us all his talents. Whether it's playing guitar, keyboards, or harmonica, Mayall goes at it with the skill of a master and the energy of a much younger musician. He even plays both keyboard & harmonica at the same time!

This concert has a good set list containing many classics, and a variety of sounds played by his own band and the guitar legends Mick Taylor and Eric Clapton, but also an old bloke (who I had never heard of & can't remember his name now) playing surprisingly good blues on a trombone!

All the guys Mayall has got together for this concert are consummate professionals. None of them try to steal the show or compete with each other, which could easily have happened. Instead they respect each other's talent, play their bit, and then step back and let someone else have their moment in the spotlight. This results in a smooth flowing blend of sound.

We all know how good these musicians are, but what you want to know if you are reading this review is whether they deliver the goods in this concert. The answer is yes they do. The quality of sound is fantastic, as is the picture quality. The interview with Mayall is ok, but nothing fantastic. However, the concert is a superb show that I recommend to any fan of blues rock. The only disappointment is that the CD version has three extra tracks not included on this DVD.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: John Mayall minus Eric Clapton
Review: At least one other reviewer mentioned how lack-luster Clapton's performance seemed in this concert. It was NOT Clapton's fault. When I read the review I hadn't heard the DVD yet, and I thought it may have been because he didn't have DTS capability. I do, and thought that would solve the problem. It didn't. The problem lies with the idiot who was running the board and the other idiot who is responsible for the mix. Clapton was simply turned way down ... so far down you can't hear him. The concert, other than this really screwed up mix, is excellent.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Loved every second of it!
Review: Being a long time Mayall fan who has been somewhat discouraged with some of the newer Cd's, I was surprised at how good this Concert was. Having Mick Taylor & Eric Clapton along with the current band, Buddy especially (loose a few pounds and live long and prosper Dude)really made the show move. I was surprised at how laid back the audience was. Must be the Liverpool crowd. Hopefully John Mayall will do some more recordings with some of the old band members.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 70 AND GOIN' STRONG...
Review: GREAT CONCERT - VERY GOOD BACK UP MUSICIANS...
VIDEO IS VERY CLEAN FOR A CONCERT - DTS AND DD-5.1 HAVE NO CENTER CHANNEL SOUND OUTPUT. I TRIED IT OUT IN DD 2.0 AND MY RECEIVER KICKED INTO DTS NEO:6 MATRIXED TO 7.1 AND IT SOUNDS GREAT. I HAD TO DO THAT WITH HEART-ALIVE IN SEATTLE, STYXX-PARADISE AND THE MOODY BLUES-ALBERT HALL(THIS ONE HAD NO .1 (SUB) AND ALL OF THESE DVD'S SOUNDED MUCH BETTER IN DTS NEO:6. BUTTTT... NOTHING BEATS TRUE DTS SUCH AS HELL FREEZES OVER AND CLAPTON-ONE MORE CAR, ONE MORE RIDER...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One Of The Best Music DVD's I've Ever Seen
Review: I am a professional musician in Texas and this is one of the very best music DVD's (and it's live!) I've ever heard in my life. From the impecable playing from John and the band to the camera work and editing and sound. I couldn't be happier. Being a drummer it was really nice how they would show Joe from different angles and stay long enough to be able to learn something. Mick Taylor and Eric Clapton were great but John's guitarist Buddy Whittington hung right in there with both of them. He is one very talented guitar player/vocalist and I have followed him for years. This is a MUST HAVE DVD for any and all blues musicians.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Stunning. British Blues at its Best
Review: I bought this DVD after attending a fantastic John Mayall concert in my hometown. I was so knocked out by the performance that I just had to buy this. The problem is that very high expectations usually turn into disappointment... but not this time!!! This concert is absolutely unique. It is not at all an 'overpaid dinosaurs meet for making cash' act, but a thrilling Blues gig by a master bandleader in top form featuring TONS of awesome guitar playing.
Anybody who likes electric Blues guitar should check out this movie, as it features three ace guitarists playing at their best. Buddy Whittington, who used to be a little too flashy in previous records, has matured and become a wonderfully tasty and original guitarist. He can really stand the comparison with Clapton and Taylor, something that only a guitar god can do. The brilliant Mick Taylor, as always, plays electric slide like nobody else can, and Eric Clapton -though a little cold at the beginning, and obscured by mixing problems- also shows his enormous talent, especially in the memorable ending of 'Have You Heard'. By the way, this track is SO INCREDIBLE it has to rank among the best blues performances ever filmed. Honestly. When Mayall, himself marveled, says at the end of the song: 'THE BLUES DOES NOT GET BETTER THAN THAT', I felt that he was not exaggerating that much...
As for the Bluesbreakers, Mayall's band all over the album is rock solid, and the frantic Hammond player is remarkable. You feel they are all enjoying themselves an awful lot. The first songs, all of them Mayall's recent compositions, are among the best of his career.
That is not to say that the DVD is perfect: Mayall is not an outstanding harmonica player nor pianist, and people who dislike him will probably be bored by his soloing. I do not rank among them, as I find that, although not technically brilliant, the man has a big bag of tricks that will definitely move the audience and propel the songs. However, the biggest mistake in the DVD (at least in my edition) is in the sound mixing: Clapton's volume is way too low! His playing is barely audible when he's playing duets with Mayall -a big error, although only present in two of the songs. I hope it gets fixed in a future edition...
Overall, the best thing I can say about this DVD is that I want to see it again and again, and that it now features side to side with my revered 'Blues Breakers'-Beano LP.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This rules
Review: I can't believe how awesome this is. Mayall sounds as bad as ever, but as long as you can stand watching a 70 year old man wearing a tank top for 2 hours you'll find that these versions of the classics are even better than the originals, and recorded when all the band members are old men. Clapton, Taylor, Mayall, and the rest are all amazing. Not to mention the old man on the trombone and the guy on the electric organ.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic stretched-out jamming for adventurous blues fans.
Review: I could not wait to get my hands on this DVD but was a little disappointed. Some highlights:
* John is in fantastic shape for a 70 year old - he could pass for 60 perhaps less.
* The band's regular guitarist was great: tasteful licks, subtle articulation, superbly rich tone (especially for a Stratocaster) -- wonderful.
* Eric Clapton & Mick Taylor appear.
* There are some excellent tracks - some of my favourite Bluesbreakers tracks.
* John's harmonica playing was very good.
However, there were low points too:
* You can barely hear the two stars, Mick & Eric, as they are so down in the mix! Incredible. [John's vocals, organ & the regular guitarist are prominent in the mix].
* Eric's & Mick's tone was uncharacteristicially thin & lack luster. What a waste. Somebody give EC a Les Paul and turn them both up, way up, please.
* More video extras would have been nice.
* Where was Peter Green?! (Although the line up was impressive anyway).

Overall: not bad but there is definitely room for improvement.


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