Live at Iowa State University
Artist:  John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers
Label: Quantum Leap
Length:  48 minutes + 49 second interview + label promo

 
John Mayall must be fed up by now of being known for the artists he has developed, rather than for his own music, but just in case anyone doesn’t know, it was in his band that Peter Green, Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor developed their styles in their formative years. Even in this 1984 performance, his guitarists include Walter Trout, known for his own successful blues band. The other, Coco Montoya, tends to take a back seat on stage, which is probably why he makes the most of his own two solo spots by sitting or standing in the audience, chatting and drinking their beer.
 
Mayall has consistently produced music with a polished, golden tone, whether he is playing guitar or organ. It is here on this release, which includes several classic tracks from the 1966 album that started the British blues boom, such as “Parchman Farm” and “Steppin’ Out,” and is a fair representation of what Mayall can do. The first three tracks feature him on dinky organ, guitar and harp respectively, while others see him either giving the spotlight to his fellow guitarists or virtually taking the song solo, armed just with harp. He certainly seems to enjoy the interaction with Trout, whose blue Strat takes most of the solos. Trout also supplies some fine backing swelled notes in “Little Girl.”
 
The audience, whose dress style dates the gig somewhat, takes a bit of warming up, but when they get there, you can sense that the atmosphere in the gig was loud and sweaty. The band plays best on the longer tracks that give them space to solo, especially at each end of the set. “Room to Move” is one of two songs to feature Mayall almost duetting with himself, as he plays harp with one hand and organ with the other. The instrumental “Steppin’ Out” shows the band’s teamwork, although it is one of several pieces hacked about by technicians. In this case, both the sound man and video editor miss the fact that Montoya is soloing at the back of the audience, while Mayall and Trout take rhythm in the foreground. On a couple of other tracks, the songs cut in after they have started. To add to this, if it seems like there is a sudden boost of excitement at the end, this is probably due to editing out a few songs, as the music content is not as long as billed, almost half of the “85 minutes” being just label trailers, even for sports videos.
 
But despite such niggles, and Mayall’s somewhat nasal and flat vocal style, this shows talented musicians playing some classic tracks to an appreciative audience. There is enough here for blues completists to enjoy.
 
Derek Walker