2. Hideaway
3. Little Girl
4. Another Man
5. Double Crossin' Time
6. What'd I Say
7. Key To Love
8. Parchman Farm
9. Have You Heard
10. Rambling On My Mind
11. Stepping Out
12. It Ain't Right
I believe it was one of the original black blues artists that said of the new generation of blues-loving Brits: "They wanted to play the blues real bad, so they played the blues, real bad."
So, after that disparaging comment, I suppose it's a bit weird of me to say that this album isn't really that bad. As much as it makes blues purists cringe, blues-rock is a wonderful thing. But screw them, it's no fun being a purist anyway!
This is the album that introduced a Mr. Eric Clapton to the world. Say what you want about...well, most everything the man's done since the '70s, but right here in '66 Eric Clapton will kick your ass. I never really appreciated his work too much before, but now that I've heard him in the context of this list, I realize now just why everyone was so amazed. The rock guitar solo was still in early stages of development back then. Hell, just listen to the guitar solos in early Beatles songs! They suck! Then all of a sudden this guy shows up and plays solos that make every other solo seem like a child fumbling with a guitar. I'd get excited too!
The material here is a tad generic, but what the hell do you want from a blues-rock album in 1966? A damn orchestra? The material is played well, which is what really matters. I really liked 'All Your Love', with its cool time changes and Eric kicking ass. No 'Wonderful Tonight' here, this was back when the man was still lean and raw with something to say. His solos on more or less every song are fantastic, with great tone and feeling and everything a guitar solo should be. He really does make the record, which I suppose is why he gets such high billing on the album cover. The worst song on here by far is the one without him, 'Another Man', featuring John Mayall (note that this is his album and I've mentioned him, like, once?) seemingly trying to be 'authentic' with some old blues tossoff featuring just him and a harmonica. It doesn't go over well, because while these guys have way more technical skill than Muddy Waters and company, they've got about a third of the charisma and swagger.
There's some other iffy moments on the record, like that drum solo interrupting a perfectly good rendition of 'What'd I Say", but this album surprised me with its accessibility and not-suckiness. This is when blues-rock (and through that, hard rock) really starts to take off and truly melt some faces. Well, almost. We're getting there. I promise, the face melting will happen soon.
Although Clapton's white, his appreciation for the material and love for the original artists is unchalle
"I used to be into dope, now I’m into racism. It’s much heavier, man. Fucking wogs, man. Fucking Saudis taking over London. Bastard wogs. Britain is becoming overcrowded and Enoch will stop it and send them all back. The black wogs and coons and Arabs and fucking Jamaicans and fucking (indecipherable) don’t belong here, we don’t want them here. This is England, this is a white country, we don’t want any black wogs and coons living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome."-Clapton, 5 August 1976
Well, shit. That's the last time I end a review with a quote. 8/10
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