Frank Gutch Jr: The Real John Mayall (w Peter Green); Rockumentaries of Note; and Speaking of Notes…..

 

The first time I heard John Mayall, Eric Clapton completely blew me away, his guitar edgy and new to my ears.  I knew Clapton from the Five Live Yardbirds album and that band’s smokin’ hot version of Smokestack Lightnin’, a track I will never hear without stopping to listen (unless drivin’ down the road a hundred miles an hour).  After hearing The Yardbirds, it seemed a safe bet to give Mayall a chance and I have to confess that John Mayall With Eric Clapton was pure steroid for what would become a lifelong appreciation of the rockin’ side of the blues.

Frank Gutch Jr: Reprise Is Not a Label… Plus Notes

Before we get into the meat of this column, let’s talk Winterpills.  I have been a fan since hearing their 2010 EP Tuxedo of Ashes and have followed them since.  Their one album of covers, Echolalia, was good enough to make me toss aside my disdain of this current trend, their arrangements making up for the usual lack of creativity on most bands parts.  No such problem here.  Love Songs is an all-original triumph, Philip Price writing his best songs since Tuxedo, and the band is  in A-1 shape.

Frank Gutch Jr: On a Midnight Listening Rampage With Eric Lichter

If you have never stumbled through the night listening to something you’d never heard before you’re not going to understand what a thrill this is, but I am right now diving through a string of songs by The Green Pajamas‘ Eric Lichter that I don’t think even he knew were posted.  Not that long ago, I was searching Facebook for possible inclusions in the Notes section of this column and Eric posted a couple of songs on a site called Broadjams.com.