Blues from Laurel Canyon
| Blues from Laurel Canyon | ||||
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| Studio album by John Mayall | ||||
| Released | November 1968 | |||
| Recorded |
26–28 August 1968 Decca Studios, London, England |
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| Genre | Electric blues | |||
| Length | 47:59 (original) 61:11 (2007 reissue) |
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| Label |
 Decca London
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| Producer | Mike Vernon, John Mayall | |||
| John Mayall chronology | ||||
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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26–28 August 1968 Decca Studios, London,
Blues from Laurel Canyon is a 1968 album by John Mayall, featuring British blues music. It was his first album after the breakup of his band the Bluesbreakers on 14 July 1968. It was also his last album with Decca before moving to Polydor.
John Mayall sings and plays harmonica, organ and guitar on the album. Other musicians include a young Mick Taylor (guitar), Colin Allen (drums) and Stephen Thompson (bass). The guitarist Peter Green is featured on the track First Time Alone. The engineer was Derek Varnals. All the songs on the album were written by Mayall.
The title of the album derives from Laurel Canyon, California, United States (in the Los Angeles area) where John Mayall subsequently lived from 1969 to 1979. It forms a record of his visit there before moving to the US on a more permanent basis. The area was favoured by many musicians at the time. It was recorded at Decca Studios in West Hampstead, London, England between 26 and 28 August 1968, and was released on the Decca label.
The album was innovative for its time, especially by the standards of blues recordings. The first track opens with a recording of a jet airliner landing, dissolving into the driving rhythm of the song. There were no visible track divisions on the vinyl album. Some songs fade or segue into the next track, others stop on a chord which is immediately followed by the introduction of the next track. Tabla drums are used, as is the technique of hitting guitar strings with a drumstick. The final track is a long song which moves into an extended lead guitar solo underscored by Mayall's Hammond organ, fading into a simple unaccompanied guitar figure which repeats until it too fades.
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