Cheap John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - 70th Birthday Concert (DVD) (John Mayall) Price

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Customer Reviews of John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - 70th Birthday Concert

Stunning. British Blues at its Best
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.

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Blues Rock At It's Best
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.

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John Mayall minus Eric Clapton
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.