[Slowhand] John Mayall - Good To Be King

[John Mills]

For the fellow Mayall fans amongst us:
http://www.freetimes.com/stories/15/23/good-to-be-king

Volume 15, Issue 23
Published October 10th, 2007
Good To Be King
John Mayall Pays Tribute To A Blues Legend
By Brian Baker

The word legend gets highlighted so much these days that the power of its
definition has been devalued. Kanye West is many things, legendary not being
among them. On the other hand, calling John Mayall a legend grossly
understates the case.
If only Mayall's performing and recording career were considered, his
accomplishments in those areas alone would drop jaws; he started his first
band 45 years ago and this year saw the release of his 56th album, In the
Palace of the King. It's Mayall's longest standing group, the Bluesbreakers,
where his legend has been cemented, with his band's membership over the
years featuring a veritable who's who of world-class players, including Eric
Clapton, Jack Bruce, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, John McVie, Mick Taylor
and Harvey Mandel, among dozens of others. And while his illustrious former
sidemen have gone on to platinum sales and arena-sized tours, Mayall's own
albums have sold modestly and he has remained largely a cultish fan
favorite. In fact, Mayall's always been in it for love of the blues, not
fame or fortune, and he's more than satisfied with the resulting rewards.

"The fact that I still do as many shows as I do over the year with no
decrease in audience is a great thrill," says Mayall via phone from Los
Angeles, his home since 1969. "There are some people who kind of get stuck
having to play "hits,' whereas I have a lot more freedom. The same with jazz
musicians, who are free to go their own way and not have these demands put
upon them. It's a blessing really. As long as I can earn my living at it and
get to play the way I want to play, you can't ask for anything better than
that."

Mayall is back on tour - just seven weeks short of his 74th birthday - to
support In the Palace of the King, his and the Bluesbreakers' amazing
tribute to the music of late blues guitarist/vocalist Freddie King, who died
in 1976 at the age of 42 of various heart ailments. Mayall cites King as a
seminal influence on the original mid-'60s Bluesbreakers, and he felt
compelled to honor King by presenting his music, as well as music he was
closely associated with, in this fashion.

"Freddie has always been one of the mainstays of our frames of reference for
the sound of the Bluesbreakers," says Mayall. "It's funny we never thought
of doing a whole album devoted to his work. Right from the beginning, we've
always featured instrumentals by him, most notably when Eric did "Hideaway.'
That became the tradition that the guitar players in the Bluesbreakers would
pick a Freddie instrumental and that would be part of our set."

Mayall's first exposure to King was so long ago that the memory is lost to
time, but the qualities in his music that he found so inspiring remain close
to Mayall's heart.

"The main thing was the vibrancy of it and, most particularly, the intensity
of his vocals. His range was phenomenal," says Mayall. "I try to reach some
of his high notes and I find there's only so far I can go. But he had a
wonderful voice. I've always felt that was something to aim for."

A variety of songwriters are represented on In the Palace of the King, as
King was an interpreter as well as a writer. Mayall himself contributed two
originals, the first being "King of the Kings," a song directly about his
tribute's subject.

"I thought at the last minute it would be nice to do a song about him," says
Mayall. "I think I made it up in the studio. It gave me an opportunity to do
my boogie-woogie piano bit, which hadn't been featured on the album until
then."

Mayall's other original, "Time to Go," was a reworking of an old King song,
"The Welfare (Turns its Back on You)," dedicated to Mayall's mother Beryl,
who died at age 99 last year as the Bluesbreakers were working on this
album.

"I was gonna do "The Welfare,' but the problem with that is I have no frame
of reference in my life for the rats in the hall and men lining up at the
welfare desk," says Mayall with a laugh. "So I used that one as a basis for
"Time to Go,' and we were able to write the song and put that in there as a
tribute to my mother, who was a big Freddie King fan. She was a fan of all
the blues guys. Albert King got along famously with her. Every time I'd see
Albert, he'd say, "How's your mother?' She was a big fan."

Although Mayall wanted to pay tribute to King, he also wanted his and the
Bluesbreakers' personalities to come through as well. To that end, he feels
as though the Bluesbreakers have branded Freddie King's distinctive style
with their own on In the Palace of the King.

"It's a Bluesbreakers album, and it's strong," says Mayall. "It's just very
natural that we should put our stamp on it and do it to the best of our
ability. Freddie's songs are so strong, he gave us plenty of meat and
potatoes."