Search - John Mayall & Bluesbreakers :: Bare Wires

Major Mayall

Flipper Campbell | Miami Florida | 12/04/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A forgotten album that's a dark horse candidate for Mayall's best work. Savage guitar from Mick Taylor; killer horns and percussion. A sense of sadness seeps deep beneath the blues. Very adult music from a musician who was growing old before his time and couldn't do anything about it."

Touches A Nerve

El Lagarto | Sandown, NH | 07/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I was in college, you just weren't any fun at parties if you didn't have a good Bob Dylan impression in your pocket, as well as a good John Mayall impression. Mayall's singing was so overtly unnatural that he was a perfect target, it seemed he was straining for every note. That said, Bare Wires is the album where he stays within his range most effectively. The result is that for once one does not have to politely avert one's eyes when he sings.



Bare Wires is certainly Mayall's most unusual album, and in many ways his finest. In addition to the standard blues fare for which he is famous it includes strange and brooding experimental numbers like Bare Wires, Fire, I Know Now, and Sandy. Invariably surrounded by other terrific musicians, this effort boasts one of Mayall's best bands ever, including an outstanding horn section - Chris Mercer and Dick Heckstall-Smith. Henry Lowther adds some particularly eerie, and appropriate, grace notes with his fiddle and coronet. Jon Hiseman is excellent on drums and Tony Reeves anchors the effort well on his bass.



Mayall plays guitar, piano, and harmonica, writes, arranges, sings, and probably puts up the posters too. But he is a not a virtuoso at any of them. His greatness lies in his dedication to the blues and his ability to find and groom talent. For many years Mayall's band was an unofficial Blues Graduate School, turning out such legends-in-the-making as Eric Clapton and Peter Green. When Bare Wires was recorded, Mick Taylor was the new hot thing. (Mayall had originally found Taylor through a newspaper ad when he was only 18, long before his stint with the Rolling Stones.)



The one time I saw Mayall, at the Fillmore East, he had Taylor with him. The kid was putting on a clinic, he was out of his head. That same energy and flare are present throughout Barewires, even on slow numbers like Killing Time. But when you get to the upbeat tracks like Start Walking and Hartley Quits, you'll see why many consider Taylor every bit as good as Clapton, which is saying something. A marvelously obscure and curious CD certain to delight the true collector."

One of my favorite Mayall albums.

Wildman Fischer | 12/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mayall is a throwback to the "big band leaders" of the early 40s. His greatest talents were recognizing and assembling great musicians; directing and leading those musicians; and arranging and creating great musical compositions. This album highlights all of those strengths and in my opinion is his best. I'm a big fan of Mayall and have all of his early works, 1980 and earlier. I rediscovered this album after I started switching my collection over to CDs...I had long lost or "misplaced" the vinyl. Oddly enough, I guess my aging has changed my taste a bit, because I now put Barewires at the top of the Mayall collection. There is more use of horns and the music is more--I guess "moody" is the right term. I love the suite; it has all the ups and downs of life..."I'm a Stranger" is one of the best songs done by Mayall, it has everything. "No reply", "Hartley Quits" lots of good cuts on this one. This album is so smooth; it's great for a laid back evening of cooling the soul! Jazz/Blues, when done right, isn't a struggle to listen to and this album can be listened to with your eyes closed and your brain set on idle..."