Rare 1st John Mayall mono LP: 'John Mayall plays John Mayall' (1965)
£
45
$
60
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Description
Rare John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers vinyl LP: ‘John Mayall plays John Mayall, recorded live at Klooks Kleek!’. First UK pressing, Cat. no. 4680 (matrix no. Side I: ARL- 8711- 2A, Side 2: ARL – 6712 – 1A etched on the disc).
This is John Mayall’s first LP with his then new band the Bluesbreakers which were formed in 1963. It was recorded at a London R&B club ‘Klooks Kleek’ on December 7th 1964 and released on March 26th 1965. I bought it in Leeds a couple of weeks later. Hence, it is the original first UK mono pressing and a highly prized collectable item.
As a live recording it captures beautifully the excitement of Mayall’s formative years and contains eleven Mayall originals and an ‘R. and B. Time’ medley including ‘Night Train’ and ‘Lucille’ (track 6 on side 1). Band members include Mayall on organ, harmonica, cembolett and 9 string guitar; Roger Dean, guitar; John McVee, bass guitar; Hughie Flint, drums and Nigel Stanger on tenor and slide saxophone. The music has a more dance influenced R and B feel than his later blues work with other musicians. However, his harmonica playing is especially noteworthy as is the guitar work of Roger Dean especially on Track 4, side 1 ‘I need your love’. The liner notes on the back cover are written by Alexis Korner.
As for the records condition:
The outer laminated jacket
This record has been kept in a heavy polythene sleeve since the day it was bought. It has been removed for the photographs. As the photos clearly show, given its age the outer jacket is in good condition. Note that there is a quarter inch tear about three inches down on the spine, a half inch scratch on the lower right corner and the circular indentation of the record, but these do not detract from the graphics on either the front or back. Apart from age related discolouration there are no other marks on either the front or rear.
The inner paper and polythene sleeve
Apart from a couple of minor creasing at the corners the paper and polythene inner sleeve is intact with no tears or splits. As is evident the cover has discoloured with age.
The Vinyl
Again as the images above show there are minor scratches on both sides of this record. The unboxed Decca red and silver labels are unmarked with no spindle damage.
Please note that this album has not been professionally cleaned.
I played the disc on a Steepletone 3 speed vinyl turntable record player (model ST918) at full volume and was genuinely surprised at how good the reproduction actually was. Both sides played without any irritating repetitive clicking or sticking. There is some audible surface noise on track 2, side 2, ‘What’s the matter with you’, but this doesn’t detract from the quality of the music and is certainly not evident on any of the other songs.
In short, this record is not in ‘mint condition’ and I have tried to identify all of its short comings as best I can. I do believe however that it is a highly collectable and playable disk which is in remarkably good condition and reproduces beautifully the music of one of the most important blues artists to emerge in the 1960s who is still performing today and will be touring Britain in October (http://www.johnmayall.com/tour.html).
Postage and packing costs quoted are for the UK only. Please contact me if you are thinking of buying this album and live outside Britain.
Thanks for looking.
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