Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton

The guitar playing is indeed very good. The covers are very good. However, I'm not a huge fan on blues. This is between 3 and 4 for me. It can't even get close to 5 stars because most of the songs are covers and, to be honest, I don't see this as being as creative, distinctive, or disruptive as I would expect from 5-star albums. These are very good songs (but not originals), very well played. That's it.

White man blues but England

Blues rock. Blues. Ni fu ni fa.

But seriously, this does nothing for me. It's perfectly fine, just, yeah.

Complicated. I've written essays on this already (literally, for musicology I wrote this). Competent music, goes really well if you forget Eric Clapton's prejudices etc.

Adding a star because I think any chance for people to hear of Robert Johnson is a good thing, and Rambling was the first song I played in a band at the start of a college term.

Minus a star for a song called "little girl" - icky

Not my jam

Yawn. This album has all the soul and innovation of a paper towel.

Wasn't great. Heard the guy is racist too, so I didn't finish the album because it wasn't good and I didn't want to support him in any way.

This feels more like a history lesson than a recommendation to me. I get that a lot of talent came out of this band, and that this album helped springboard Eric Clapton, and that this was some of the first English Blues Rock, but it isn't a genre I really love, and in hindsight, I don't think this is a particularly special execution of it. But, I do think it's ultimately fine. Decent songs, and decent performances do go a long way, but it doesn't get this into the list of albums I really enjoy, or see myself going back to. It's fine.

Mega tuff

Capable but thoroughly derivative electric blues rock - some nice fuzz tones and generic pentatonic noodling over the classic repertoire of 12 bar blues progressions. You can see how in London in 1966 this was fun for all involved, but it set a dangerous train in motion that's the curse of jam sessions and guitar stores everywhere.

Blues Breakers, two words.

Two things worth noting here.

One is the amount of Clapton hate on this site. And Fair enough. Although if we're here to rate personalities there's quite a few artists on here that wouldn't stand up to scrutiny. So I'm going to rate the album, while noting that Clapton is "personally problematic".

The other is a comment Mick Jagger made once. "I mean what’s the point in listening to us doing ‘I’m A King Bee’ when you can listen to Slim Harpo doing it?" And that very much applies to this album. When you can put on Robert Johnson or Ray Charles, what's the point of this?

The first point is the playing. Clapton is pretty much on fire throughout, producing solo after solo of blistering intensity. McVie is no slouch on Bass either. The drumming serves to make you appreciate other, better drummers. Mayall's voice is, well, adequate. (Although he's stretched beyond his limits in the Ray Charles cover)

The second point is its importance as a gateway for so many to the Blues. Jagger's answer to the question he raised about "King Bee" was to say people might get switched on by the Stones and then go and find the original. Blues was pretty niche in 66 and if people heard this and then went to discover Chicago Blues for themselves, then well and good.

So, this is fine, but go and listen to Mose Allison and Robert Johnson and Little Walter and see why, as good as it, this is second best.

I'll give you a tip. Go and listen to Robert Johnson's two takes of Ramblin' On My Mind and hear why he's the REAL God.

Ladies and gentlemen
I don't play no blues
I play rock 'n' roll

Whatever your feelings are in Clapton, there are two things that are hard to deny about this album.

1. It was incredibly influential
2. It's white boys singing about little girls and picking cotton...so it sucks

First track was insane, it got a little boring after that

The Good: We get Bluesbreakers!
The Bad: We don’t know what they are…
The Ugly: We don’t know who they are either…

So, I am uncertain when the iconic “Clapton is God” graffiti was placed somewhere in London, but I am pretty sure it was around this the time that this album came out.
Clapton, for all intents and purposes, is not God… but he’s not Satan either. He’s just a person who appreciates the blues and shows this via his playing.

John Mayall, he too appreciates the blues, as do the rest of the Bluesbreakers… however, let’s just say that this album was NOT easy to listen to…
And I like me some blues…

I guess it has to do with this album being a couple of British musicians trying to emulate the feelings of real bluesmen in the USA… and it just doesn’t sound right.

Clapton went on to make some excellent albums where he uses his guitar like a true master… those are the ones I do hope to listen to on this journey, however, 560 albums in, and this is the first time I get to listen to ol’ slow-hands and I am playing From The Cradle to rinse out the bad taste that this album left in my mouth…

Should be a 2*… upgraded

Pretty phenomenal playing, and you can feel how much they love the blues, even if they are a bunch of white guys from London.

Super groovy guitar! I appreciate how this record helped pave the way for more heavy British blues rock tracks in the late 60s (3.5).

Unspektakulären und ziemlich durchschnittlichen Album ohne Spirit.

I don't like blues, so this is hard for me. Ugh, and at least one with saxophone.