Blues from Laurel Canyon

Blues from Laurel Canyon is a 1968 album by John Mayall, featuring British blues music. It was his first album after the breakup of his band the Bluesbreakers in May 1968,^[3] although others claim it was on 14 July 1968. It was also his last album with Decca before moving to Polydor.

Blues from Laurel Canyon
Studio album by John Mayall
Released	November 1968
Recorded	26–28 August 1968
Studio	Decca Studios, London
Genre	Electric blues
Length	47:59 (original) 61:11 (2007 reissue)
Label	Decca (UK) London (U.S.)
Producer	Mike Vernon, John Mayall
John Mayall chronology
Bare Wires (1968) Blues from Laurel Canyon (1968) The Turning Point (1969)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings	[2]

Background

John Mayall sings and plays harmonica, organ and guitar on the album. The other band members are a young Mick Taylor (guitar), Colin Allen (drums) and Stephen Thompson (bass). The guitarist Peter Green is featured on the track "First Time Alone". The album was the final Mayall record before Taylor joined the Rolling Stones. The engineer was Derek Varnals. All the songs on the album were written by Mayall.

The title of the album derives from Laurel Canyon, California, United States (in the Los Angeles area) where John Mayall subsequently lived from 1969 to 1979. It forms a record of his visit there before moving to the U.S. on a more permanent basis. The area was favoured by many musicians at the time. It was recorded at Decca Studios in West Hampstead, London, England between 26 and 28 August 1968, and was released on the Decca label. The album peaked at number 33 in the UK Albums Chart.^[4]

A remastered and expanded version of this album was released in the United Kingdom in August 2007.

Track listing

All songs written by John Mayall — timings included.

Original tracks

1. "Vacation" – 2:47
2. "Walking on Sunset" – 2:50
3. "Laurel Canyon Home" – 4:33
4. "2401" – 3:42
5. "Ready to Ride" – 3:32
6. "Medicine Man" – 2:43
7. "Somebody's Acting Like a Child" – 3:27
8. "The Bear" – 4:40
9. "Miss James" – 2:30
10. "First Time Alone" – 4:49
11. "Long Gone Midnight" – 3:27
12. "Fly Tomorrow" – 9:00

Bonus tracks

13. "2401" – 3:56 (Single version)
14. "Wish You Were Mine" – 8:36 (Live '68, previously on Primal Solos)

Personnel

• John Mayall – guitar, harmonica, keyboards, vocals, artwork, design
• Mick Taylor – guitar, pedal steel guitar
• Colin Allen – drums, tabla
• Steve Thompson – bass guitar
• Peter Green – guitar on "First Time Alone"

Technical

• Derek Varnals – engineer
• Adrian Martins – assistant engineer
• Dominique Tarlé, Stephen C. LaVere, Rob Bosboom – photography