John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
Bare Wires

I believe that John Mayall is the most important white Blues musician, and he has been since the sixties when, with his Bluesbreakers, he took on the role of a true pioneer of the British blues revival. The Bluesbreakers, not a true band, but rather a testing ground, a laboratory of ideas and inventions, a group of great musicians united by a passion for Blues, but also by a desire to experiment and go beyond the classic norms and standards. Never a stable band, the Bluesbreakers saw the likes of Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor, among others, all at their very first experiences or almost, so we can say that Mayall, besides being a great musician - composer, singer, guitarist, pianist, and splendid harmonica player - was also an excellent talent scout. The music of the Bluesbreakers started from the past, but then took other paths, leading to free jams and improvisations, during which Mayall assumed the role of catalyst and unifier, but allowing the more virtuosic to carve out all the space they desired, thus willing to step back and leave the field open to others; in short, he was a leader, but not a prima donna, nor a despotic tyrant, but rather a guide, a sort of glue capable of holding together the different personalities that gathered around him.

After several excellent and seminal electric blues and blues-rock records, in 1968 Mayall released Bare Wires, one of his most brilliant and ambitious works of the period, but also among the most difficult and complicated. Compared to previous works, this is a less rough, less rock album, more polished and soft, but with a strong experimental inclination and a marked jazz component. The line-up of the new record is largely renewed, with guitarist Mick Taylor being the only confirmation from the previous Crusade. Mayall intended to recreate a richer and symphonic sound, so he decided to give more space to the horns, welcoming saxophonists Chris Mercer and Dick Heckstall-Smith into the band, and introducing some touches of strings with violinist Henry Lowther (also on the horn). Completing the band were Tony Reeves on bass and Jon Hiseman on drums.

The first track on the record is a long suite, "Bare Wires Suite", which at twenty-three minutes occupied the entire A-side of the original vinyl. It is a complex composition, structured into seven different parts (each with its own title), encompassing blues, jazz, hints of chamber music, complete with violin, and touches of veiled psychedelia. Probably the best parts are the central ones: "I Start Walking" a sort of fairly fast-paced rhythm and blues, embellished by a splendid Taylor solo, and "Open Up a New Door" a jazz-blues number, in the style of a thirties march, led by the horns and a Chris Mercer in great shape. At the end of listening, to be honest, this ambitious collage leaves you a little puzzled, the transition from one part to the next is not always easy and sometimes they seem a bit unconnected to each other; the impression is that it might have been better to develop some parts more fully and omit others. In short, a courageous experiment, but in my view not entirely successful.

The B-side, on the other hand, presents more variety and overall seems better constructed. It opens with the jazz-blues of "I'm a Stranger", but perhaps the best moments come afterward. Among the most significant tracks on the record is indeed the following "No Reply", led by a light wah-wah riff from Taylor and by John's skillful harmonica phrases, a simple, very catchy, singable tune, with a relaxed and sly vibe, but at the same time captivating and seductive. A great Mick Taylor is also featured in the instrumental "Hartley Quits", a boogie with a nice groove that helps raise the tempo of the record a bit. Similarly useful for this purpose is the funk-r'n'b of "She's Too Young", which almost seems to echo James Brown, with the saxophones leading the dance. "Killing Time" is a fairly typical slow blues, but of excellent craftsmanship. The album concludes with "Sandy", marked by a splendid slide guitar accompaniment and John's singing, which here recalls the legendary Robert Johnson.

In the remastered CD, six bonus tracks have been added, which personally I don't think have anything to envy from the historical tracks; this confirms Mayall's excellent creative streak. Among these, I find the most interesting to be the instrumental "Knocker's Step Forward" and "Hide and Seek", rock-blues-boogie, driven by a beautifully mean guitar. But do not miss the last track, "Start Walkin'", recorded live at Falmer College in Brighton, because although the audio isn't the best, there's an amazing Mick Taylor.

To conclude, I would say that Bare Wires is certainly a high-quality album, even though I believe Mayall's most successful records are others. Although this is a very elegant work, rich in interesting cues and original solutions, it perhaps comes across as too structured, and I would say that overall it lacks a bit of the freshness and momentum that characterized the previous works. No wonder in the subsequent record, Blues From Laurel Canyon, Mayall will return to a simpler and rougher formula, setting aside horns and jazz ambitions. In conclusion, technically and aesthetically Bare Wires is a great record, but it perhaps lacks a bit of heart, passion... that extra bit of feeling that would have made it perfect.