The Beano Album

The Beano album, aka Bluesbreakers by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton and so called because of the cover photograph, in which Clapton is reading the children's comic the Beano. This was the album that launched the era of the guitar hero, in the UK at least. The album is on one level a basic blues band album, Mayall throughout his career has been a champion of the blues. A competant but limited multi - instrumentalist himself, Mayall's claim to fame has been his ability to talent spot up and coming stars. He hit pay dirt with Clapton who arguably has rarely played since with the fire and originality that he does on this album. The actual sound and tone of the amplified guitar is simply more "electric" than anything heard before, adding youthful aggression to the sound of his inspirations, the various Kings of the blues ( BB, Freddie and Albert ). Mayall himself plays creditably with a Mose Allison impersonation on Parchman Farm, there's a tedious drum solo but the disk is really all about Clapton. Listen to Double Crossing Man, All Your Love and especially Have You Heard as well as the pure instrumentals.