John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers – Stories/Road Dogs/In the Palace of Kings
Eagle Rock Entertainment
http://www.johnmayall.com/

Rating: B+

Eagle Rock Entertainment has been on the forefront of keeping British Blues alive and well by releasing several albums by the iconic John Mayall and his band, the Bluesbreakers. 

Now they have decided to reissue three of his releases.  They did it, however, in a pretty damn cool way.  Instead of splitting them up and selling separately, they have released them in a 3-CD package.  These albums are all continuing chapters in Mayall’s musical journey which began nearly 50 years ago.  While these discs may be later chapters in his book, so to speak, that does not mean they are not interesting. They are, and they contain some great songs to boot.

Stories, Road Dogs and In the Palace of the King show a band that is still on the forefront of the blues genre.  They play well and pay homage to the music they love.

These albums may have been released a few years back, but they are all special.  There are acoustic moments, electric tunes and tons of groove and blues…and the songs…the songs...”Dirty Water," "Kids Got The Blues," "Road Dogs," "Awestruck & Spellbound," "Palace Of The King," "Going Down," and "Living On The Highway" are just a few of the classics offered up here (see the massive track listing below).

The best of the bunch is In the Palace of the King which is a tribute to the late Freddie King.  Here Mayall and company get down to the bluesy nitty-gritty and cast a spell that had to have the master himself looking down from a smoky club in blues heaven and smiling.  All albums included here are good, this one is great.

Track Listing:

Disc 1: Stories
1) Southside Story
2) Dirty Water
3) Feels Just Like Home
4) Kids Got The Blues
5) The Witching Hour
6) Oh, Leadbelly
7) Demons In The Night
8) Pride And Faith
9) Kokomo
10) Romance Classified
11) I Wished I Had
12) Pieces And Parts
13) I Thought I Heard The Devil
14) The Mists Of Time

Disc 2: Road Dogs
1) Road Dogs
2) Short Wave Radio
3) So Glad
4) Forty Days
5) To Heal The Pain
6) Burned Bridges
7) Snake Eye
8) Kona Village
9) Beyond Control
10) Chaos In The Neighbourhood
11) You'll Survive
12) Awestruck & Spellbound
13) With You
14) Brumwell's Beat
15) Scrambling

Disc 3: In The Palace Of The King
1) You Know That You Love Me
2) Going Down
3) Some Other Day, Some Other Time
4) Palace Of The King
5) I'd Rather Be Blind
6) Time To Go
7) Big Legged Woman
8) Now I've Got A Woman
9) I Love You More Every Day
10) Help Me Through The Day
11) Cannonball Shuffle
12) You've Got Me Licked
13) King Of The Kings
14) Living On The Highway

By Jeb Wright