John Mayall Chicken Shack Mick Taylor Newcastle City Hall 2004
The next time I saw John Mayall was on a strong triple bill of Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Stan Webb and Chicken Shack ,and Mick Taylor. I am a big fan of Stan and Chicken Shack. I’ve always thought that he is a greatly under-rated guitarist, easily on a par with Clapton and Page. The surprise for me on the night was just how great Mick Taylor was. I saw him with the Stones in the early 70s, where his playing really shone on the bluesier tracks like Stray Cat Blues and Midnight Rambler. I then saw him perform a quite shambolic concert in a marquee somewhere behind Gateshead stadium one night, some time in the 1980s. 
On this tour in 2004, Mick Taylor was back on form and gave the other guitarists Stan Webb and Buddy Whittington a run for their money. Stan and Chicken Shack were first up followed by an interval, during which I surprised to be greeted by John Mayall at the merchandise stall, so I bought his latest CD and got it signed. After the break, Mayall and his band took to the stage, with Mick Taylor guesting for part of the set. On this tour Mayall and the Bluesbreakers drew heavily from his back catalogue, probably more so than on other recent tours including a note perfect version of “All your Love” from the Beano album. When Mick Taylor joined, they also played songs from the Crusade album which debuted the guitarist at the yoin age of 18. Songs played included: Can’t You Hear Me Knocking, Walking On Sunset, Oh, Pretty Woman (from Crusade, an Albert King song and not the Roy Orbison track), and of course my own favourite Room To Move.
21 Oct
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