Mick Taylor - Special (1988)

In December 1974 Mick Taylor announced that he was leaving the Rolling Stones, coming as a shock to both the band and their fans. The Stones were due to start recording a new album in Munich, and the entire band was reportedly angry at Taylor for leaving at such short notice. After his resignation from the Stones, Taylor was invited by Jack Bruce to form a new band with keyboardist Carla Bley and drummer Bruce Gary, and in 1975 the band began rehearsals in London with tour dates scheduled for later that year. The group toured Europe, with a sound leaning more toward jazz, including a performance at the Dutch Pinkpop Festival, but disbanded the following year. In the summer of 1977, Taylor collaborated with Pierre Moerlen's Gong for the album 'Expresso II', released in 1978, and after that he began writing new songs and recruiting musicians for a solo album, working on projects with Miller Anderson, Alan Merrill and others. In 1977 Taylor signed a solo recording deal with Columbia Records, and his debut solo album, titled 'Mick Taylor', was finally released by Columbia Records in 1979 and reached No. 119 on the Billboard charts in early August. In 1981 he toured Europe and the United States with Alvin Lee of Ten Years After, sharing the bill with Black Sabbath, and he spent most of 1982 and 1983 on the road with John Mayall, for the "Reunion Tour" with John McVie of Fleetwood Mac and Colin Allen. 

It was to be another five years before Taylor ventured into the studio to record his second solo album, when in the spring of 1988 he gathered together Shayne Fontaine on second guitar, Wilbur Bascomb on bass and Bernhard Purdie on drums, and recorded nine new pieces. However, most of these songs never saw the light of day when the album was put on hold. although a few of them had been played live. The title track 'Special' is solid rocker with catchy slide guitar playing, while Bob Dylan's 'Blind Willie McTell' is heard for the first time in a studio version, with the song developing faster than Dylan's recorded version, but still with a great guitar solo that carries it away. 'Separately' was originally written by Keith Richards and Mick Taylor for the 'Goat's Head Soup' sessions in Jamaica, but is presented here with lyrics that were presumably written afterwards by Taylor himself. 'Red Shoes' is a Max Middleton composition that could have easily appeared on a late 70's Jeff Beck album, and the album closes with the emotionally charged instrumental 'Soliloquy'. It's not known why Taylor decided not to publish these songs in 1988 or shortly after, and fans had to wait another two years to get a proper second studio album, with 1990's 'Stranger In This Town', but we can now hear what Taylor was up to a couple of years before that came out.

Track listing

01 Special 
02 Going To Mexico 
03 Red Shoes 
04 Blind Willie McTell 
05 Separately 
06 The Blue Note Shuffle 
07 Downtown Broadway 
08 Soliloquy

Mick Taylor - ...and on guitar (1988)

Michael Kevin Taylor was born on 17 January 1949 in Welwyn Garden City, but was raised in Hatfield, and began playing guitar at age nine, learning to play from his uncle. As a teenager, he formed bands with schoolmates and started performing concerts under names such as The Juniors and the Strangers, who also appeared on television and put out a single. At aged 16 he went to see a John Mayall's Bluesbreakers performance at The Woodhall Community Centre, where the band performed their first set without a guitarist. It became clear that for some reason Eric Clapton was not going to show up, and seeing that his guitar had already been set up on the stage, Taylor approached Mayall during the interval to ask if he could play with them. He mentioned that he was familiar with the band's repertoire, and after a moment of deliberation, Mayall agreed. After playing the second set, and garnering Mayall's respect in the process, Taylor left the stage, joined his friends and left the venue before Mayall had the chance to speak with him. This encounter would prove to be pivotal in Taylor's career when Mayall needed someone to fill Peter Green's vacancy the following year, when Green quit to form Fleetwood Mac. Mayall placed a 'Guitarist Wanted' advert in the weekly Melody Maker music paper, and much to his relief immediately got a response from Taylor, whom he readily invited to join. 
From 1966 to 1969, Taylor developed a guitar style that is blues-based with Latin and jazz influences, and appeared on the albums 'Diary Of A Band', 'Bare Wires', and 'Blues From Laurel Canyon'. After Brian Jones was removed from The Rolling Stones in June 1969, Mayall recommended Taylor to Mick Jagger, and following a rehearsal session an impressed Jagger and Keith Richards invited Taylor back the following day to continue rehearsing and recording with the band, where he overdubbed guitar on 'Country Honk' and 'Live With Me' for the album 'Let It Bleed', and on the single 'Honky Tonk Women'. After the 1973 European tour, Richards' drug problems had worsened and begun to compromise the band's ability to function, with the band members living in various countries, and between recording sessions Taylor appeared on Herbie Mann's 'London Underground' album (appropriately enough on a cover of his own band's 'Bitch'), and also contributed guitar to 'Dolly' from Nicky Hopkins' 'The Tin Man Was A Dreamer'. In 1974 recording started on the Rolling Stones' 'It's Only Rock 'n' Roll' album, but he found it difficult to get along with Richards, and so not long after those sessions, Taylor went on a six-week expedition to Brazil, to travel down the Amazon River in a boat and explore Latin music. In December 1974 Taylor announced he was leaving the Rolling Stones, with his decision coming as a shock to fans, and especially the Stones, who were reportedly angry at Taylor for leaving at such short notice. 
In 1975 he formed a band with Jack Bruce and Carla Bley, but after a short European tour they disbanded the following year. In 1977 he attended London-based sessions for the John Phillips album 'Pay Pack & Follow', appearing on several tracks alongside Jagger, Richards and Wood, and the same year he also played guitar on sessions by Alan Merrill and Elliott Murphy. Taylor appeared as a special guest of Little Feat at the Rainbow Theatre in London in early 1977, sharing slide guitar with frontman Lowell George on 'A Apolitical Blues', and that summer he collaborated with Pierre Moerlen's Gong for their 1978 album 'Expresso II', helping out the following year on their 'Downwind' release. The early 80's were spent touring, firstly with Alvin Lee in 1981, then on a John Mayall's Bluesbeakers reunion tour from 1982-1983, and in 1984 he was part of Bob Dylan's touring band. In 1988 he played some great blues guitar on Speedo Jones' 'Have Blues Will Travel' album, and he also performed the lead guitar solo on Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' top-10 single 'I Hate Myself for Loving You'. During his time with the Stones he was always considered their most fluid and melodic guitar player, and this collection shows that skill superbly in a variety of different settings. 

Track listing

01 Bitch (from 'London Underground' by Herbie Mann 1973)
02 Dolly (from 'The Tin Man Was A Dreamer' by Nicky Hopkins 1973)
03 Always Another Train (from 'Alan Merrill' by Alan Merrill 1977, released 1985)
04 Oh Virginia (from 'Pay Pack & Follow' by John Phillips 1977, released 2001)
05 Rock Ballad (from 'Just A Story From America' by Elliott Murphy 1977) 
06 Heavy Tune (from 'Expresso II' by Gong 1978)
07 A Apolitical Blues (from 'Waiting For Columbus' by  Little Feat 1978)
08 What You Know (from 'Downwind' by Pierre Moerlen's Gong 1979)
09 Break Your Broom (from 'Have Blues Will Travel' by Speedo Jones 1988)
10 I Hate Myself For Loving You (from 'Up Your Alley' by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts 1988)

John Mayall - Alabama Blues (1968)

Following the departure of Peter Green, Mayall once again needed a new guitarist, and his first choice was 18-year-old David O'List, guitarist from the Attack. O'List declined, however, and went on to form The Nice with organist Keith Emerson, so Mayall placed a 'musicians wanted' ad in Melody Maker and also conducted his own search, and eventually found three other potential guitarists for his Bluesbreakers, Terry Edmonds, John Moorshead (later to join The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation), and 18-year-old Mick Taylor. The latter made the band quickly, but Mayall also decided to hire Edmonds as a rhythm guitarist for a few days. In the meantime, he assembled a studio album to showcase his own abilities, with former Artwoods drummer Keef Hartley drumming on half the tracks, and everything else being played by Mayall himself, with 'The Blues Alone' coming out in 1967. 
A six-piece line-up consisting of Mayall, Mick Taylor as lead guitarist, John McVie still on bass, Hughie Flint or Hartley on drums, and Rip Kant and Chris Mercer on saxophones, recorded the album 'Crusade' in 1967, and following it's release the band spent most of the year touring abroad, with Mayall taping the shows on his portable recorder. At the end of the tour, he had over sixty hours of tapes, which he edited into an album in two volumes: 'Diary Of A Band Vol 1' and 'Diary Of A Band Vol 2', released in February 1968. Meanwhile, a few line-up changes had occurred: McVie had departed for Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, and was replaced by Paul Williams, who soon quit to join Alan Price and was himself replaced by Keith Tillman, with Dick Heckstall-Smith taking over the saxophone spot. Following a US tour, there were more line-up changes, starting with the troublesome bass position. First Mayall replaced bassist Tillman with 15-year-old Andy Fraser, but within six weeks Fraser left to join Free and was replaced by Tony Reeves, previously a member of the New Jazz Orchestra. Hartley was required to leave, and he was replaced by New Jazz Orchestra drummer Jon Hiseman, and Henry Lowther, who played violin and cornet, joined in February 1968. 
Two months later this line-up of The Bluesbreakers recorded 'Bare Wires', before Hiseman, Reeves, and Heckstall-Smith moved on to form Colosseum. Mayall managed to retain Mick Taylor and added drummer Colin Allen bassist Stephen Thompson, and in 1968 the new quartet recorded the superb 'Blues From Laurel Canyon'. The final post of this series collects the remaining tracks from 'Raw Blues', some previously unreleased tracks featuring Peter Green, Taylor's first single with the band 'Suspicions', and topped off with two great unreleased tracks from the 'Bare Wires' sessions. Despite the unbelievably turbulent history of the Bluesbreakers, I hope that these posts show that in their many incarnations they produced some of the best British blues ever recorded. 

Track listing

01 Evil Woman Blues (from 'Raw Blues' 1967)   
02 Missing You (previously unreleased 1967)   
03 Greeny (previously unreleased 1967)  
04 Milkman Strut (from 'Raw Blues' 1967) 
05 Suspicions (Part One) (single 1967)    
06 Suspicions (Part Two) (b-side of 'Suspicions (Part One)')  
07 Mama Talk To Your Daughter (previously unreleased 1967)  
08 Alabama Blues (previously unreleased 1967) 
09 Your Funeral And My Trial (previously unreleased 1967)    
10 Jenny (single 1968) 
11 Picture On The Wall (b-side of 'Jenny')  
12 Knockers Step Forward (previously unreleased 1968)   
13 Hide And Seek (previously unreleased 1968)