Recorded just after
Mick Taylor departed for
the Rolling Stones,
Mayall eliminated drums entirely on this live recording. With mostly acoustic guitars and
John Almond on flutes and sax,
Mayall and his band, as his typically overblown liner notes state, "explore seldom-used areas within the framework of low-volume music." But it does work. The all-original material is flowing and melodic, with long, jazzy grooves that don't lose sight of their bluesy underpinnings. Lyrically,
Mayall stretches out a bit into social comment on "The Laws Must Change" on this fine, meditative mood album. The 2001 CD reissue is a definite upgrade, though perhaps not enough to make you rush out and buy a new copy, in its addition of three previously unreleased bonus tracks from the same performance. Those are all respectable songs that fit in well with the rest of the set, particularly "Sleeping by Her Side" with its catchy and dreamy flute line, and the brisk "Don't Waste My Time," which has a nearly country & western feel. The newly added historical liner notes are another plus. ~ Richie Unterberger