This is a Random Album Generator.
One album a day.
From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Get Started

Bluesbreakers

John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

Eric Clapton

1966
Bluesbreakers
Album Summary

Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton, colloquially known as The Beano Album, is a studio album by the English blues rock band John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. Produced by Mike Vernon and released in 1966 by Decca Records (UK) and London Records (US), it pioneered a guitar-dominated blues-rock sound. The album was commercially successful and most critics viewed it positively. In 2003 and 2012, Rolling Stone ranked it number 195 on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". It was voted number 391 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).

Wikipedia

Rating

3.23

Votes

8620
Genres
Blues
Rock

Reviews

Like a review? Give it a thumb up to help us display relevant reviews!
Sort by: Top Date
View Author
Sat Oct 02 2021
5

A quintessential blues album which gained Clapton his “God” nickname. This influenced very popular guitar sounds in the years and decades which followed and is an album which many many successful artists will point to as inspiring. I see there’s a lot of haters for this one. Like it or not, it’s had a massive impact. It’s not just “another blues album”, it’s one that helped bring the blues into the limelight for decades to come. It’s fine to dislike it or hate on Clapton out of context, I don’t even disagree with some of that sentiment, but in context, this simply is a transformative record for rock n roll, blues, the British Invasion, and guitar playing. Fuck the haters, 1966 Clapton is God.

👍
View Author
Tue Sep 14 2021
1

men in stonewashed jeans at a pub jam night. played by talented musicians but bland and having the impressive ability of sucking all of the soul out of the blues and turning it into an egotistical self important thing. its painting by numbers. its probably the whitest version of the blues i've ever had to listen to. utter dross.

👍
View Author
Mon Dec 21 2020
1

No way am I gonna listen to fuckin Eric Clapton

👍
View Author
Sun Nov 21 2021
5

Eric Clapton's 'on-the-rise' guitar chops coupled with John Mayall's versatile vocals make this an essential blues record. The entirety of the album comprises of CHBs, earned through its infectious blues bars and concise lyricism - a prodigious achievement especially for a 1966 release. 'Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton' is influential in both the genre and equipment - trademarking the Gibson Les Paul wired into an overdrive amp sound, which is apparent in the whole album.

👍
View Author
Tue Sep 14 2021
1

Uber blues. Couldn't be arsed with the whole thing. It's probably unfair to judge this because everyone has heard the blues been done so, so, so many times that it all just sounds the same. Maybe this was pioneering at the time...but who gives a fuck? If it was a footballer, it'd be Michael Ballack. Not due to ability, but because he played for Chelsea, a team in blue and also, more importantly because like Eric Clapton, who features in this, his son died. Yeah, sue me.

👍
View Author
Mon Sep 20 2021
1

Meh - A bunch of privileged white dudes signing about how they want to get over on girls while they misappropriate blues music. Hows about putting some actual blues artists in the list.

👍
View Author
Mon Nov 29 2021
1

The first track sounds like Santana, but trying to play without passion. Like a divorced man in his 40s who has just got his first band together and is playing at the next thing up from a Wetherspoon's to three alcoholics and two teenaged barstaff who are laughing behind his back as he makes sexfaces during the solos. I mean, it's 55 years old. I'm sure that people in 1966 didn't bother with much music from 1911. Music has moved on so far from people being impressed by somebody going 'widdle widdle' on an electrified guitar with some distortion that it's almost unfair to be this damning to it. But then, Revolver, Blonde On Blonde and Pet Sounds came out in 1966, all of which still sound great today. Also, white blues is generally meh, and Eric Clapton is a racist and a terrible parent. I made it halfway through. If the second half is a heartbreaking work of staggering genius, I'm sorry, and also very surprised.

👍
View Author
Fri Oct 09 2020
5

Loved this album. I could hear where this album influenced so many other albums.

👍
View Author
Tue Feb 02 2021
5

incredible - an album from my childhood days. My brother bought it at the time and I listened along, because he always listened to his music a little louder. John Mayall and Eric Clapton, 2 blues musicians of the extra class

👍
View Author
Thu Jan 20 2022
5

Incredible blues. Album, enjoyed every track on here. Guitar, organs, drums all phenomenal.

👍
View Author
Thu Feb 10 2022
5

An excellent blues album, even if you don't care about the groundbreaking sound design.

👍
View Author
Wed May 25 2022
5

Eric Clapton playing the blues at his best. Searing guitar work on both the covers and original songs. Didn't know that John McVie played bass in this band. I'd like to give it a 4.5 as I'm trying to save the 5's for things I absolutely love, but since that's not an option, this is strong enough for me to round up!

👍
View Author
Thu Jul 07 2022
5

really, really well done album it really feels like it made the most out of the blues genre there’s so much creativity and diversity, I love it - 10/10

👍
View Author
Tue Aug 23 2022
5

I'm tough on the Clapton records on this list; a lot of his solo records on this list border on his yuppie 80s rock. This, however, is just a solid blues record. Love the horns, love the organ, and Clapton is absolutely ripping through this album. If I had one minor complaint, it's that John Mayall's voice is a little weaker than needed for some of the notes, but it's never so bad it's offensive. Favorite tracks: "Hideaway", "What'd I Say", "Have You Heard"

👍
View Author
Tue Nov 01 2022
5

This album is so fucking good. This Eric Clapton guy might have a future on the guitar. Such diverse and interesting blues themes in the instrumentals. Favorite tracks: Hideaway, What'd I Say, Have You Heard

👍
View Author
Sat Mar 06 2021
3

As a very fair weather blues man, I have never heard of these guys. Groovy but wore on me after 1/2 album.

👍
View Author
Mon Nov 29 2021
3

3.2 - solid blues album. Nice guitar licks from Clapton. Not something I’ll be coming back to a lot when I want to hear the genre.

👍
View Author
Thu Jan 20 2022
2

Clapton's recent and not-so-recent shenanigans render this pretty unpalatable for me. I get why your dad likes it but it's not for me today.

👍
View Author
Sat Mar 27 2021
1

Didn't listen. Well I got three tracks in and it was all horrible white man blues and then the the guy started singing 'You're gonna be my little girl, you've been through 18 years of pain' which really creeped me out. Zero on all counts. Zero zero zero zero zero

👍
View Author
Fri May 21 2021
5

Un classique du blues rock et de eric clapton. C’est un album qu’il faut avoir ecoute dans sa vie et je l’ai deja ecoute des dizaines de fois. 5*

👍
View Author
Thu Feb 04 2021
5

The "Beano" album... just AWESOME! Clapton at height of his powers. Raw blues and rock, great guitar tones and playing.

👍
View Author
Mon Mar 29 2021
5

very good album, lots of absolute slaps and gives me a reminder of the blues brothers which is nice. solid 5 star

👍
View Author
Wed Jan 20 2021
5

Discazo, Clapton se adueña del disco. Solo hay un solo de batería, eterno, pero solo uno.

👍
View Author
Fri Jan 29 2021
5

A pleasant rift of the harmonica blues along with Eric Clapton

👍
View Author
Sun Feb 07 2021
5

White boy blues at its finest

👍
View Author
Fri Feb 19 2021
5

It's blues music but with Eric Clapton on the guitar? Awesome, love it.

👍
View Author
Mon Apr 05 2021
5

Great old school, raw rock album

👍
View Author
Wed Jun 09 2021
5

Discazo. Blues a punto de derivar en psicodelia. Clapton hace magia y no se le da el suficiente credito pese a la fama que tiene. Otro disco que parece sacado de Louisiana, no se por que no habian temas en True Detective. Ideal para escucharlo con las luces bajas y tomar el whiskey mas barato que puedas digerir.

👍
View Author
Fri Aug 27 2021
5

Very good, nice solos and an overall decent flow.

👍
View Author
Mon Aug 30 2021
5

A fantastic album. Really pushing british blues forward

👍
View Author
Tue Nov 23 2021
5

First time listening, classic blues album.

👍
View Author
Wed Nov 24 2021
5

Nice blues-rock with mono&stereo tracks

👍
View Author
Mon Nov 29 2021
5

Really enjoyed this album and will add to my usual rotation. Early Clapton sounds amazing.

👍
View Author
Wed Mar 02 2022
5

BIG BIG BIG Fan of this one. Such a great and varied album.

👍
View Author
Wed May 25 2022
5

A key release during the mid-sixties and set the stage for almost all blues-based rock albums for the next decade. Amazing in its simplicity. Ramblin’ On My Mind is the first ever Clapton vocal and provides a blueprint for what he has been mining ever since. The overall musicianship is very high quality. John McVie bass is solid and, along with Hughie Flint, provides the requisite support for Clapton's guitar and Mayall's keys. To me this is ageless.

👍
View Author
Mon Jun 20 2022
5

Groovy bluesy vibes. Very enjoyable listen!

👍
View Author
Tue Oct 04 2022
5

Never heard this before, I love it.

👍
View Author
Wed Oct 12 2022
5

suspeito pra falar, bluezao de respeito

👍
View Author
Tue Dec 13 2022
5

Fucking CUTE. I'd listen to it again, all old times n cute! Only thing is after a while I got bored to listen to the whole thing, but as singles I fuck with it hardd

👍
View Author
Thu Dec 29 2022
5

Really dig this album, solid blues tracks with riffs i recognize from other artists. So not sure whom was borrowing riffs from who but its a good album for blues fans.

👍
View Author
Fri Jan 20 2023
5

what. an. album. great vocals killer instrumentation. Clapton absolutely shreds on guitar. There’s a great mix of blues styles but it all comes together like a delicious soup of sound. loved it.

👍
View Author
Tue Jan 24 2023
5

Damn. This album melts in your years. Like Santana and BB King had a band and then Eric Clapton joined in. This is an album you can have on all the time. Just a great groove to hang with and some of the best guitar-centered blues you'll ever hear. The interplay between Clapton's virtuosic guitar playing and Mayall's expressive vocals creates a mesmerizing and unforgettable listening experience. "Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton" is an essential album for any fan of the blues.

👍
View Author
Thu Jan 26 2023
5

Easy listen. Can't really fault it. It's on the lower end of 5 though.

👍
View Author
Tue Feb 28 2023
5

Loved every second of it. Best track: All Your Love

👍
View Author
Sun Mar 05 2023
5

Wow great album. My favorite so far. Good easy listening blues

👍
View Author
Fri Mar 17 2023
5

I demand an explanation for why I had to grow up only hearing Tears in Heaven and Layla but not Clapton's best stuff. This is a fantastic blues rock album with excellent guest artists and a great sound.

👍
View Author
Mon Mar 20 2023
5

Eric Clapton is my beloved little blues guitarist. I've recently come to appreciate good blues. This album is an excellent example of good blues. No, amazing blues!

👍
View Author
Sun Apr 02 2023
5

Blues rock. Clapton. Vinilo.

👍
View Author
Wed Apr 19 2023
5

In My late 20s & early 30s I had a rock/blue phase. I'd go to blues clubs & festivals, so this album fits that part of me perfectly. I love this style of guitar & vocals...it sounds like soulful sex. I'm taking this as a reminder to revisit this genre. 5 outta 5.

👍
View Author
Wed May 03 2023
5

Hits you in the face with blues, then some more, and even a little jazz. Some of my favorite Clapton.

👍
View Author
Fri May 05 2023
5

Straight blues. Great album.

👍
View Author
Fri Jun 16 2023
5

This is known as the preeminent blues album for lead guitar work for very good reason. Clapton’s 1960 Les Paul screams throughout. This album is the Mecca towards which all electric blues guitarists are migrating towards when they practice. I learned that the 1960 Les Paul Standard used two PAF (patent applied for) humbucker pickups, which hold a revered place in many guitarists hearts. These pickups eliminated the humming sound of single coil pickups by wiring two opposite polarity single coils in serial (nerd shit). The manufacturing process was inconsistent during the early years leading to each guitar having a unique sound. Over the years, the manufacturing process became more standardized and design efficiencies were introduced. Eventually, the original humbucker design was so well sought after in the community that Les Paul, and other companies, spent significant resources trying to replicate the pickups from this guitar’s time period due to performances such as Clapton’s on Bluesbreakers.

👍
View Author
Tue Jun 27 2023
5

did not like the little girl song but good vibes

👍
View Author
Thu Aug 24 2023
5

Goddamn what a star studded cast. Almost every song had me clicking over to see which great was involved. Really good album.

👍
View Author
Sun Sep 03 2023
5

Genres: Blues rock, blues Formed: 1963 Run time: 24 songs, 1 hour, 14 mins (12 songs, mono then again in stereo) The debut studio album by the English blues rock band. This band has had a phenomenal list of members over the years: Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce (both later of Cream), Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie (those three would form Fleetwood Mac), Mick Taylor (the Rolling Stones), Aynsley Dunbar (Frank Zappa, The Mothers of Invention), Jon Hiseman, Dick Heckstall-Smith and Tony Reeves (these three would form Colosseum), and many others. Most modern Rock guitar laden music can trace its roots back to this group and album. I’ve never heard of John Mayall or The Bluesbreakers, but I am very familiar with the groups formed by the artists passing through. Spotify: Least popular song: >350k Most popular song: >33M plays. Out of the 200+ albums I’ve listened to as part of the “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die” there have only been a couple that I actually believed lived up to that grand title, and this is one of them. Listen Again?: Yes My Rating: *****

👍
View Author
Fri Sep 15 2023
5

Blues rock. Clapton. Vinilo.

👍
View Author
Tue Oct 03 2023
5

"Blues Breakers" is the debut album by English blues band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers with guitarist Eric Clapton. After the release of Mayall's first album, Eric Clapton joined the group leaving the Yardbirds. The album was originally planned to be a live album but ended up recorded at Decca Studio in London. It is credited with helping pioneer a guitar-dominated blues rock sound with Clapton's guitar guitar tone very influential in future commercial rock-style guitar playing. Besides Clapton on guitar, the band includes John Mayall (vocals, piano, organ, harmonica), John McVie (bass) and Hughie Flint (drums). A horn section is added in the second half of the album. Of note, the album title as well as Clapton's guitar are nicknamed "The Beano" after the album cover where Clapton is pictured reading "The Beano." The album opens with a cover of Otis Rush's "All Your Love." A bluesy rhythm section. Background organ. Mayall's strong vocals. It starts slow then picks up pace. Clapton's guitar both having rhythm and lead aspects. A searing Clapton solo. Let's get this out of the way. Every song has a searing Clapton solo, so no more mentioning of them. They are all great. "Little Girl" has a quicker pace. A Mayall original. I like the melodic tone of Clapton's guitar both in the chorus and solo (Oops, last time). "Double Crossing Time" features the piano and has a stomping bluesy groove. One of my favorite songs on the album. The second half adds horns which kicks off with "Key to Love." This is a bouncey song. Lest we forget that John Mayall is one of the best harmonica players, the band covers "Parchman Farm." Never a better blues subject than spending time in the state pen. Some more great rhythm section playing. A bouncey feel. Horns start off "Have You Heard." This is slower. Great interplay between EC's guitar and the horns. Eric Clapton's guitar playing, guitar solos and especially his guitar tone are all spetacular. But, there is more here. The rhythm section is tight. Mayall's harmonica playing and vocals are top notch. There's variety in their blues approach using horns, an organ, a piano or a harmonica with EC's guitar. This is rightfully put up with the best-ever blues rock albums.

👍
View Author
Wed Oct 25 2023
5

This is a 5 for me, although probably barely. It's got that super classic blues rock feel - this is the era and style that all that blues-based rock that we love so much is actually based on. I bet Clapton's later work is seen as 'better' but I think this is the most fluid and loose I've ever heard from him. He's got so much 'feel' coming through in his improvisation here, and I FWIW I am beginning to wonder if the Les Paul years suit me better than the Strat years haha Anyway great record, a lot of fun, killer guitar work.

👍
View Author
Fri Oct 27 2023
5

This album absolutely rules. The blues are tight as fuck. The arrangements beyond the guitars are top notch. The guitar playing...I mean, the words don't exist. Just so superlative. Favorite track: Hideaway

👍
View Author
Wed Nov 01 2023
5

I own it on vinal--that's an automatic 5. Another route through which naive girls learned about the blues. Departed from the slapped together junk British youth immitated at the time. Don't know what Clapton was complaining about--not authentic enough. It was all about him anyway. Mayall was pretty amazing too.

👍
View Author
Mon Nov 13 2023
5

Can white men play the blues? They most definitely can. Loved this album even though I'd never heard any of the tracks before.

👍
View Author
Mon Nov 20 2023
5

Ah the Beano album. This is the album you tell people to listen to when they say they don't like blues. The diversity on this album is great, with differing instruments, tempos and feel for each song. Everybody talks about Clapton (with good reason - his playing on this album changed blues and rock), but the rhythm section of Flint and McVie is solid, and ultimately most of the credit deserves to go to Mayall.

👍
View Author
Thu Nov 30 2023
5

Fijne afwisselend mijmerende en dan weer opzwepende blues(rock). Ik heb gelijk hierna maar even Cuby en de Blizzards opgezet, want dat is natuurlijk de NLse John Mayall. Met Eelco Gelling als Eric Clapton. Het zit een beetje tussen een 4 en een 5 in, maar ik ben in een goede bui, dus ik rond het weer eens lekker af naar boven.

👍
View Author
Thu Nov 30 2023
5

Je kan dit wel dood analyseren, maar je kan hier beter gewoon lekker van genieten. Want wat is dit een heerlijk album zeg!

👍
View Author
Thu Nov 30 2023
5

Geen genre zo voorspelbaar en weinig innovatief als de blues, en toch is dit de vette shit. Kippenhokmuziek van het beste soort, ik vergeef ze zelfs de te lange drumsolo. Maar ja, met Eric Clapton in de gelederen kan het eigenlijk al niet misgaan. Gisteren al gedraaid tijdens de sessie Beer is los in de mancave van Eric D., vandaag met veel plezier nog een paar keer opgezet.

👍
View Author
Sun Dec 03 2023
5

Great album. I prefer this sort of rock blues compared to blues blues.

👍
View Author
Thu Nov 26 2020
4

tjanksgiving is suhc a lame holiday god. so fuckign lame!!!!! this album isnt that lame though even though all evidence points to it being lame. cover is kind of uglt and the genre is "British Blues" . laaaaame!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the guitar on here owns though. everything elese also isnt too bad. a little hit or miss just since most of the slower stuff on here is not awesome. whatever

👍
View Author
Fri Jan 29 2021
4

Bluesy, tasty riffs with lots of soulful vocals.

👍
View Author
Mon Feb 01 2021
4

This is some fine ass tunes.

👍
View Author
Tue Jun 01 2021
4

Un disco entero dedicado a hacer que la guitarra de Eric Clapton destacara y de hecho lo hace muy bien y se convierte en un disco que vale la pena, especialmente a quien le gusta el blues, pero creo que puede funcionar muy bien con otro público. Cortito y al punto, pero creo que vale la pena, de la versión extendida del 2001, una rola compuesta en su totalidad por Clapton que me gustó más que otras del disco.

👍
Load more reviews