John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton fans rejoice! On December 8, 2009 Universal Music will be reissuing John Mayall's classic British blues-rock album Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton in a deluxe edition, two-disc set. Much like Universal's previous "deluxe edition" archival releases, Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton is filled to the brim with rare and unreleased material.

The first disc of this deluxe edition features the original twelve-song mono release of the album from 1966, along with the same songs in a stereo mix which was originally released in 1969. This is the same 24-track version of Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton that was released on a remastered CD on Universal's Decca imprint in 1998.

For Clapton fans, the attraction of this umpteenth reissue of Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton will be the second disc, comprised of a mix of rare studio tracks, live radio broadcasts, and club performances that showcase Clapton's raw, but still maturing blues guitar style. Disc two offers 19 songs, including eight from sessions for BBC Radio that were broadcast in late 1965 and early 1966, a handful of singles and studio tracks, and six songs from two Flamingo Club performances in London circa March and April 1966. Some of this stuff has been released before, but much of it has been long out-of-print, and nine tracks on disc two have never been previously released.

Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton is the album that established both the guitarist's reputation and the cult of personality that followed him around both the U.K. and the United States well into the 1980s. The album is a classic of British blues-rock, innovative and influential, helping to launch dozens of blues-rock bands on both sides of the ocean. If you haven't heard it, you've missed an essential piece of blues music history.

Related Content:
Eric Clapton Profile
John Mayall Profile
Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton CD review

Photo courtesy Universal Music