Album Review: John Mayall, "Tough"

There's a reason that John Mayall is a legend - the man knows the blues and he knows how to pick the right musicians to help deliver his musical vision. I still can't get the picture out of my head of Mayall packing up his own gear after a gig in Austin a few years ago. Even though he's a legend, he not above doing his own equipment grunt work. You gotta respect that. On Tough, his 57th studio album (!) Mayall delivers the goods at an age when most of his musical contemporaries are either dead or have resigned themselves to listening to the blues from their rocker. Strong harmonica by Mayall is featured on the disc and some tight backing by musicians like guitarist Rocky Athas, bassist Greg Rzab, drummer Jay Davenport, and keyboardist Tom Canning. Long live the blues and long live John Mayall!