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!

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The Essential Coco Montoya features a dozen tracks culled from Montoya's three excellent mid-1990s albums recorded for Blind Pig Records.

John Mayall's "Tough"

New Studio Album By The Blues Master – His 57th To Date

New York, NY -Over the years, Eagle Rock Entertainment has developed a strong relationship with legendary blues master John Mayall. On September 15, 2009, through their wholly-owned Eagle Records subsidiary, Mayall’s dynamic and masterful new piece of work: Tough has been released.

On this, his self-produced 57th studio album to date, John Mayall once again proves why he is known as “The Godfather of British Blues.” Tough tackles a number of topics, deeply exploring the struggles in human relationships, the pitfalls of temptation, and the difficulties we face in the world’s current state.
However, through the “toughness,” he also touches upon one more prominent theme: the promise of hope. Current, gritty, and strong, these 11 tracks are words of wisdom told from a voice of strength and experience.

Taking on multiple instruments (piano, organ, six and twelve string guitar, and harmonica, along with his signature vocals) Mayall is backed by his touring band–guitar phenomenon Rocky Athas, bassist Greg Rzab, drummer Jay Davenport, and organist/pianist Tom Canning.

76 years young, Mayall has spent 44 years cultivating his brand of blues and has helped launch the careers of some of the greatest contemporary blues musicians, including Eric Clapton, Rolling Stone Mick Taylor, and Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and Peter Green. He has enjoyed many deserved accolades for his extraordinary contributions to blues music, including an honor from the Queen of England herself. In 2005, she named him an officer of the Order of the British Empire. He accepted this prestigious honor alongside Brian May (Queen) and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin).

Tough promises to be another great addition to this incomparable musician’s body of work. Other Eagle Rock Entertainment releases, include In The Palace Of The King (April 2007), The 70th Birthday Concert (2CD, DVD, and Blu-ray), Road Dogs CD (June 2005), and Along For The Ride CD (May 2001).

Eagle Rock Entertainment is an international media production and distribution company operating across audiovisual entertainment programming. Eagle Rock Entertainment works directly alongside talent to produce the highest quality programming output covering film, general entertainment and musical performance. Eagle Rock Entertainment has offices based in London, New York, Germany, France & Toronto.


Track Listing:
1.) Nothing To Do With Love
2.) Just What You’re Looking For
3.) Playing With A Losing Hand
4.) An Eye For An Eye
5.) How Far Down
6.) Train To My Heart
7.) Slow Train To Nowhere
8.) Number’s Down
9.) That Good Old Rockin’ Blues
10.) Tough Times Ahead
11.) The Sum Of Something