John Mayall Strikes Again On ‘Talk About That’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

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John Mayall has earned the title “Godfather of British Blues” by the very longevity of his career in combination with the pedigree of  musicians who’ve advanced through his bands over the years. Mayall celebrated his seventieth birthday fourteen years ago  with a concert featuring Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor, guitarists for Mayall in the Sixties, while Mick Fleetwood and John McVie were also members of the man’s Bluesbreakers band in that era, at one point alongside Peter Green, with whom that rhythm section also played in an early lineup of Fleetwood

All of which history is particularly relevant to Talk About That. John Mayall is pictured playing guitar  both inside and out this slim-line digi-pak and Joe Walsh contributes fervent fretwork to a pair of cuts here, one a discerning topical tune  titled “The Devil Must Be Laughing” as well as “Cards on the Table,” where the former James Gang member and Eagle fires up his slide to expand the instrumental palette in use on the album (the electric piano on “I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You” serves a similar function).

Like his most recent Forty Below Records projects, the sessions for this album, co-produced by Mayall with engineer Eric Corne, also mark the final collaborations with the quartet credited here. Drummer Jay Davenport and bassist Greg Rzab will continue to work in a trio format with the leader, while guitarist Rocky Athas moves on to other projects, a serendipitous change not unlike others that highlight John Mayall’s career, such as the drummer-less direction(s) he pursued beginning with The Turning Point in 1969.

Comprised largely of Mayall originals like the title song, a pro-forma funk piece elevated by an excellent audio mix highlighting organ in the arrangement, Talk About That also features some choice and novel covers often sporting horns. The threesome of Ron Dziubla on sax, Mark Pender on trumpet and Nick Lane on trombone distinguishes Betty Crutcher’s “It’s Hard Going Up,” as does Mayall’s ebullient piano playing, while “Goin’ Away Baby” and “Don’t Deny Me,” written by James Lane and JJ Williams respectively, are similarly rousing; the former features the familiar sound of Mayall on harmonica, while the latter’s swings gracefully with the horn section in tow.

That three-man complement also decorates “Gimme Some of That Gumbo,” a saucy (in more ways than one) exercise in style on which the aforementioned Athas appropriately utilizes a cutting tone within the upbeat, Bo Diddley beat arrangement. The guitarist’s formidable presence may be missed, but if John Mayall has proven anything over the course of his career, it’s that his loyalty to the blues is his own greatest resource, a fact reaffirmed by the superiority of Talk About That in comparison to his other recordings in the recent past.