Living legend JOHN MAYALL and his Bluesbreakers celebrate with 70th Birthday Concert - now on Blu-ray!

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—> See Link to our Blu-ray Review (below)

John Mayall's 70th Birthday Concert comes to Blu-ray - Timeless Birthday Celebration/UNICEF Fundraising Event Now Presented in High-Def!

JOHN MAYALL & The Bluesbreakers and Friends: 70th Birthday Concert » - now available!

New York, NY — Eagle Rock Entertainment has built a reputation for bringing fantastic concerts by diverse artists to the home theater via DVD. They have furthered this endeavor by releasing these concerts in the striking Blu-ray format. On June 30, the classic DVD of John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers and Friends 70th Birthday Concert was upgraded to high-definition quality (MSRP $24.98).

On July 19, 2003, John Mayall hosted this very special event at King's Dock in Liverpool, England. This concert, a celebration of his 70th birthday, was an assertion that captivating musical performances have no age limit. The fundraising event, the first in the UNITE for UNICEF series, was aimed to raise awareness and generate funds to end child exploitation.

On this 70th Birthday Concert, he was joined by his ever-present Bluesbreakers (guitarist/vocalist Buddy Whittington, organist/pianist Tom Canning, Bassist Hank Van Sickle, and Drummer Joe Yuele). He was also reunited with Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor, as well as veteran trombonist Chris Barber. With all of these renowned talents backing the celebrated bluesman, this is a concert not to be missed.

Originally released in standard DVD format on December 9, 2003, 70th Birthday Concert also features three bonus tracks not included in the original release (see full track list below), as well an interview with the man himself. This Blu-ray is a blues treasure for the high-def viewer. For those anticipating more Mayall magic, his new studio album, Tough, is releasing September 15.

Known as "The Father of British Blues," John Mayall's legendary Bluesbreakers band has launched 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.

John Mayall (born 29 November 1933) is a pioneering English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His musical career spans over fifty years but the most notable episode in it occurred during the late '60s. His extraordinary contributions to blues music have earned him well-deserved accolades. In 2005, Queen Elizabeth named him an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). Brian May (Queen) and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) joined him in the reception of this prestigious honor.

SONGS PERFORMED:
1. Southside Story
2. Kids Got The Blues
3. Dirty Water
4. Somebody´s Acting Like a Child
5. Blues For The Lost Days
6. Walking on Sunset
7. Oh, Pretty Woman
8. No Big Hurry
9. Please Mr. Lofton
10. Hideaway
11. All Your Love
12. Have You Heard
13. Hoochie Coochie Man
14. I'm Tore Down
15. It Ain't Right
16. Talk To Your Daughter

Bonus Songs:
1. Grits Ain't Groceries
2. Jacksboro Highway
3. California

BONUS FEATURES include:
• above 3 extra performances (BD exclusive)
• Interview with John Mayall (10 minutes, with subtitle options in English, French, Spanish, & German)

JOHN MAYALL & the Bluesbreakers and Friends: 70th Birthday Concert — Explore further:
—> Blu-ray Review by James Plath »
EXCERPT: I saw John Lee Hooker perform around the time that he was 70, and he sat down the whole time and didn't have the energy to play for every song. His sidemen did all the heavy lifting. But Mayall? He wears jeans and a Oklahoma Blues Society sleeveless t-shirt, revealing biceps that suggest the leader of the band probably does his share of setting up and striking the equipment. As he moves smoothly from one instrument to another, without faltering, you begin to realize that he's been standing throughout the whole concert.

It's not a birthday without presents, of course, and for Mayall it's presence. Joining him onstage for the first time in 40 years is former Bluesbreaker Eric Clapton, who obviously sweetened the deal for the audience. Also reuniting with Mayall is Mick Taylor, the guitarist who replaced Peter Green on the Bluesbreakers after Green left to form Fleetwood Mac, and who himself left the Bluesbreakers to play for the Rolling Stones. The third special guest is trombonist Chris Barber, a jazz musician who's also played blues since the Fifties,' and who introduced England to blues players such as Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Muddy Waters, and Big Bill Broonzy. They join Mayall and his current Bluesbreakers: Buddy Whitington on guitar, Hank Van Sickle on bass, Tom Canning on organ/piano, and Joe Yuele on drums, with a horn section consisting of saxophonists Dave Lewis and Julian Arguelles and trumpeter Henry Lowther. Collectively, these guys are the ones having the party. We just get to watch.

And the Bluesbreakers don't catch a break until Clapton comes onstage and everyone but Mayall and Clapton clears out. Then they come back. What's interesting is that while Clapton may have the biggest reputation, Taylor and Whitington hold their own. None of them tries to out-shine the others, though. It's not a contest of musical one-upmanship. Rather, when it's an instrumentalist's turn to solo, they do their thing with confidence and matter-of-factness. It's what they do.

The 70th Birthday Concert is solid blues entertainment from start to finish. Put this on when you have a gathering and you'll have a constant wash of good old-fashioned thumping blues to get your party started. For a 70 year old, Mayall puts on a mean concert. His keyboard and harmonica playing has a nice jazz improvisational quality to it, and when he plays both instruments at once it's a treat to watch. Among concert highlights are the duet he does with Clapton on "No Big Hurry," "Hoochie Coochie Man" with Clapton taking the lead, a supremely energetic "I'm Tore Down," and the big finale with everyone onboard, "Talk to Your Daughter." Hours after this concert, I still had the blues going through my head. And that's a good thing.

(Click thru the Link above for the full review)

News editor note: This is one of the greatest concerts I've ever witnessed(!), having owned the earlier DVD (+CD) edition for several years. John Mayall and friends always satisfies, with a first rate blues performance that is enjoyed over and over...
Keep on jammin', John!

Concert Synopsis:
JOHN MAYALL comments:
"Let me say that for so many years I have dreamed of something like this event being possible.

On the night of the concert, I felt truly overwhelmed by not only the response of the four and a half thousand blues fan who'd journeyed to Liverpool from far and wide but with the fun we all had on stage. To play again with Eric after a gap of 38 years was like time had just melted away. By the time we came to the finale I was almost shocked to look at my watch and realize we'd been on stage for two and a half hours!

I foresee that there will probably never be a night like this again and so it's such a blessing that it was all captured on tape and film for all of us to treasure in the years to come." - John Mayall

70th Birthday Concert is a 2003 live Electric Blues video recording of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers to celebrate Mayall's 70th Birthday. Recorded in Liverpool, England on July 19 2003, the concert was notable as it featured Eric Clapton as a guest, so marked the first time he and Mayall had performed together in almost 40 years. The set also features Mick Taylor and Chris Barber.

Bluesbreakers band:
John Mayall: Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, Organ, Piano
Mick Taylor: Lead Guitar
Henry Lowther: Trumpet
Chris Barber: Trombone
Julian Arguelles: Saxophone

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.

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