In The Palace Of The King

Performer: John Mayall
Artist: Robben Ford
Engineer: Michael Aarvold
Producer: Buddy Whittington; Hank Van Sickle; John Mayall; Michael Aarvold; Joe Yuele
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: John Mayall: John Mayall (electric piano); Michael Aarvold (guitar); Buddy Whittington (guitars); Lon Price (saxophone); Red Holloway (tenor saxophone); Lee Thornburg (trombone); Tom Canning (electric piano); Hank Van Sickle (bass guitar); Joe Yuele (cowbells); Buddy Wittington (background vocals). It's common knowledge that two of the most renowned blues guitarists of all time happened to share the same last name (no relation though): B.B. King and Albert King. But there was also another "King" of the blues, Freddie King, and while he doesn't seem to rake in the same amount of accolades as the other two players, blues buffs far and wide know Freddie was a force to be reckoned with. And one of his biggest admirers through the years has been John Mayall, whose band, the Bluesbreakers, has been covering Freddie King songs since their inception in the '60s. However, on his 56th album overall (!), Mayall offers an album's worth of songs that Freddie King had either written, inspired, or was "closely associated with," for 2007's In the Palace of the King. Stylistically similar to Mayall's last studio effort (2005's solid Road Dogs), Palace is full of tasty blues guitar throughout, with Buddy Whittington supplying the lion's share of the lead work, especially on such standouts as "Palace of the King." But one of the album's undisputed highlights is "Cannonball Shuffle," an instrumental track that features some fine soloing from Robben Ford (who also solely penned the tune). And for guitarists who are looking to jam along with the album, Mayall was kind enough to list what key each song is in (inside the CD booklet). In the Palace of the King is a much-deserved tribute to one of the blues' greatest yet oft-overlooked guitarists. ~ Greg Prato

Like most British blues fanatics in the early '60s, John Mayall took his cues primarily from the stars of Chicago's electric blues scene. Both with the Bluesbreakers and later on his own, Mayall played a large role in introducing white audiences to electric blues. He was a leader in the emerging blues-rock movement, and his bands were an early proving ground for a number of future stars--Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce of Cream, Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones, and Peter Green, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac.

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