Artist:     John Mayall

Album:     Nobody Told Me

Label:     Forty Below Records

Release Date:     2.22.2019

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Veteran bluesman John Mayall has delivered yet another remarkably strong album. Now in his mid-eighties, Mayall has a track record that few, if any, can match. His back catalogue is nothing short of enormous and he is a true legend in the blues world. Everyone knows that almost everyone of significance either owes their career to Mayall, or has at some part in their careers played with the guy as part of his vibrant mix.

With Nobody Told Me, Mayall has again ramped up the pressure aided and abetted by his now near-permanent band of Greg Rabz on bass, Jay Davenport on drums, and a relative newcomer, Texan fretwork diva Carolyn Wonderland, a lady with more chops than a herd of hogs. And, as if that was not enough, he is joined on this album by many of the blues great and good, including Joe Bonamassa, Todd Rungren, Alex Lifeson, Larry McCray and Sopranos writer/actor/SpringsteenEast Street Band guitarist, Steve Van Zandt. As might be expected from such a rich and varied crew, the result is simply superb, an album that is nothing short of glorious in every way.

Looking back over Mayall’s 60-year-plus career, it’s near impossible to find a dud album in the history; his last, recent releases have been excellent, and show that this guy can still write a memorable song while working at the top of the game as a blues guru and multi-instrumentalist. Nobody Told Me only adds to his huge legacy as another bit of striking blues brilliance.

—Iain Patience

See Iain Patience’s interview with John Mayall in Elmore