''A Hard Road'' is the third album (and second studio album) recorded by

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are an English blues rock band led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall. While never producing a hit of their own, the band has been influential as an incubator for British rock and blues ...

, released in 1967. It features Peter Green on lead guitar,

John McVie John Graham McVie (born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fle ...

on bass, Aynsley Dunbar on drums and John Almond on saxophone. Tracks 5, 7 and 13 feature the

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the te ...

of Alan Skidmore and

Ray Warleigh Raymond Kenneth Warleigh (28 September 1938 – 21 September 2015) was an Australian alto saxophonist and flautist. Biography Ray Warleigh was born in Sydney, Australia, and migrated to England in 1960, where he quickly established himself as a ...

. Peter Green sings lead vocals on " You Don't Love Me" and "The Same Way". The album reached #8 on the UK album charts which is Mayall's third biggest chart next to ''

Bare Wires ''For the American band see Matthew Melton'' ''Bare Wires'' is a studio album by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, featuring Mick Taylor on guitar, released in 1968 on Decca Records. The album was the last John Mayall studio album to feature ...

'' and '' Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton'' which reached #3 and #6, respectively. The cover art and the original LP sleeve design are by Mayall. In 2003 and 2006 two different expanded versions of the album were released.

Reception

Reaction to the album was mostly positive, and many praised Green's guitar playing. Team Rock rated the album at 14, on their "Top 30 British Blues Rock Albums of All Time". The two re-issues of the album, in 2003 (double CD) and 2006 (single CD), have compiled all of the Peter Green studio contributions he made to John Mayall's Bluesbreakers over 1966–1971. The bonus tracks missing from the 2006 remaster (except "Evil Woman Blues") appeared on the remastered versions of the next Bluesbreakers studio albums, "Crusade" and "Bare Wires". It was voted number 638 in the third edition of

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by th ...

'' (2000).

Track listing

All tracks by John Mayall except where noted.

Original album

;Side one # "A Hard Road" – 3:12 # "It's Over" – 2:51 # " You Don't Love Me" (

Willie Cobbs Willie C. Cobbs (July 15, 1932 – October 25, 2021) was an American blues singer, harmonica player and songwriter. He is best known for his song " You Don't Love Me". Life and career Born in Smale, Monroe County, Arkansas, United States, C ...

) – 2:50 # " The Stumble" (

Freddie King Freddie King (September 3, 1934December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and B.B. King, none of whom were blood related). Most ...

Sonny Thompson Sonny Thompson (probably August 23, 1916 – August 11, 1989), born Alfonso Thompson or Hezzie Tompson, was an American R&B bandleader and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Biography There is some uncertainty over Thompson's origins, as ...

) – 2:54 # "Another Kinda Love" – 3:06 # "Hit the Highway" – 2:17 # "Leaping Christine" – 2:25 ;Side two # "Dust My Blues" (

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...

, Joe Josea) – 2:50 # "There's Always Work" – 1:38 # "The Same Way" (Peter Green) – 2:11 # "The Supernatural" (Green) – 2:57 # "Top of the Hill" – 2:40 # "Someday After a While (You'll Be Sorry)" (King, Thompson) – 3:02 # "Living Alone" – 2:23

2003 expanded version (2CD/36 tracks)

Disc one

1–14 Original album tracks (as above) #

"Evil Woman Blues" (Green) – 4:05 # "All My Life" (Robinson) – 4:25 # "Ridin' on the L&N" (Burley, Hampton) – 2:32 # "Little by Little" (London, Wells) – 2:47 # "Eagle Eye" – 2:52

Disc two

# "Looking Back" (Watson) – 2:37 # "So Many Roads" (Paul) – 4:47 # "Sitting in the Rain" – 2:59 # "Out of Reach" (Green) – 4:44 # "Mama, Talk to Your Daughter" (Atkins, Lenoir) – 2:39 # "Alabama Blues" (Lenoir) – 2:31 # "Curly" (Green) – 4:51 # "Rubber Duck" (Dunbar, Green) – 4:00 # "Greeny" (Green) – 3:56 # "Missing You" (Green) – 1:59 # "Please Don't Tell" – 2:29 # "Your Funeral and My Trial" (Williamson) – 3:56 # " Double Trouble" ( Rush) – 3:22 # "

It Hurts Me Too "It Hurts Me Too" is a blues standard that is "one of the most interpreted blues ongs. First recorded in 1940 by American blues musician Tampa Red, the song is a mid-tempo eight-bar blues that features slide guitar. It borrows from earlier blue ...

" (

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) – 2:57 # "Jenny" – 4:38 # "Picture on the Wall" – 3:03 # "First Time Alone" – 5:00 The additional material is: Disc 1 – 15 from ''Raw Blues''; 16–19 from the EP with Paul Butterfield Disc 2 – 1–3 and 13–16 from '' Looking Back''; 4–7 and 9–12 from ''

Thru the Years ''Thru the Years'' is a compilation album of music by John Mayall released in October 1971 by Decca Records in the U.K. and London Records in the U.S.A. The album was the second compilation to be issued by Decca/London with Mayall's bless ...

''; 8 from the B-side of "Curly" single; 17 from '' Blues from Laurel Canyon''

2006 UK expanded version (1CD/28 tracks, 4 unreleased)

1–14 Original album tracks (as above) #

"Looking Back" (Watson) – 2:37 # "So Many Roads" (Paul) – 4:47 # "Mama, Talk to Your Daughter" (Atkins, Lenoir) – 2:39 # "Alabama Blues" (Lenoir) – 2:31 # "All My Life" – 4:25 # "Ridin' on the L & N" (Burley, Hampton) – 2:32 # "Eagle Eye" – 2:52 # "Little By Little" – 2:47 # "Sitting in the Rain" – 2:59 # "Out of Reach" (Green) – 4:44 # "No More Tears" – 2:19 # "Ridin' on the L & N" (Burley, Hampton) – 2:19 # "Sitting in the Rain" – 2:53 # "Leaping Christine" – 1:55 The previously unreleased tracks 15–16, 23 from ''Looking Back''; 17–18, 24 from ''Thru the Years''; 19–22 are from the EP with Paul Butterfield; 25–28 are from BBC sessions

Personnel

Original album ;John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers * John Mayall – vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano, organ * Peter Green –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

– bass *

Hughie Flint Hughie Flint (born 15 March 1940, Manchester, Lancashire) is an English drummer, known for his stint in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, for his group McGuinness Flint in the early 1970s and for his subsequent association with The Blues Ba ...

, Aynsley Dunbar – drums with: * John Almond, Alan Skidmore – saxophones *

– wind instruments 2003 expanded edition ''Same as above with the addition of:'' *

Colin Allen Colin Eric Allen (born 9 May 1938) is an English blues drummer and songwriter. Career Allen spent the first ten years of his adult life working in aircraft engineering. He became interested in jazz at the age of 16 and two years later starte ...

– drums *

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his n ...

– harmonica, vocals *

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of t ...

– drums *Henry Lowther – trumpet *Nick Newell – saxophone Production *Produced by Mike Vernon *Recording Engineer:

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hard Road, A John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers albums 1967 albums Albums produced by Mike Vernon (record producer) Decca Records albums London Records albums