Day Tripper

After the Tracy Chapman number I realised that I haven't tended to put up a lot of blues here.

This one is Eric Clapton guesting with John Mayall from the album that is often cited as being the beginning of blues-rock.  Such "musical firsts" are always a problem, as people go digging to find something one month, one year, even one decade earlier that has enough features that you could make an argument for it. But in this case, you can at least make the argument that the 1966 album was a big jolt of awareness to American guitarists.

This is a Ray Charles tune, and to my ear one can hear the invention taking place, albeit unevenly as Clapton tries to integrate with the Bluesbreakers.  There is an extended drum solo, and if you aren't into that the song picks up again at the 3:30 mark with the familiar riff from "Day Tripper."  I wondered if it was a familiar bass line making the rounds that both Mayall and the Beatles used, but because it is only six months after the Beatles single was released, I now think it was something of a musical joke. It does actually fit.

 I should probably go looking for some Edgar Winters or Johnny Winters next.  We'll see.