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Classic English Blues Albums: Mid-60s to Early 70s - Bert Jansch, Cream, Fleetwood Mac, Rory Gallagher, Animals, Ten Years After, Jeff Beck and more…
This is a reprint of an article that originally ran in a 1997 Delta Snake E-zine. It’s republished here with a few minor edits.
Al Handa
Aug, 15, 2026
Editor's Note (1997):
This is part of the English Blues retrospectives. This installment covers the middle part of the 60's to the early 70's. In most cases, the artists here were performing and even recording earlier but these were albums that were definitive, or helped me make a point about the era. Also, each are records I've actually heard or owned and the choices are part of a survey, not a definitive list or ranking.
The records cover a time when the blues in England often were chart successes, and were also beginning to splinter into different artistic directions. Some of the bands may seem like eccentric choices, but keep in mind that the following reviews are my own opinion and not gospel truth. The critiques are based on my own listening and reading, and aren't a substitute for scholarly text on the subject.
Al Handa
Nov. 1997
BERT JANSCH: "Bert Jansch" (1965 Transatlantic)
Last year (1996) this reclusive guitarist did a solo acoustic stint at the 12 Bar Club in London, and spotted attending were current stars like members of Mazzy Star and Oasis, Jesus and Mary Chain, Squeeze, and many others well known to the modern and alternative rock crowd. Pretty impressive for an acoustic guitarist who first began recording in the 60's. His list of open admirers included Neil Young, Jimmy Page, Donovan, Paul Simon (in his early days), and Jimi Hendrix. In a recent Mojo Magazine, he was ranked number 42 all time for guitarists, and the second acoustic player behind Robert Johnson on that list.
Bert's impact in the American scene was greatest in the folk and rock scenes of the early 60's. His records were considered at the time as important as any of the early Bob Dylan releases. His music, which was a fusion of old English folk, jazz and blues, revolutionized how folk guitar was played in the 60's as much as any others (such as John Fahey). He certainly created a bridge that introduced acoustic picking into rock. Jimmy Page used his arrangement of "Black Mountain" as the prelude to the maniacal “Communication Breakdown," as one example.
This 1965 album, which was his first, was recorded for 100 pounds in his producer's kitchen (using borrowed guitars). It stunned many folk fans and guitarists in England at the time. No one had ever synthesized English folk with the blues and jazz guitar techniques from America in such a way before.
Jimmy Page said in an interview, "At one point I was absolutely obsessed with Bert Jansch. When I first heard that LP (1965) I couldn't believe it. It was so far ahead of what anyone else was doing. No one in America could touch that." The key element of his style was an obvious blues and jazz feel, but his picking didn't follow the rhythmic pattern of the majority of raggy blues. Bert would pick out riffs and ideas, seemingly without an obvious structure, yet like a fast jazz guitarist, had a forward momentum that could be felt in the music. Unlike many English folk pickers of the time, he would bend notes and get that bluesy tone found only in America.
This disc contains much of his essence; folk, blues, and jazz all contained within a bohemian sensibility, with a rough, rugged voice on top of it all. One of the cuts, "Angie," which was his version of a tune later done by Paul Simon, and another, "Needle of Death," which was later adapted by Neil Young for one of his songs.
In later years, he would also co-found the immortal Pentangle group, which also included a rhythm section formerly from Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated. Pentangle became known as one of the classic folk-rock groups, but was quite as much jazz and blues oriented as it was folk in it's early days.
He never became the big star in the rock era as Jimmy Page, Hendrix, or other admirers, but certainly is considered one of the most influential guitarists of all time, and relevant even to the young stars of today. That's all irrelevant to the blues now, but at one time, he was as important to the English blues and folk scene as anyone around at the time. Fewer still can claim they took the blues further into another direction as he did, which makes his ranking behind Robert Johnson not so surprising to me (at least to the English Mojo readers).
You may not have heard of this guy, but you've certainly heard his influence through many of his admirers over the last 30 years.
GROUNDHOGS (with John Lee Hooker and John Mayall): (1968 Cleve)
The Groundhogs were a group founded by Tony McPhee, a guitarist who embraced the blues after seeing a gig by Blues Incorporated. He formed this group, and named it after a John Lee Hooker song, "Ground Hog Blues." They later landed a gig as John Lee Hooker's UK tour band in the mid-sixties, and did a second tour with him later. During this time, an obscure session was done with Hooker which was released in 1968.
Tony's group was never considered one of the first line blues acts in America but were very popular in England, hitting the charts at least three times. The main criticism was that they tended to be deliberate in feel and tempo, although for a lot of Hooker numbers, their echoed and expansive
sound often fitted the material perfectly.
This record, which has remained a cult item, isn't one of Hooker's best (or the Groundhogs for that matter), but it is superior to some of his Chess output (for an example). The set, which doesn't include a lot of Mayall, consists of a lot of slow and medium tempo Hooker songs and show very little variation in arrangement. It was a "tour album" in most respects, and probably recorded quickly.
That said, if one compares it to a lot of Hooker's early work, it has its good points. It has a mood to it that makes the slow blues sound even moodier and gutbucket and it works well as a blues record. It's certainly superior to other backup gigs that ended up as records, such as the Yardbirds with Sonny Boy Williamson (or the Animals).
The Groundhogs were far from the greatest, but certainly were among the first and even further from being the worst. Also, in the end, their blues stood up better in the 90's as blues than a lot of what was called blues back then. They were also an important link to Hooker's influence on English blues and rock also, and for that alone should make them noteworthy.
CREAM: "Fresh Cream" (1966 Atco)
This mother of all blues-rock power trios actually began as a fairly serious attempt to take the blues into new musical territory. Also, their later fame makes it seem like this was a sure winner at the time but in fact, that wasn't the case. It consisted of a guitarist who was becoming hot, but had only been on two records (both top ten in UK though) and two who had good reputations and track records as live musicians.
Their first record reflects an early exploration, being a collection of amped up blues and originals. Their most famous, or infamous aspect, the long, often indulgent jams weren't in evidence here. One of the aims of this group was to move into a jazzier, or more improvisational mode. So, one could see Cream not so much as an attempt to become a blues band, but to explore how far forward the genre could be taken.
That it became something else is neither here nor there. What's important is what they intended. This record, basically a process of getting to know each other, and beginning the exploration is one of their best. Certainly for the average blues fan, it has a few numbers that are of some real interest.
The critical reaction to this LP, particularly now, depends on whether you preferred their later rock-pop-blues-psychedelic synthesis or live act to hearing structured blues that were simply done in a louder, more rock oriented style. In other words, some feel this is a pale reflection of their later work. Some like me, feel this one stands up better over the years as the numbers here, which include songs by Skip James, Willie Dixon and others, have a better structural integrity, and work better as songs. Most of the live stuff that's come out on reissues is really for the hardcore fans.
Originals like "I Feel Free," and "N.S.U." have tight, well thought out arrangements, and are performed energetically (as opposed to simply with more volume). One cover, a version of "Rollin' and Tumblin'" may not have the feel of, say, the Muddy version, but in rock-blues terms, is a fun ride. Only the Yardbird's "Drinking Muddy Water," compares in energy.
Although the music mix approximated that, say, of a group like Canned Heat, it had a noticeably more fluent feel and the vocals were among the first of the white blues genre where the singers didn't necessarily try to mimic the original Black vocalists. As a result, the arrangements did achieve a feel of their own, and an attractive one at that.
The group eventually moved on to world wide fame, and their odd two sided identity on record: tight, rock style songs that were a true fusion, or loose, exploratory and often wild jams that tried to emulate the jazz method of stating a theme then moving on to improvisations. One element that influenced it, or derailed it, depending on your point of view, was technology.
Technology made it possible to stack Marshall Amps and put out a wall of sound that often sent the group off into sonic tangents where riffs would be varied only so slightly over and over, and pure sound often was explored. Nowadays, much of it would simply called loud, but one has to realize that back then, hearing all that sound and it's subtle overtones on stage had to be a seductive trail to follow. Also, it's what the crowds were screaming for, and they probably found that at the time, all those aims were identical.
Also, one has to be impressed by what this group achieved in two years, and to this day, we see that influence in Z.Z. Top and other power trios (and quartets). All that aside, their first record was in
most respects, pretty good progressive blues and still among the most listenable of their work even today.
ANIMALS: "Animalization" (1966 MGM)
The Animals are one of those groups that don't need much introduction or background. Formed by Eric Burdon and Alan Price, they were one of the top R&B bands to come out of the England In fact, probably only the Stones were better or at least more popular.
They started off in 1964, and one of their earliest gigs (later released as an exploitation deal to cash in on their later fame) was as a backup band for Sonny Boy Williamson on a UK tour. In that, of which there's two versions (as backup, and as opening act), the better is their set by themselves, which at the time showed them as a swinging R&B; style act dominated by the organ jazz sound and Burdon's already powerful voice.
Their first big hit was, as we all know, "House Of The Rising Sun," but their best overall blues and R&B; record was this one, "Animalization," which was an American version of their UK release, "Animalisation." It was a powerful LP, and certainly as good as any Stones record of the same era. It has a couple of their best rock songs, "Don't Bring Me Down," and the burning "Inside Looking Out." The latter in particular was as powerful as any Kinks rocker. Also, this record had some of the best blues any English band ever did. Their versions of Hooker's "Maudie," and "Gin House Blues" were raw and authentic sounding, and "See See Rider" was explosive.
The group was dominated by two strong wills. One, the vocalist Eric Burdon, and two, the organist Alan Price. Price ended up leaving and had a successful English career. Burdon kept the group in its R&B direction until hemwent solo (having some hits by himself, and one with War).
The group, the original lineup that is, has reformed a couple of times since then,p and each outing has been critically acclaimed. Each also has lasted as long as Eric and Alan could agree, or agree to disagree on direction. In any case, some of the best blues to ever come out of England were done by this group, and as a rock group, they had few equals. They don't always figure much in blues history due to their later history as a rock band but they were there for sure, and among the greatest.
TEN YEARS AFTER: "Undead" (1968 Deram)
Ten Years After was formed in 1967, and it's main star was a guitarist whose early musical experience was the clarinet. After a nice, but unspectacular first album, they hit both the UK and American charts with this live set that included their first hit, "I'm Goin' Home," a juiced up blues boogie that actually had a slight sense of swing to it.
After another top ten record, they made their American breakthrough at Woodstock with their electrifying version of "I'm Goin' Home." It was always a very fast number but before had more of a big band swing feel. In a later interview, the leader, Alvin Lee said they decided to crank it up more given the fact that the Who and other acts were there.
It worked, and their days as a top concert draw in America dates from that point. Later, they had a top 40 hit with "I'd Love To Change The World," which moved them out of the blues and jazz realm, and into a purer rock format. The main attraction of the group was always blinding jazz-like speed. Alvin Lee, the guitarist, in particular was astoundingly fast and hemcredited that to his days as a jazz clarinet player. If one listens closely, his solos are basically reed solos done on guitar, with an emphasis on scales.
This live set, which as I said earlier was their second record. It's considered one of their best, and still sounds pretty good today. Their first was more blues-like in orientation, with covers of Willie Dixon and others. This one has the two elements that made me a fan; speed and swing.
The set opens with a fast jazzy swing (in a rock context), and moves into hyperspeed with a frenetic version of Woody Herman's "Woodchopper's Ball." Other highlights are a cool version of "Summertime," and of course their big hit, "I'm Going Home." It's not quite as electric and supercharged as the Woodstock version, but it's tighter here and the performance is
better.
This group came up in a time when blues were a common part of every English rock band's set, and in this case, some real and honest jazz influences. This music reflects a time when the group preferred to swing as opposed to rock and still is one of the best to come out of the 60's English rock and blues scene. They also came out in a time when everyone was moving out of the blues, or more accurately, where the blues and jazz led them.
JEFF BECK: "Truth" (1968 Epic)
By 1968, this record was considered blues rock and many rock historians now credit this (along with the first Led Zeppelin) as being one of the forerunners of heavy metal. This is arguable as most early heavy metal was blues oriented, but it is a stretch.
Jeff had left the Yardbirds (who continued on with Jimmy Page as the guitarist) and this was more an extension of his own direction than an attempt to create heavy metal. However, it did end up being an archetype of the form; blues numbers either done straight or arranged for rock, and done at extreme volume. Add to the mix a vocalist like Rod Stewart, and you had what in retrospect was one of the supergroups of the 60's.
Although descriptions of their first live gigs border on the comic (Stewart was so shy at the time, he'd start the concerts singing from behind the amps), it did seem at the time that Beck had taken the blues further than before. The record features a heavy version of "You Shook Me," the arrangement of which clearly influenced the Led Zeppelin version and probably the most copied rock version of "Rock Me Baby." It has a pretty good live cut of a slow blues that was very overrated at the time (and used as proof that Rod was a great blues singer) and a few outstanding rock cuts.
These days, no one would seriously consider this an influential pure blues album but that ignores the context of when it was first released. At the time it did cause some excitement in the blues and rock scene, and it was an influential record. By the late 60's, the English blues had begun to schism and there was a "traditional" and "progressive" part, with the latter being where Clapton and Beck (and others) were heading.
However, in the 90's, it's safe to say that "Truth" is a rock classic that happened to have some blues cuts on it. It's considered among Beck's best work, although again, any of the blues claims were more a reflection of the real new development in the blues in the 60's; a change in the demographic so that the majority of fans were now white, and many with rock tastes. Tastes that were later reflected in articles and reviews of blues albums by rock writers.
Those new fans, and the critics who wrote to that audience began to comment more and more about the blues, and in retrospect, they were both incredibly naive on some points, and right on in some others. Naive that 60's blues were too often considered as good or even an improvement on the classics but correct in that these guys were simply playing a newer and updated version of the blues (the denial of which showed some blues fan writers as being nostalgics).
The other extreme was that no rock artist could play blues as well as the masters even with experience, and that any attempt to play the music was simply a tribute or pale copy. This is an idea that made it tougher on more authentic bands like Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Canned Heat.
"Truth" stands now as a rock classic, as I've said, and one can add that back in 1968, it did seem like a lot more to the blues. Time has made the music here irrelevant to the blues as we know it (and relevant to the rock and metal fans) but there's also no point in diminishing it simply because the blues didn't go where Beck was heading at the time. Certainly a good many rock guitarists did, so in one genre it stands immortal and in another, a footnote.
In any case, on one hand; a classic, and on the other, one hell of a good try.
FLEETWOOD MAC: "English Rose" (1969 Epic)
Fleetwood Mac has one of the most schzoid histories of any rock group in history. Given their popularity now in the pop-rock incarnation, it would be redundant to rehash that now. Suffice to say, the group was formed by three ex-Mayall Bluebreakers. That core of Peter Green, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood, was joined by eccentric Elmore James disciple Jeremy Spencer, and later by Danny Kirwan. It was one of the first three guitar groups, although in practice Spencer tended to only play on slide guitar numbers (and would stand off to one side or leave the stage when not).
The group started off as a hard core blues unit, but with the guitar genius Peter Green on board, one figured this wouldn't last, and it didn't. After a blues oriented debut that was a UK smash, and some other experiments such as a session in Chicago, they released two important records in 1969. One, English Rose, was still pretty much rooted in the blues but had a few interesting variations and one totally different type of cut called "Albatross" that became a huge UK hit. The second, "Then Play On," used the blues as a root source but featured several cuts that totally broke the mold. It was clearly blues-oriented, but had elements of rock that gave the group its first first unique identity.
In terms of the blues, the most important of the two was "English Rose." It was a classic English blues record, but with some interesting rockers and departures from the usual form. The most famous, was the instrumental "Albatross," an expansive and spacey work that featured the strange, often delicate guitar of Peter Green (and was a foreshadow of the next record, "Then Play On).
Just as famous was "Black Magic Woman," which Santana made into a huge American hit. This version is an archetype English blues with bashing drums and fiery guitar, but the rhythm was different than anything one would associate it with straight blues. It had a latin feel, but more percussive and pounding. Even today, I have a hard time deciding which was the better version, and in the end, one has to decide that both were masterpieces for their respective artists.
The slide player, Spencer, was eccentric, but on record often provided the most energetic and electric moments in his obsession with Elmore James. Throughout their early era, his covers such as "Shake Your Money Maker" and "Got To Move" tended to be the fire in contrast to Green's cool subtleties. His work in this LP is no different.
This is also a consistent set, with numbers like "Stop Messin' 'Round," "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues, and "Coming Home" among the many songs that could qualify as highlights. Most of all, the record has a solid blues feel and a tough, rugged quality that has kept its edge all these years.
Fleetwood Mac's early era has been overshadowed by the later California pop-rock stylings but whether you like Stevie Nicks or not, most blues fans will find it hard to not to like the tough and enthusiastic way this band rocked the blues way back then.
SAVOY BROWN: "Step Further" (1969 Parrot)
Savoy Brown was an anomaly in that they were always more popular in America than in their native England. One reason was due to constant touring, and the other in its dominant leader, guitarist Kim Simmons. The group changed lineups as often as any band Jeff Beck ever had, and the spinoffs included the 70's arena rock giants, Foghat.
Their originals were more in the blues rock vein, such as their hit "Train To Nowhere." However, their bread and butter in concerts was the boogie, and as much as any band, popularized it and took it to the ultimate and sometimes painful limit. For that reason, besides the fact that this is one of the discs by this group I've owned, this record defines their essence.
It's got some great rock blues, such as "I'm Tired," but the love it or hate it centerpiece, "Savoy Boogie" is the meat of this record. Like any classic boogie, it's titled after the group (as mentioned just prior) and moves into a medley where often unrelated rockers and blues are ruthlessly hammered to fit the pounding beat. Also, it should be noted that like any classic boogie, it's really a copy of John Lee Hooker's classic boogie riff and uncredited. As much as Chuck Berry in the rock field, Hooker has been one of the most “quoted" in the blues field. In this case, the medley hammers to fit "Feel So Good," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On," and "Little Q," which also includes a plea to the audience to keep on wanting to boogie.
Given what I've seen in my youth at Winterland and other places, I imagine the mosh pitters of that era were quite willing to encourage the group to keep driving the boogie. A cynic might add that the moshers might not have been in any condition to exercise any modicum of taste, but hey, drums are drums.
I know I'm sounding facetious in my description, and do own up to have being guilty of having played that boogie over and over again. Which brings me the whole point of Savoy Brown; which was they may not been a great blues band, but they certainly were great populizers of the form and provided countless bar bands with a ready means to pad out club sets.
And if you're in the right mood, well, one has to admit, sloppy as it all was, it was a lot of fun. Sort of the record you hide under the Robert Johnson box set, but it's sneaked out now and then when no serious blues fans are looking ;-) Truly a guilty pleasure.
JO ANN KELLY: "Jo Ann Kelly" (1969 Epic)
Jo Ann Kelly is one of those artists who seemed to be everywhere,p but not well known outside of the circle of blues musicians who she did sessions with. That list is impressive, and includes Fred Mc Dowell, John Fahey, T.S. McPhee, John Renborn, and Stefan Grossman (among others). Also, she appears on a few old British blues anthologies.
She was primarily an acoustic blues artist, who played slide and fingerpicked blues and generally performed solo, or in very small ensembles. This release was her first, a solo outing that featured several strong country blues, including Robert Johnson's "Come On In My Kitchen," and the classic "Louisiana Blues." Although she never garnered much in the way of rock fame in the 60's and 70's, she recorded steadily until the late 80's and was well respected by her fans and peers.
Like many women artists of her era who chose to play in a genre other than pop or rock, she never got the opportunities afforded those of the Fleetwood Macs. In that respect, she was similar in fate to Ellen McIlwaine, who was another fine slide guitarist and singer that the industry at the time couldn't figure out what to do with. That may not be the industry's fault per se.
In the UK, blues artists often charted and as such, were often treated as pop stars. Which meant that the more serious artists didn't often present American agents with an obvious winner in the pop chart sweepstakes. Also, by the late 60's, artists like Mayall and Clapton were moving the blues scene in England away from the traditional anyway.
One thing for sure; if Kelly had come up during a later era, she could have been as big as an early Bonnie Raitt or Marcia Ball. In any case, this and other of her records show that the English blues scene had a few other things going on. If this record wasn't as influential as the Bluebreakers, it didn't mean that it wasn't a fine (and overlooked) example of British blues.
LONG JOHN BALDRY: "It Ain't Easy" (1971 Warner Brothers)
Long John Baldry is an artist who has had a successful English career, but has never made an impact in the states. Baldry never wasn’t considered a first rate vocalist by US rock writers, which was a matter of taste, but in England, he was one of the most well liked and respected of the elder British blues and rock singers. He began his career in the 50's as one of the first folk and blues vocalists and in the early 60's, was a performer on the first British blues album, "R&B At The Marquee," and sang with Alexis Korner's Blues
Incorporated.
John then performed with, and later took over the Cyril Davies R&B All Stars, which featured Rod Stewart as a second singer. The mid-60's saw him involved with the Steampacket, moving on from there to fronting "Bluesology," which also featured a young Reg Dwight in his first prestigious gig (later known as Elton John). Oddly enough, though he wasn't a particularly strong vocalist, his main successes were pop ballads, with his 1967 "Let The Heartaches Begin," reaching number one in the UK. This lead to a string of pop hits which basically took him out of the blues and rock scene for a few years.
Although he's been around for several decades, his best blues and rock record was recorded in 1971. The producers were Rod Stewart and Elton John, and the result was blues-meets-Rod Stewart rock. One of the rockers was a minor American chart success called “Don't Try To Lay No Boogie-Woogie On The King Of Rock'n'Roll." It was a cool rocker, starting off with a great boogie woogie piano as Baldry narrated a story, then kicking into the smashing rock and roll cut that hit like a steam hammer. The material was well suited to his cool voice including a good version of Willie Dixon's "I'm Ready," and Huddie Ledbetter's "Black Girl." In more of a rock mode, there is a cool version of Rod Stewart's "Flying," and Elton's "Rock Me When He's Gone."
Baldry later moved to Canada, and continues to put out records with the most recent being the 1996 "Right To Sing The Blues," for Stoney Plain records.mInterestingly enough, as the years have
passed, the evaluation of his blues and R&B; talent has risen, and there is justice in that.
RORY GALLAGHER: "Live in Europe/Stage Struck" (1972 Polydor)
Gallagher will probably go down in history as the best Irish blues artist, and revered as one of the most tireless live performers. Although much of his music was rock oriented, all of it had a deep blues feel. It's obvious that when composing annew song, he drew on that sensibility as a starting point. His interest in the blues began in childhood, where he became an avid collector of blues records. He began his musical career in the late 60's, forming a trio called "Taste" in London. The group produced three albums before splitting up, and in 1970, Rory began recording under his own name. With that change, his output increased, and until his untimely death came out with over 22 records and played in several high profile sessions.
Although this live one isn't considered his best, it does have the essence of what he was, which was an artist who preferred and was most comfortable with live audiences. As anyone who is familiar with his music would know, this was a wild set of performances including the breakneck "Bullfrog Blues." The set also has two of his finest original blues songs, "I Could Have Had Religion," and "Going To My Home Town." Add to that his habit of adding old country blues to the mix, such as Blind Boy Fuller's "Pistol Slapper Blues," and you have the archetype Rory
Gallagher set list.
Rory remained a relatively moderate American draw and concentrated mainly on Europe where he was a star. He kept recording up until his untimely death in 1995 and although the music stopped, the estimation of his influence and greatness has kept growing.
Al Handa
1997
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