Climax Chicago Blues Band - S/T (1969 Wonderful Blues-Rock)

In the grand tradition of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, The Keef Hartley Band, T.S. McPhee's Groundhogs, early Rod Stewart, early Led Zeppelin and a dozen others, the British blues scene of 1967-1969 was hot.
And the best of the best was the Climax Chicago Blues Band (they dropped 'Chicago' after this first album). Though rooted in the American blues tradition, they gave it their own distinctive British twist, producing some of the finest modern blues music around in their first 4 or 5 albums. After that they began to slide into a pop MOR format (as many of their contemporaries also did), making them less interesting, but oh, those first albums!!

When this lp came out in 1969 I stumbled across it and fell for their killer versions of Mean Old World and Insurance. I was completely impressed by the fact that Peter Haycock (guitarist non-pareil) was rumored to be only 13 years old (he was actually 17) when they recorded this album and he had to sneak out of the house to play. A must-have for any blues collection. [Amazon]

01. Mean Old World
02. Insurance
03. Going Down This Road
04. You've Been Drinking
05. Don't Start Me Talking
06. Wee Baby Blues
07. Twenty Past One
08. Stranger in Your Town
09. How Many More Years
10. Looking for My Baby
11. And Lonely
12. Entertainer [Bonus]

Post by CGR