The Lost Stone

John Mayall has been playing blues literally for my entire lifetime and at 64 years old proves that he's still among the best. On this CD, Mayall displays the many blues attitudes of which he is capable. Lately, many of his songs decry urban decay and violence. He continues here in that vein with the hard-driving Dead City and the old Eddie Harris R&B song, How Can You Live Like That. Stone Cold Deal is a shuffle driven by saxophone, organ and drums. Its infectuous rhythm will have you dancing and its incisive lyrics will have you thinking. My other favorites are the title cut on which Mayall's prowess on the piano is showcased, One In A Million which is a rocking paean to his beloved mother, and I Don't Mind, a song in the rollicking piano-driven Southern style for which Mayall is justly famous. There isn't anything I really dislike on the album though It Ain't Safe and Some Other Day seem out of place and Trenches, though lyrically gripping, is musically weak. If you are a blues fan, you are sure to like Blues For the Lost Days, another strong effort from master bluesman John Mayall.