Personnel: John Mayall (vocals, electric & slide guitars, harmonica, tambourine, percussion); Jon Mark (acoustic guitar); Johnny Almond (flute, alto & tenor saxophones); Steve Thompson (bass).
Producer: John Mayall.
Reissue producer: Bill Levenson.
Recorded at the Bill Graham's Fillmore East in New York, New York on July 12, 1969. Includes liner notes by Chris Welch, John Mayall, John McDermott.
Digitally remastered by Suha Gur (Universal Mastering Studios East).
Singer/harmonica player/guitarist John Mayall was best known as a key figure in the '60s British blues boom, fronting a band containing future members of Cream, Fleetwood Mac, and Colosseum among others. However, after releasing a number of rock-edged electric blues albums, Mayall changed direction in 1969. Recorded live a New York's Fillmore East, THE TURNING POINT finds Mayall fronting an all-acoustic four-piece including guitarist Jon Mark and sax player Johnny Almond, who would later gain renown as the progressive rock outfit Mark-Almond.
With the new format allowing for a greater degree of subtlety, Mayall offers a blend of blues, folk, and jazz, seamlessly mixed into a new paradigm. Lest you forget that this was 1969, things open up with the pro-pot anthem "The Laws Must Change." The centerpiece of the album, and a Mayall concert staple thereafter, is "Room to Move," a breathless, frenetic number where Mayall shows off his harp chops and gets the audience worked up as only a real blues man can.
