Joe Perry names the best song by John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
(Credits: Far Out / Herbert Weber, Hildesheim)
Innovators are a rare breed in music. Classic rock’n’roll in particular has a limited vocabulary, so that every new adaptation of the rulebook was and is often quickly taken up by a flood of inspired colleagues. As leader of the Bluesbreakers, however, John Mayall made music a huge leap forward. His vision was to make rock musicians as famous as their jazz colleagues.
“I always make it a point to choose songs where the musicians really shine,” he once said. That may not sound so revolutionary today, but when the band first appeared in 1963, while rock greats like Little Richard were celebrated for their brilliance, the supporting cast rarely got a place in the spotlight. However, Mayall selflessly felt that creating a free-form group of virtuosos from his band was the natural next step in improving his Mose Allison-inspired songwriting.
With that in mind, he eventually assembled some of the finest musicians in history. Eric Clapton, John McVie, Mick Taylor, Jack Bruce, Mick Fleetwood, Hughie Flint, Peter Green and others all found themselves in the line-up of the Bluesbreakers – all of whom are now considered some of the finest musicians in rock’n’roll history. Mayall also taught them an important lesson: while he was keen for the song to support their playing, the opposite of that was paramount. “I write songs about real things,” he said, “the subject dictates the mood and it really goes from there.”
Well, the mood wasn’t quite as happy-go-lucky as some commercial music suggested. Mayall and his band revolutionized that. By giving every player freedom and presenting them with great, honest songs in their entirety, it became earthier, harder and downright harder. Future musicians like Joe Perry felt liberated and inspired by this movement, and for the Aerosmith guitarist one song embodies their sound: “Steppin’ Out.”
The title alone makes the band’s intention clear, and according to Perry, they pulled it off like no other. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard such intense playing and such a great solo with so much attitude,” he said Guitar World“And the sound was revolutionary. Everyone else up until then was playing with this country twang. The Beatles had a lot of distortion, but Clapton was finally able to overcome the early studio engineers’ fear of overload.”
This vibrancy and grit was brand new. The song’s success took rock to a new level and probably even inspired the Beatles to try things like “Helter Skelter.” “It defined the sound that guitarists spend their whole lives trying to achieve,” Perry added. “His phrasing and harmonies are so expressive. That song still gives me goosebumps.”
All this was thanks to the leadership and vision of the late John Mayall.
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