Various Crawling Up A Hill: A Journey Through The British Blues Boom (3-CD)

(Grapefruit) 54 tracks

In 1965 the British R&B boom was over. Cyril Davies was dead, Alexis Korner worked as MD on a children's TV show, and the legion of young minions who inspired them either drifted to the blues or fell victim to the temptation of fame in mainstream pop. The purists and individualists stood alone in the rain.

But things should change. In April 1966 the club band John Mayall's Blues Breakers - with a quietly bubbling clapton - recorded their studio debut with the help of producer Mike Vernon. Suddenly a whole bunch of virtuoso young British (and Irish) blues guitarists, all of whom had resisted the trap of pop and success, were inspired to form their own band.

As a result, such contemporary legends as Kim Simmonds, Jeremy Spencer, Stan Webb, Paul Kossoff, Alvin Lee, Clem Clempson, Rory Gallagher, Gary Moore and Mick Ronson became famous. Within a year or two after Mayall's unexpected breakthrough, the second wave of British blues was in full bloom.