John Mayall / Padlock On The Blues 1999

John Mayall's career may be distinguished but it's also been checkered, as he's swung from a celebrated talent scout to a journeyman bandleader. At times, he's in fashion, at others he's not. The late '90s was one of the times when he wasn't in fashion. Because of this, he was one of the first artists who Cleopatra signed when they began to move into high-profile new releases. Padlock on Blues, his first effort for the label and his first album in four years, finds Mayall pulling out all the stops, contributing 11 new tunes and lining up an impressive array of guest stars, including John Lee Hooker, Coco Montoya, and Ernie Watts.