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Empty Rooms

For the Gary Moore song, see Victims of the Future.

Empty Rooms is a studio album by English blues musician John Mayall, released in March 1970 on Polydor. It is a follow-up to the live album The Turning Point, released earlier in the year with the same musicians: Jon Mark on acoustic guitar, Johnny Almond on saxophones and flute, and Stephen Thompson on bass. John Mayall sings, plays harmonica, guitars and keyboards (including a Moog synthesizer). Former Canned Heat bassist Larry Taylor guests as second bass player on one track, "To a Princess," improvising with Thompson on an unusual bass duet. The absence of a drummer leaves the rhythm rather fluid and the resulting sound is unusual, even for a John Mayall album. The songs, all written by Mayall, mostly addressed his romance with photographer Nancy Throckmorton, a theme he would pursue further on USA Union. The album is dedicated to her.

Empty Rooms
Studio album by
John Mayall
ReleasedMarch 1970
StudioDe Lane Lea Studios, London; Advision Studios, London; Broadway Recording Studios, New York; Larrabee Sound Studios, Hollywood
GenreBlues
Length46:29
LabelPolydor
ProducerJohn Mayall
John Mayall chronology
The Turning Point
(1969) 		Empty Rooms
(1970) 		USA Union
(1970)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Empty Rooms was the only known set of studio recordings by the Turning Point lineup, which broke up shortly after the album was recorded. Larry Taylor, however, would join Mayall as one of three American musicians (electric guitarist Harvey Mandel, also a former member of Canned Heat; and, electric violinist Sugarcane Harris would complete the new lineup) to join him for USA Union.

Track listing

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All songs written by John Mayall, except where indicated.

  1. "Don't Waste My Time" (Steve Thompson, Mayall) – 3:10
  2. "Plan Your Revolution" – 2:38
  3. "Don't Pick a Flower" (Jon Mark, Mayall) – 3:53
  4. "Something New" (Jon Mark, Mayall) – 4:40
  5. "People Cling Together" – 2:53
  6. "Waiting for the Right Time" (Jon Mark, Mayall) – 5:36
  7. "Thinking of My Woman" – 2:29
  8. "Counting the Days" – 5:33
  9. "When I Go" – 4:46
  10. "Many Miles Apart" – 2:56
  11. "To a Princess" – 3:34
  12. "Lying in My Bed" – 4:21

Charts

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Chart (1970) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[2] 6
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) 9

Personnel

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  • John Mayall – vocals, harmonica, lead and 12-string guitars, bass Moog synthesizer
  • Jon Mark – finger-style and 12-string guitar
  • Johnny Almond – saxophone, flute
  • Larry Taylor – bass
  • Steve Thompson – bass
Technical

Jon Mark and Johnny Almond would leave the group just after the recording of this album, to form the duo Mark-Almond.

References

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  1. ^ "allmusic ((( Empty Rooms > Overview )))". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  2. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 195. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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