Back to the Roots is a 1971 double album by John Mayall released on Polydor. Recording sessions took place both in California and London where Mayall invited some former members of his band, notably guitarists Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor. At the end of the 1980s Mayall remixed some tracks and issued them along with some of the older material as Archives to Eighties. An expanded two-CD version of Back to the Roots now includes both the original and later remixed versions of the tracks.
Besides Mayall, who sang and played piano, harmonica and guitar, the musicians who
recorded the original tracks were:
Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Harvey Mandel and Jerry McGee on guitars;
Larry Taylor and Steven Thompson on bass;
Keef Hartley and Paul Lagos on drums;
Don "Sugarcane" Harris on violin;
Johnny Almond on saxophone and flute.
For Archives to Eighties Mayall recorded new bass and drums tracks played by Bobby Haynes and Joe Yuele.
Contents
Track listing
All tracks written by John Mayall.
Original LP release
Side A
"Prisons on the Road" – 4:18
"My Children" – 5:10
"Accidental Suicide" – 6:17
"Groupie Girl" – 3:53
"Blue Fox" (instrumental) – 3:43
Side B
"Home Again" – 4:56
"Television Eye" – 7:32
"Marriage Madness" – 3:36
"Looking at Tomorrow" – 6:57
Side C
"Dream with Me" – 5:21
"Full Speed Ahead" – 5:21
"Mr. Censor Man" – 4:44
"Force of Nature" – 6:34
"Boogie Albert" (instrumental) – 2:15
Side D
"Goodbye, December" – 5:24
"Unanswered Questions" – 4:42
"Devil's Tricks" – 7:45
"Travelling" – 4:42
2001 2-CD re-release track listing
CD 1
"Prisons on the Road" - 4:18
"My Children" - 5:10
"Accidental Suicide" - 6:17
"Groupie Girl" - 3:54
"Blue Fox" - 3:43
"Home Again" - 4:57
"Television Eye" - 7:32
"Marriage Madness" - 3:37
"Looking at Tomorrow" - 6:57
"Accidental Suicide" (remix) - 6:25
"Force of Nature" (remix) - 5:34
"Boogie Albert" (remix) - 2:16
"Television Eye" (remix) - 6:09
CD 2
"Dream with Me" - 5:22
"Full Speed Ahead" - 5:22
"Mr Censor Man" - 4:45
"Force of Nature" - 6:34
"Boogie Albert" - 2:16
"Goodbye December" - 5:25
"Unanswered Questions" - 4:42
"Devil's Trick" - 7:46
"Travelling" - 4:43
"Prisons on the Road" (remix) - 4:20
Personnel
John Mayall – guitar (on A3, B2, B4, C1, D1, D4), harmonica, piano, keyboards, vocals, artwork, illustration, design, photography
Johnny Almond – bass flute, saxophone, tenor saxophone
Eric Clapton – guitar (on A1, A3, B1, B4, C4, D1)
Keef Hartley – drums
Paul Lagos – drums
Harvey Mandel – guitar (on A2, A3, A4, B2, C1, C4, D1, D2)
Jerry McGee – guitar (on A5, D3)
Larry Taylor – bass
Mick Taylor – guitar (on A3, B3, C2, C3, C4, D3)
Steve Thompson – bass (on C2)
Don "Sugarcane" Harris – violin
Joe Yuele – drums (on Archives to Eighties)
Bobby Haynes – bass (on Archives to Eighties)
Technical
Damon Lee-Shaw, John Judnich – engineer
Barrie Wentzell, Dominique Tarlé, Gered Mankowitz, Nancy Throckmorton – photography