England always had more respect for American blues than its own homeland ever did, and John Mayall is the patron saint of the British branch of the blues. Or he would be, if he ever died; now at 85 years old, Mayall is still chuffin’ and grindin’ and steamin’ over those same 12-bar progressions. His band Bluesbreakers was an incubator for legions of British rock stars that rose to prominence during the ’60s and ’70s. Without him we wouldn’t have had Fleetwood Mac, Cream, or Mick Taylor-era Rolling Stones. That Mayall is still devoted to those electrified one-four-five chord progressions of American blues pioneers like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf—Mayall’s 2015 album Find a Way to Care sounds very much like all his other albums—is something to be celebrated.

by Ned Lannamann