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John Mayall — Congo Square
Album: A Sense of Place
Avg rating:
6.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 512









Released: 1990
Length: 4:28
Plays (last 30 days): 0
(no lyrics available)
Comments (49)add comment
 bstevens1951 wrote:
This song belongs to Sonny Landreth.
 

And the Neville Brothers. 
This song belongs to Sonny Landreth.
Saw Mayall at The Little Bear Saloon in Evergreen Colorado maybe 1999, tore the place up. No one quite like him.
I much prefer the Sonny Landreth version, though this is passable for a Macclesfield boy :o)
7. Guitar solo makes it an 8. Not a lot of voice right, but he sure uses what he's got.
WOO-HOOOO!!!  Super boppin' li' number Thank you  : )
The Rads and now Congo Square? Imma gonna have to make me a roux for my gumbo!
 Ja300Mes wrote:
"Zigzagging Through Ghostland" into "Congo Square" - perfect segue!

 
A YEAR LATER.....same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel
Time for a moratorium on Congo Square.
"Zigzagging Through Ghostland" into "Congo Square" - perfect segue!
 thewiseking wrote:
Vocals too thin here

 
Yes you are right - always the weakest side of John Mayall and possibly what prevented him from becoming as big a star as he might otherwise have been.
great hearing several versions of this here kick-ass tune (like Neville's best, then Sonny's but this one shakes it too thank you : )
Vocals too thin here
 I have heard it done by Eric Johnson.. Leslie wrote:
Doesn't Los Lobos do this song too? Either way I think it's great.
 


 Leslie wrote:
Doesn't Los Lobos do this song too? Either way I think it's great.
 
Posted: Nov 26, 2001 - 22:35

Was Leslie's comment actually posted on the universal "joined" date ?
Long time ago i heared something from JM. This is very nice! Please more!
 aelfheld wrote:
For 2011 let's have a moratorium on this song, no matter who covers it.
 


jpfueler wrote:
...I've met Art, Charles and his hippy wife(a very pleasant lady), and Aaron while working in a bike shop on Freret and Velance...
Thanks for the story, jp! Are you still in Texas, or headed back?

For 2011 let's have a moratorium on this song, no matter who covers it.
               {#Notworthy}  I'v been a life-time fan !

Love this song. This is a great version. Also love Sonny Landreth playing it.{#Dancingbanana_2}
The band is fantastic, but the vocal is just too week and bland.
Seems this is a good song no matter who is playing it.
cool stuff. uh...god dreamt this guitar riffs...
 lennier wrote:
I'll second it, I really like the sonny landreth version better. Speaking of Sonny, has anyone heard the new album? It's AWESOME...
 
He's got new stuff out?  Oh, thanks - I'll have to put it on my list of stuff to buy when I win the lottery or get that mega-job. I'm serious. I have a list, and music is on it, after the bills and the car insurance.

 keller1 wrote:

I'll take Sonny Landreth's live version.  It effin rocks like there's no tomorrow.
 
Agree. He slows it down a bit and gives the listener time to absorb the words and the rhythm.  I'd never heard Mayall's version.  His band is tight and they hit all the notes and the beat, but it just seems too fast for me.

Wish Warren Zevon was still alive - man, what HE could do with this song... (He'd prolly change the lyrics, drop a few names, and piss a lot of people off - which is why I loved his music so much...)


John Mayall, on stage 2009 by ~x-snap
I prefer John singing the slower tempo blues.
 caregiver wrote:
I love Mayall but have to say the Neville's version of this is much better.

 
You must be talking about some version other than the live one played here sometimes.  The sax on that one drives me frackin crazy.  {#Frustrated}
I actually prefer this one to the original.  Which I also dig a lot
This is just too cool
 caregiver wrote:
I love Mayall but have to say the Neville's version of this is much better.

 
I totally agree, but then RP has conditioned us to both Neville's and Landreth's versions. Sonny's does truly rock.

July 13: The vocal is really weak, but then John is also in his 70s. This just doesn't have the punch of the other versions heard on RP.


 keller1 wrote:

I'll take Sonny Landreth's live version.  It effin rocks like there's no tomorrow.
 

{#High-five}  And you should see him  live!!!
I feel I'm a johnny-come-lately to John Mayall.  My first taste was his Back to the Roots album from the early 70s & he'd been around for a decade plus by that time.  Bill - recommended cuts - Prisons on the Road & Television Eye- so bloody timely for today!!

{#Clap}   MORE JOHN MAYALL PLEASE
Great album, great musican,who isn't in Rock and Roll hall of Fame, yes there are other versions out there, alot of people do this song but this one is great and Sonny plays slide on this one


 caregiver wrote:
I love Mayall but have to say the Neville's version of this is much better.

 
I'll take Sonny Landreth's live version.  It effin rocks like there's no tomorrow.
I love Mayall but have to say the Neville's version of this is much better.

ndanger666 wrote:
(and how about some NB of RP?)
As well as some Live Cowboy Mouth(Worlds best live band), Radiators, and some Dash Rip Rock. Bill Does play Yellow Moon a bit here, so there is some Nevilles, but more and older stuff would be great.I've met Art, Charles and his hippy wife(a very pleasant lady), and Aaron while working in a bike shop on Freret and Velance. They were very big on spending as much money as possible in their old neighborhood, even when they were living in big ol' places in more upscale areas. Charles, his wife and Aaron and his son were in often. After Aaron's son was shot, and lied about who did it (playing with a pistol a friend had done it and they claimed a drive by white guy in a brown chevy), we held the boys bike in storage for several months until Big Aaron brought the kid in and further made his point by having the kid tell us all why he had been grounded and was just then getting the bike back.
rgj13 wrote:
I terrific version--to me, third best after Neville Bros. (live) and Sonny Landreth, but they're all great. This one just seems slightly airy to me, not quite as rich as either of these others.
I'd have to go with it being maybe fourth best adding the Funky Meters/Meters versions. Are you counting those in with the Nevilles though?
I terrific version--to me, third best after Neville Bros. (live) and Sonny Landreth, but they\'re all great. This one just seems slightly airy to me, not quite as rich as either of these others.
I\'ll second it, I really like the sonny landreth version better. Speaking of Sonny, has anyone heard the new album? It\'s AWESOME...
I am truly impressed!! I have loved this album since it's appearance. I am a huge Coco Montoya fan (guitarist on this album) and was able to meet both John Mayall and Coco in Detroit after a performance some years ago. "The Sensitive Kind" off of the same album is quite mesmerizing as well. Great choice.
There are two Sonny Landreth versions; one that sounds very much like this and another which is a bit raunchier. The best Neville Brothers version (and how about some NB of RP?) is the live version.
Originally Posted by El_Monty: Neville Brothers also do an excellent version of this song.
I think I like there version better, little more funk :)
nice fills on the keyboard from John...and the guitar lead reminds me of the Blues Breakers days
Good as this version is, its no better than the third best. Sonny Landreth and The Neville Brothers are both superior. But this will do.
*does the office swivel chair boogie*
Neville Brothers also do an excellent version of this song.
Doesn\'t Los Lobos do this song too? Either way I think it\'s great.