This is an unusual music auto/biography, because Mayall is notable for many of the attributes that are rare in professional musicians and to be admired. He writes that he was teetotal until age 35, and has apparently never taken, let alone become addicted to, other drugs; he began his career in the blues by marrying, having three children, and later adopting a fourth. He has been a lifelong woodworker, maker, graphic designer, general collector and perennially productive musician; he seems to have recorded and attempted to preserve miscellaneous creations of his many bands, his thoughts, shows and other events he's witnessed, including conversations with agents and lovemaking with girlfriends.

On the other hand, Mayall apparently left his family and had hundreds of briefish romantic relationships, and seems to have employed and fired - rather amicably, in most cases - far more band members than most. The dozens of albums he mentions seem to be a blur of calls from a record company, 'getting a band together', trying new instrument combinations and usually topping them off with his own compositions and singing.The guitarists, in particular, have included England's best - Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor among them. All his human relationships seem casually promiscuous, without much information beyond how he got along with the individuals in a handful of brief encounters. Many of his brief mentions of albums note that they sank without a trace. I looked for explanations in the book for why record companies like Polydor kept coming back for more, and what distinguished his many forays into playing and recording versions of the blues - enjoyable as they are.

The account is a strange mix of information, sometimes reading like diary notes. His songs and lyrics are also inward looking, seemingly unintended for listeners to decode: he lists dozens of song titles inspired by his relationships, brief thoughts and feelings. The many names roll out casually but - by contrast - in his early years of success he communicates well being overawed by American blues players and America itself.

Mayall's autobiography is comfortable and mellow without chemical additives, written in 2019 at the age of 86. Having said that, his narrative stops abruptly in 1979, with his experiences after the age of 46 sketched in a few last pages, to be continued in a second volume. I enjoyed this unusual autobiography, but don't feel there's much more that I have an urge to know. ( )