Name: The Essential Taj Mahal
Brand: Sony Music Distribution (USA)
SKU: 1188166
Availability: OutOfStock

The Essential Taj Mahal

Rating

Album: The Essential Taj Mahal
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Leaving Trunk
2)	Statesboro Blues
3)	Celebrated Walkin' Blues, The
4)	She Caught the Katy (And Left Me a Mule to Ride)
5)	Corinna
6)	Going Up to the Country, Paint My Mailbox Blue
7)	Take a Giant Step
8)	Six Days on the Road
9)	Country Blues #1
10)	Fishin' Blues
11)	Ain't Gwine Whistle Dixie (Anymo') - (live)
12)	You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond - (live)
13)	Happy to Be Just Like I Am
14)	West Indian Revelation
15)	Texas Woman Blues
16)	Cakewalk into Town
17)	Frankie & Albert
18)	Railroad Bill
1)	Johnny Too Bad
2)	Slave Driver
3)	(Clara) St. Kitts Woman
4)	When I Feel the Sea Beneath My Soul
5)	Satisfied 'N' Tickled Too
6)	Love Theme in the Key of D
7)	Everybody Is Somebody
8)	Crossing
9)	Don't Call Us
10)	Big Legged Mommas Are Back in Style
11)	That's How Strong My Love Is
12)	Here in the Dark
13)	Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes
14)	Se¤or Blues
15)	New Hula Blues, The
16)	Queen Bee
17)	Cruisin' - (live)
18)	John Henry

Album: The Essential Taj Mahal
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Leaving Trunk
2)	Statesboro Blues
3)	Celebrated Walkin' Blues, The
4)	She Caught the Katy (And Left Me a Mule to Ride)
5)	Corinna
6)	Going Up to the Country, Paint My Mailbox Blue
7)	Take a Giant Step
8)	Six Days on the Road
9)	Country Blues #1
10)	Fishin' Blues
11)	Ain't Gwine Whistle Dixie (Anymo') - (live)
12)	You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond - (live)
13)	Happy to Be Just Like I Am
14)	West Indian Revelation
15)	Texas Woman Blues
16)	Cakewalk into Town
17)	Frankie & Albert
18)	Railroad Bill
1)	Johnny Too Bad
2)	Slave Driver
3)	(Clara) St. Kitts Woman
4)	When I Feel the Sea Beneath My Soul
5)	Satisfied 'N' Tickled Too
6)	Love Theme in the Key of D
7)	Everybody Is Somebody
8)	Crossing
9)	Don't Call Us
10)	Big Legged Mommas Are Back in Style
11)	That's How Strong My Love Is
12)	Here in the Dark
13)	Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes
14)	Se¤or Blues
15)	New Hula Blues, The
16)	Queen Bee
17)	Cruisin' - (live)
18)	John Henry

Performer Notes

Personnel: Taj Mahal (vocals, whistling, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar, National guitar, dobro, fife, harmonica, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, upright bass, finger cymbals, hand claps); Taj Mahal (mandolin); Jesse Ed Davis (guitar, electric guitar, piano); Ry Cooder (guitar, mandolin); Denny Freeman, Eric Clapton, Etta Baker, Abdul Wali, John Hall, John Porter, Johnny Lee Schell (guitar); Hoshal Wright (electric guitar); Mike Campbell (12-string guitar); Sonny Rhodes (lap steel guitar); Toumani Diabat‚ (kora); Michael Barretto (baritone ukulele); Rudy Costa (saxophone, kalimba); Joe Sublett (tenor saxophone); Howard Glover "Johnny" Johnson (baritone saxophone, flugelhorn, tuba, hand claps); Howard Johnson (baritone saxophone, flugelhorn, tuba); Darrell Leonard (trumpet, French horn, trombone); Earl McIntyre (bass trombone, tuba); The Texacali Horns (horns); Jon Cleary (piano); Mark Goodman (electric piano, synthesizer); Merl Saunders, Mick Weaver, Rob Hyman (organ); Kim Jordan (keyboards, synthesizer); Earl Lindo, Wayne Henderson (keyboards); Jennifer Acosta (synthesizer); Gary Gilmore (electric bass); Ozzie Williams (drums, drum programming); Mark Singer, Greg Thomas , Andy Kravitz, Richie Hayward, Tony Braunagel (drums); Kwasi "Rocky" Dzidzornu, Ralph MacDonald, Bill Summers, Kwasi "Rocky" Dzidzournou (congas, percussion); Myrick Guillory (rub-board); Daryl Hall, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Tommy Henderson, Melody McCully, Pamela Vincent, Joyce Wilson, John Oates (background vocals); Eric Bazilian (lap steel guitar); Bob Stewart (trumpet, flugelhorn, tuba); Joseph Daley (trombone, tuba); John Simon (piano, electric piano); Al Kooper, Bill Payne (piano); Kester Smith (drums, percussion); Chuck Blackwell , Sanford Konikoff (drums); Babatunde Olatunji (congas, djembe, shekere, percussion); Larry McDonald (congas, percussion); Robert Greenidge, Andy Narell (steel drum); Merry Clayton, The Pointer Sisters, Sheryl Crow, Claudia Lennear (background vocals).
Liner Note Author: Tom Surowicz.
Recording information: Athens, GA (08/17/1967-04/??/1999); Burbank, CA (08/17/1967-04/??/1999); Encino, CA (08/17/1967-04/??/1999); Hollywood, CA (08/17/1967-04/??/1999); Kauai, HI (08/17/1967-04/??/1999); Los Angeles, CA (08/17/1967-04/??/1999); North Hollywood, CA (08/17/1967-04/??/1999); Pinnacle, NC (08/17/1967-04/??/1999); San Francisco, CA (08/17/1967-04/??/1999); The Fillmore East, NY (08/17/1967-04/??/1999); The Mint, Los Angeles, CA (08/17/1967-04/??/1999); Van Nuys, CA (08/17/1967-04/??/1999).
Photographers: David Gahr; Marc Norberg; Sam Emerson Loew; Al Vandenberg; Chris Felver; Amalie R. Rothschild.
Arrangers: Taj Mahal; Etta Baker.
An impressive two-disc compilation, THE ESSENTIAL TAJ MAHAL lives up to its name by charting the path of the acclaimed blues guitarist/vocalist's career from 1967 to 2004. Though always rooted in the blues, Mahal has incorporated other styles into his distinctive sound, including folk, R&B, and reggae. Proceeding in chronological order, this set begins in the late '60s, presenting tunes such as "The Celebrated Walkin' Blues," a spare song that features Mahal accompanied only by his former Rising Sons bandmate Ry Cooder on mandolin; and the gentle, lilting "Take a Giant Step." The second disc finds Mahal easing into a potent version of Bob Marley's "Slave Driver," while "The New Hula Blues" is a deft Hawaiian slack-key/blues hybrid, revealing the breadth of his stylistic range. As a relatively concise yet remarkably thorough overview of Mahal's decades-spanning catalogue, this 36-track compilation is absolutely indispensable.