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Avg: 4.0 (126 ratings)
- Date Released: January 1, 1968
- Genre: Blues
- Style: Rock
- Label: Columbia/Legacy
- Copyright: Originally Recorded 1968 & Released 2000, Originally Released 1968, (P) 2000 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
A fresh, crackling reinterpretation of the blues idiom
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We Say...
Forty years after Mahal's sophomore effort was released, it sounds as fresh and original as it did back in 1968. The Harlem-born musician, trained in African rhythms, certainly offers a unique take on the blues, using an integrated band to transpose the oft-wearied call-and-response formula that dominates the Southern musical style into a playfully upbeat sound.
When The Natch'l Blues surfaced, the hippie counterculture was in full swing. Electric bluesmen like Albert King — a southpaw famous for wrangling psychedelic chord changes from his Flying V — headlined the Fillmore Auditorium, while pre-war acoustic purveyors such as Furry Lewis and Son House were experiencing unlikely renaissances on the coffeehouse circuits. Mahal, true to form, elected to forge his own trail, employing an electric combo that included organist Al Kooper, the legendary Earl Palmer on drums, and sessions guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, best known for his work on Gene Clark's White Light album.
Originally composed of nine tracks, The Natch'l Blues includes renditions of Yank Rachell's classic country blues number "She Caught the Katy And Left Me A Mule To Ride," the Delta-styled vamp "Going Up To The Country, Paint My Mailbox Blue," and a pair of horn-laden Stax soul songs, William Bell's "You Don't Miss Your Water ('Til Your Well Runs Dry)," and Sam and Dave's "Ain't That A Lot Of Love." His voice crackling like wildfire, the phrasing punctuated by his virtuoso finger picking technique, Mahal ably reinterpreted the blues idiom, creating an American roots music primer that is perfectly sandwiched between King's bristling Born Under A Bad Sign, released in 1967, and Johnny Jenkins' funk-rock masterpiece, Ton-Ton Macoute!, released in '70. -
They Say...
Taj Mahal's second album, recorded in the spring and fall of 1968, opens with more stripped-down Delta-style blues in the manner of his debut, but adds a little more amplification (partly courtesy of Al Kooper on organ) before moving into wholly bigger sound on numbers like "She Caught the Katy and Left Me a Mule to Ride" and "The Cuckoo" -- the latter, in particular, features crunchy electric and acoustic guitars and Gary Gilmore playing his bass almost like a lead instrument, like a bluesman's answer to John Entwistle. Most notable, however, may be the two original closing numbers, "You Don't Miss Your Water ('Til Your Well Runs Dry)" and "Ain't That a Lot of Love," which offer Taj Mahal working in the realm of soul and treading onto Otis Redding territory. This is particularly notable on "You Don't Miss Your Water," which achieves the intensity of a gospel performance and comes complete with a Stax/Volt-style horn arrangement by Jesse Ed Davis that sounds more like the real thing than the real thing. "Ain't That a Lot of Love," by contrast, is driven by a hard electric guitar sound and a relentless bass part that sounds like a more urgent version of the bassline from the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'." The fall 2000 CD reissue includes a trio of bonus tracks: a faster-paced rendition of "The Cuckoo" with a more prominent lead guitar, the slow electric lament "New Stranger Blues" featuring some good mandolin-style playing on the guitar, and the rocking instrumental "Things Are Gonna Work Out Fine," which is a killer showcase for Davis' lead electric guitar and Taj Mahal's virtuosity on the harmonica.
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| 01. |  |
Good Morning Miss Brown |
3:16 |
|
| 02. | |
Corinna |
3:01 |
|
| 03. | |
I Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Steal My Jellyroll |
3:13 |
|
| 04. | |
Going Up To The Country, Paint My Mailbox Blue |
3:35 |
|
| 05. | |
Done Changed My Way Of Living |
7:04 |
|
| 06. | |
She Caught The Katy And Left Me A Mule To Ride |
3:27 |
|
| 07. | |
The Cuckoo |
4:15 |
|
| 08. | |
You Don't Miss Your Water ('Til Your Well Runs Dry) |
4:25 |
|
| 09. | |
Ain't That A Lot Of Love |
4:01 |
|
| 10. | |
The Cuckoo |
3:20 |
|
| 11. | |
New Stranger Blues |
5:39 |
|
| 12. | |
Things Are Gonna Work Out Fine |
3:17 |
|
12 Total Tracks, 48:33 Total Length
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Credits
- Taj Mahal - Banjo // Taj Mahal - Banjo // Taj Mahal - Guitar // Taj Mahal - Guitar // Taj Mahal - Harmonica // Taj Mahal - Harmonica // Taj Mahal - Arranger // Taj Mahal - Arranger // Taj Mahal - Guitar (Steel) // Taj Mahal - Guitar (Steel) // Taj Mahal - Harp // Taj Mahal - Harp // Taj Mahal - Vocals // Taj Mahal - Vocals // Taj Mahal - Main Performer // Taj Mahal - Main Performer // Al Kooper - Piano // Al Kooper - Keyboards // Jesse Ed Davis - Bass // Jesse Ed Davis - Guitar // Jesse Ed Davis - Piano // Chuck Blackwell - Drums // Stanley Crouch - Liner Notes // Gary Gilmore - Bass // Sy Mitchell - Engineer // Earl Palmer - Drums // David Rubinson - Producer
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