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Buy Now	Maestro (more) »rank: 726 by: Taj Mahal :Album Description:The mythology of American blues is filled with images of the lone musician standing at the crossroads, caught in that gray area between light and shadow, cutting impossible deals with dark forces, offering up nothing less than his soul as collateral. Composer and multi-instrumentalist Taj Mahal, a two-time GRAMMY® winner and one of the most influential American blues and roots artists of the past half-century, has made no Faustian deals in his long and distinguished career, but he stands at an important crossroads nonetheless. In his never-ending exploration of the complex origins and underpinnings of American music, he has forged a four-decade ...	Buy Now	The Natch'l Blues (more) »rank: 10317 by: Taj Mahal : :Taj Mahal's been chasing the blues around the world for years, but rarely with the passion, energy, and clarity he brought to his first three albums. Taj Mahal, The Natch'l Blues and The Real Thing are the sound of the artist, who was born in 1942, defining himself and his music. On his self-titled 1967 debut, he not only honors the sound of the Delta masters with his driving National steel guitar and hard vocal shout, but ladles in elements of rock and country with the help of guitarists Ry Cooder and the late Jessie Ed Davis. This approach is reinforced and broadened ...
Buy Now	The Essential Taj Mahal (more) »rank: 10525 by: Taj Mahal : :Taj Mahal's been chasing the blues around the world for years, but rarely with the passion, energy, and clarity he brought to his first three albums. Taj Mahal, The Natch'l Blues and The Real Thing are the sound of the artist, who was born in 1942, defining himself and his music. On his self-titled 1967 debut, he not only honors the sound of the Delta masters with his driving National steel guitar and hard vocal shout, but ladles in elements of rock and country with the help of guitarists Ry Cooder and the late Jessie Ed Davis. This approach is reinforced and broadened ...	Buy Now	Taj Mahal (more) »rank: 10192 by: Taj Mahal : :Taj Mahal :Taj Mahal's been chasing the blues around the world for years, but rarely with the passion, energy, and clarity he brought to his first three albums. Taj Mahal, The Natch'l Blues and The Real Thing are the sound of the artist, who was born in 1942, defining himself and his music. On his self-titled 1967 debut, he not only honors the sound of the Delta masters with his driving National steel guitar and hard vocal shout, but ladles in elements of rock and country with the help of guitarists Ry Cooder and the late Jessie Ed Davis. This approach is ...
Buy Now	Dancing the Blues (more) »rank: 48492 by: Taj Mahal : essential recording:On this 1993 album produced by John Porter, Taj Mahal applies his revivalist instincts and remarkably pliable voice to the classic rhythm & blues styles of the 1940s through the '60s. The program ranges from T-Bone Walker ('Hard Way') and Howlin' Wolf ('Sitting on Top of the World') to Fats Domino ('I'm Ready'), Otis Redding ('That's How Strong My Love Is'), and the Four Tops ('I Can't Help Myself'). Etta James sings a duet on 'Mockingbird,' while guitarist Johnny Lee Schell, bassist Bob Glaub, keyboardist Bill Payne, and drummer Richie Hayward provide tight and supple studio backing. --Rick Mitchell	Buy Now	The Best of Taj Mahal (more) »rank: 9955 by: Taj Mahal : :Taj Mahal's been chasing the blues around the world for years, but rarely with the passion, energy, and clarity he brought to his first three albums. Taj Mahal, The Natch'l Blues and The Real Thing are the sound of the artist, who was born in 1942, defining himself and his music. On his self-titled 1967 debut, he not only honors the sound of the Delta masters with his driving National steel guitar and hard vocal shout, but ladles in elements of rock and country with the help of guitarists Ry Cooder and the late Jessie Ed Davis. This approach is reinforced and broadened ...
Buy Now	Giant Step/De Ole Folks at Home (more) »rank: 20810 by: Taj Mahal : essential recording:One of the more woefully underappreciated blues artists of the last three decades, Taj Mahal has consistently made great records that combine his extensive knowledge of roots music with a refreshingly non-elitist sensibility. Giant Step/De Ole Folks At Home from 1969 was Taj's commercial high point, and it's easy to understand why. The first half of the album (originally released as a two-record set) features Taj and band blending rock, pop and blues on songs like 'Take a Giant Step,' 'Give Your Woman What She Wants' and 'Good Morning Little Schoolgirl.' The second half is more laid-back and down-home, with Taj ...	Buy Now	Kulanjan (more) »rank: 63546 by: Taj Mahal & Toumani Diabate : :Perennial blues road warrior Taj Mahal and Malian kora (harp-lute) ambassador Toumani Diabate join forces, blend textures, and intermingle idioms on this cleanly produced 12-song set, recorded in 1998 in Athens. Their common ground is best tilled on 'Atlanta Kaira' and the title track, where the plucky filigrees and glittering tone of the kora sound right at home with Taj's darker, barking National Reso-Phonic steel. 'Ol' Georgie Buck' and their canny cover of Muddy Waters's 'Catfish Blues' are the album's blues banners, which find Diabate's kora delightfully incongruous, while the walking African ballad 'Tunkaranke' leans most heavily toward the motherland. Fleshed out with ...
Buy Now	Oooh So Good N'Blues/Recycling the Blues (more) »rank: 37258 by: Taj Mahal : :Perennial blues road warrior Taj Mahal and Malian kora (harp-lute) ambassador Toumani Diabate join forces, blend textures, and intermingle idioms on this cleanly produced 12-song set, recorded in 1998 in Athens. Their common ground is best tilled on 'Atlanta Kaira' and the title track, where the plucky filigrees and glittering tone of the kora sound right at home with Taj's darker, barking National Reso-Phonic steel. 'Ol' Georgie Buck' and their canny cover of Muddy Waters's 'Catfish Blues' are the album's blues banners, which find Diabate's kora delightfully incongruous, while the walking African ballad 'Tunkaranke' leans most heavily toward the motherland. Fleshed out with ...	Buy Now	Mo' Roots (more) »rank: 78420 by: Taj Mahal : essential recording:On this 1974 recording, Taj Mahal ventures beyond blues and soul to explore the Caribbean side of his heritage. He sings in Spanish on 'Why Did You Have to Desert Me?', translates the Anglo folk song 'Blackjack Davey' to reggae, and covers the Slickers ('Johnny Too Bad') and Bob Marley ('Slave Driver'). His smoked-glass voice evokes a stormy swamp on 'Cajun Waltz' and a sunny island on 'Clara (St. Kitts Woman).' Rather than mimicking Third World styles, Mahal incorporates them into his own folk and blues-based aesthetic, while humorously nodding back to Otis Redding again on 'Big Mama.' --Rick Mitchell