Taj Mahal's iconoclastic self-titled '68 solo debut remains, in my opinion, an essential listen for both blues and rock enthusiasts. Accompanied by stellar musicians Jessie Davis, Ry Cooder, James Thomas, Sanford Konikoff, Bill Boatman, Gary Gilmore, and Charles Blackwell, Taj recorded a startling stripped-down mix of both authentic and new blues sounds. The debut was followed with two equally impressive, and now classic albums: '68's 'The Natch'l Blues' and '69's 'Giant Steps/De Ole Folks At Home'. Recommend all three! Taj performing Checkin' Up On My Baby (from debut) in The Rolling Stones 1968 Rock and Roll Circus: Taj Mahal official site:http://tajblues.com/frameset.htmlIt's been confirmed that Taj Mahal will perform at the Summer of Love 40th Anniversary Free Concert. The event will take place Sunday, 2 September, 2007 in Golden Gate Park's Speedway Meadows between 10 AM and 6 PM. Full details at The Summer of Love official site:http://2b1records.com/summeroflove40th/index.htm
Girlcrawl says
ongoingly - it does have a 'joyful' vibe to it, and happy to know you're a Taj fan; love his early albums. Thanks for listening, and appreciate the comment!
Everyone please drop by and welcome ongoingly to Mog; she's posting some great tunes at her new site: http://mog.com/ongoingly
Mike the Knife says
All three of those albums are richly deserving of attention, Girl. (I almost wore out the "Giant Steps" half of the double-disc when I was a kid.) Good on ya.
Girlcrawl says
PopeyePete - Wow - thank you; appreciate the compliment, and glad you enjoyed! :-)
Mike the Knife - Have always thought those three albums were exquisite, and I've wanted to do a Taj post for quite a time; enjoyed Giant Steps tremendously - it's excellent. Appreciate the comment as ever; cheers!
scotfree says
(Especially) after listening to this great post, I can't believe I've never listened to this recording!! I'm a bit late to the party! Thanks GC
Girlcrawl says
contrabandwidth - fab cover indeed; appreciate the listen, and the comment! Thought of commenting about the song's origins, but decided it would make post too lengthy. Cheers.
scotfree - a tad late is better than never having arrived :-). Glad you enjoyed the listen, and thanks as ever for the lovely comment. Cheers!
As contrabandwidth noted, Everybody's Got To Change Sometime was originally a Sleepy Joe Estes tune; there's a nice Estes discography here: http://www.wirz.de/music/estesfrm.htm
Taj covered 3 Estes songs on the debut; 1 Robert Johnson song; 1 Sonny Boy Williamson tune; and a William McTell song. There were only 2 original songs on the album: EZ Rider and The Celebrated Walkin' Blues.
Girlcrawl says
Marigold - Thank you for the lovely compliment! Appreciate the listen; these are the only three Taj recordings I own, and have always enjoyed. Cheers!
Jonh Ingham says
I was just listening to the first 3 albums a week ago while putting up some cupboards - joyful music indeed! I've been meaning to post on this era Taj for some time so nice to see that it's happened. I must have seen him half a dozen times in this period; easily my favourite artist at that time. He was so happy and commanding, and Jesse Ed Davis was a fabulous guitarist.
Girlcrawl says
Jonh Ingham – Was not notified that you had left a comment, so forgive delayed response. Am so glad you enjoyed the listen; I too love the first first 3 albums, and still drag them out rather frequently. Thought ‘joyful’ was an apt descriptor as you can’t help but feel strangely uplifted by Taj’s spin on the blues.
Was not fortunate enough to see him perform during the late sixties or early seventies, but judging from the era’s footage that remains he was spectacularly mesmerising to behold! Thanks so much for the lovely comment, and cheers!
Taj Mahal's iconoclastic self-titled '68 solo debut remains, in my opinion, an essential listen for both blues and rock enthusiasts. Accompanied by stellar musicians Jessie Davis, Ry Cooder, James Thomas, Sanford Konikoff, Bill Boatman, Gary Gilmore, and Charles Blackwell, Taj recorded a startling stripped-down mix of both authentic and new blues sounds. The debut was followed with two equally impressive, and now classic albums: '68's 'The Natch'l Blues' and '69's 'Giant Steps/De Ole Folks At Home'. Recommend all three! Taj performing Checkin' Up On My Baby (from debut) in The Rolling Stones 1968 Rock and Roll Circus: Taj Mahal official site:http://tajblues.com/frameset.htmlIt's been confirmed that Taj Mahal will perform at the Summer of Love 40th Anniversary Free Concert. The event will take place Sunday, 2 September, 2007 in Golden Gate Park's Speedway Meadows between 10 AM and 6 PM. 
Full details at The Summer of Love official site:http://2b1records.com/summeroflove40th/index.htm
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