Below the Fold

Otis Taylor | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 23, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B0009GV1XK
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,938 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #68 in Music > Blues > Acoustic Blues

Track Listings

1. Feel Like Lighting

2. Boy Plays Mandolin

3. Hookers In The Street

4. Mama's Got A Friend

5. Working For The Pullman Company

6. Your Children Sleep Good Tonight

7. Didn't Know Much About Education

8. Went To Hermes

9. Goverment Lied

10. Right Side Of Heaven

Editorial Reviews

Genre-defying, critically-acclaimed singer/songwriter Otis Taylor's seventh CD, Below the Fold, marks the award-winning artist's third disc for Telarc, the premiere blues/jazz/classical label. Featuring a variety of styles that stem from a blues-based core, the 10-track set results in a diverse and rhythmically complex cycle of songs which bond acoustic Delta blues with Appalachian country blues.

On Below the Fold, Taylor's signature trance sound, marked by his artistic fearlessness, is fleshed out by the use of surprising instruments. Fiddle, organ and banjo meld into passionate narratives giving the songs an unearthly cast. "I'm obsessive about trying out new ideas and sounds," the 2005 WC Handy Award nominee explains. "And I'm particularly drawn to the banjo because it's originally from Africa. In old-time music, banjoists would tap on their fifth string, a process which carries right through to Delta blues." And for the first time, Taylor employs drums on several tracks. Standout selections include the brazen opener "Feels Like Lighting," the warmly sung "Working for the Pullman Company" delivered by Taylor's daughter Cassie, and the closer "Right Side of Heaven" which bustles with the sounds of a New Orleans-style cajun marching band.

Revered as a riveting live performer whose music is equal parts John Lee Hooker and Nick Cave, Taylor has carved a unique niche for himself by creating music that Rolling Stone hails for "murky swamp drones and intricate African folk that move right past entertainment--into a realm where the blues can again be about illumination and provocation."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ABOVE THE REST!, January 1, 2006

By 

dickydo "Richie D" (Warwick, RI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Below the Fold (Audio CD)

Otis Taylor is an island unto himself. Where does he exactly fit in the contemporary blues scene? Truly an artist who can't be pigeonholed. His "TRANCE BLUES" continues to spark debate. Otis Taylor obviously doesn't suffer fools gladly. Great art makes you think, feel and yes, sometimes squirm. Anyone wishing for singalongs and an occasional chorus are in the wrong place. Thought provoking and powerful. THINK, FEEL AND BUY THIS CD!!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Uh Oh, I Hope This Is Temporary, March 20, 2006

By 

Michael Strom (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Below the Fold (Audio CD)

When I heard Otis Taylor's 2003 "Truth Is Not Fiction" CD, I was knocked out by a startling and totally new take on blues music. Hearing the 2005 "Below The Fold," I am concerned that Taylor has written himself into a prematurely dead end. The production and instrumentation continues to be exceptionally innovative, modern, and the opposite of blues fossilized in either '30's Delta shacks or '50's Chicago blues bars. But it must be said, the songs are melodically sounding too much the same as prior efforts -- no matter how well-disguised by different and unusual (for blues) instrumental backing.

Like John Lee Hooker, Otis Taylor knows how to work a one-chord vamp. But as elemental as Hooker was, even with his one-chord vamps (some of which were upbeat boogies, which does help), his albums did not feel this constricted in what is becoming musically formulaic (albeit, a formula that is Taylor's alone). I am betting that Otis Taylor is creative and talented enough to break free, with his best songs still ahead of him. I really hope he doesn't let the "jam band" circuit imprison his creativity. No complaints at all here about his lyrics (some folks will never tolerate his subject matters), which remain fierce and compelling. But if the music isn't interesting, for me poetry or prose is just not enough.