Customer Reviews

Blue Light Boogie

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Blue Light Boogie is a compilation cd of songs performed in the 90's by one of the premier "organic American" musicians, Taj Mahal. Taj was born in New York in 1942 as Henry St Clair Fredericks and a graduate in Animal Husbandry from the University of Massachusetts. It may seem unlikely that you would find someone as passionate about what he calls "organic American" music and others call roots music, but his father was a jazz pianist and his mother frequently sang gospel thus fostering the inception of a life long interest in roots music. He first started performing professionally with Ry Cooder and the Rising Sons in 1964 and since that time has gone on to distinguish himself as both a folk and blues performer.

Taj is a gifted musicologist who performs such a variety of music as jazz, blues, reggae, gospel, rock , folk, soul, and zydeco. Blue Light Boogie provides a good representation of styles and songs which Taj Mahal has done over the years. Many of the songs are pulled from cd compilations which Taj was part of as Honky Tonk Woman from the House of Blues "Paint it Blue" cd, Mercedes Benz another House of Blues "Songs of Janis Joplin" and John the Revelator from the Blues Brothers 2000. It seems fitting that these various pieces should be found together on a Taj Mahal cd.

Among the notable songs on the cd are River of Love a soul type of song that has a real Motown feel to it, and Honky Tonk Woman with its stripped down sound and slow and rough vocals. My personal favorite is a Taj Mahal original Don't Call Us. It is a powerful song with background vocals by Daryl Hall, John Oates and Sheryl Crow.
Those same people
You meet on the way up
Are the same people
You meet on the way down
How does it feel
To be lying on the ground?

Of course not to be forgotten is one of Taj Mahal's most famous songs, his reggae influenced version of the Gerry Gaffin, Carole King song Take a Giant Step. Mercedes Benz is done as a field holler type of song with guitar and tuba for accompaniment.

Down Home Girl is a fun upbeat blues. Big Legged Mommas are Back In Style is a joyous, fun, bawdy blues, that makes you want to whoop and holler as well as laugh a bit. It's good news to me. Taj's version of the Son House song John the Revelator is an enthusiastic gospel. Please clap along while you listen and an amen is just fine, thank you. Blue light Boogie is a slow and sultry blues. Turn the lights down low and boogie slow!

While there may be more representative Taj Mahal compilations, this is a fun and enthusiastic cd which provides an overview of some of his more recent work. I am glad to have it as part of my collection.

A recent issue of Life magazine quoted George Harrison as saying that it seems good to boogie sometimes, but not all the time. Well, it seems to me boogie can become a form of meditation, as it does on this kickin' album. It has a wonderful version of "Honky Tonk Women," "John the Revelator" from Blues Brothers 2000, and a great boogie woogie "Big Legged Mommas Are Back in Style." Plus, I love the title track.

I love Taj. I always travel to see his live shows and was eager for a new record. What a bummer that it is basically another disk of old stuff.

Taj, if you feel the need to release old stuff, re-issue "The Real Thing". That is a truly great record and most of it has never been put on disk. Let folks pick up your other stuff on the disks that area currently available.

This cd is one of my favorites of all times. From the Motown sound of "River of Love" to the gospel blues of "John the Revelator" to the rough scratchy tune of "Honky Tonk" women to the old Little Feat rock song "Feats Don't Fail Me Now", every song is absolutely delightful. Great songs to sing along with or even just to clap your hands. My favorites are the upbeat ones like "River of Love", "Don't call Us", "Down Home Girl", "Feats Don't Fail Me Now", "Dark Angel", and "John the Revelator". Great job again Taj!!!!