Customer Reviews

Force of Nature

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This CD is my personal favorite. Every song is powerful and moving, and It will have you feet pounding on the floor and have you ready to get up and ( from one of her song)... shake your rump! If you go see her in concert be prepared to stand up and want to dance. Both times I've seen her perform, groups of people are dancing. In one song she mentions her age, and this Cd shows that age has not slowed her, and for a woman of her age, (Sorry KoKo) she can easily perform as well or better than women half her age. I recommend this Cd with 5 stars because if you like the blues you will love this CD!

She is a force of nature, the "63 year old mama". Koko Taylor's big and rough but suitably expressive voice is just about as strong as ever on this 1993 album.

"Force Of Nature" opens with the title track, one of Taylor's best songs for many years. A gritty swaggering blues penned by "Little" Milton Campbell, it burns with intensity and the liquid fire of veteran Carey Bell's chromatic harp, and Taylor roars like a lion(ess) on tough renditions of Ike Turner's "If I Can't Be First", and the supremely funky "Let The Juke Joint Jump".

Koko Taylor's renditions of Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog" and Albert King's "Born Under A Bad Sign" (a duet with Buddy Guy) are good, if slightly too long at 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 minutes respectively.
"Don't Put Your Hands On Me" and "Bad Case Of Loving You" are excellent, no reservations, and so are the originals "63 Year Old Mama" and "Put The Pot On". The wonderful band includes drummer Ray Allison, pianist Jeremiah Africa, guitarist Calvin Louden and a small, punchy horn emsemble on most of the tracks.
In fact, if the good people at Alligator records would have cut the two or three least memorable songs, they would have had a sure five-star record...the quality of this material is consistently high, and the production by veteran Bruce Iglauer is excellent.

After a very strong start, "Mother Nature" starts to feel a little bit stale and unvaried for maybe ten minutes, but then comes a great, soulful cover of Toussaint McCall's classic "Nothing Takes The Place Of You", and the album winds down with two solid mid-tempo blues, leaving a very strong overall impression.
This is one great contemporary blues record.

Koko Really puts all effort into this album.Good Foot Stompin Blues Music to enjoy in the car or at home or anywhere.This album is a keepers so I reccomend to buy this album for keepers.For a (63 year old Mama) She can tell someone they are a (houndog).

i came across the song "tit for tat" off some blues comp,and was blown away...you got to hear it,the keyboards in the background,the guitar solo,a jammer!!!.now i have most of koko's cd's and have found others that just kick a**.too bad this cd is not remastered.buy it anyway.

A super stylist working through material from the likes of Booker T. Jones, Little Milton, Albert King...and Koko Taylor.

She gets a great chance to show off her power and tastey phrasing and timing, employing a vigorous band, with notable players.

Best cuts are the boogie-based "Put The Pot On", the familiar and never tired "Born Under A Bad Sign" and Toussaint McCall's classic ballad, "Nothing Takes The Place Of You".

The McCall number is actually a welcome change from a somewhat samey set - Koko can really sell a lyric but the arrangements are medium tempo-draggy and the instrumentation gets a tad monotonous. Someone out there tell me if at least half of the tracks are in the same key and pitch.

KoKo Taylor has been singing the blues for a long time, and her music comes straight from her gut. I hate to use the overused term soul, but she FEELS every note and every word.

GREAT ALBUM OF BLUES VOCALS BY KOKO TAYLOR FROM 1993, HER VOICE IS SO POWERFUL IT CAN RATTLE THE WALLS. EVEN AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, HER VOICE HASN'T LOST ANYTHING. NOT QUITE AS GOOD AS HER STUFF ON THE CHESS LABEL BACK IN THE 1960'S (WITH HUSBAND/SONGWRITER/BASS PLAYER WILLIE DIXON), BUT THIS CD DEFINITELY GETS FIVE STARS. ONE TRACK FEATURES BUDDY GUY ON GUITAR ON "BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN". MY FAVORITE CUT IS "LET THE JUKEJOINT JUMP", IT HAS TO BE PLAYED AT MAXIMUM VOLUME TO BE FULLY APPRECIATED!

A strong showing of a powerful blues singer including many favorites as well as some new works.

If you are a blues fan you already know about Koko Taylor. She is on top of her game here. If you aren't a blues fan, I pity you.

I did want to mention "Nothing Takes the Place of You," a soul ballad given a powerful, moving performance here. And I wanted to mention the good guitar support of Cris Johnson throughout the CD.

Born a sharecroppers daughter in the deep south, Cora Mae Walton used to play the blues with a piece of barbed wire and washing board . Thus was the beginning of a blues icon. Miss KOKO TAYLOR ,the premiere down home blues diva is a national , living ,treasure ! A life lived on the road in tour buses ,she can teach a few lessons to any younger artist. Koko sings like there is no tomorrow and drags you through the blues as low as it gets. Her recordings do not give her justice, nothing against her in any means , her live performances are simply monumental, almost a religous experience!Time will tell what great masterpiece Koko will do next.