Customer Reviews

Natural Boogie

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Put this cd on and imagine it's Saturday night in a small club on the south side of Chicago. It's noisy, crowded and hot, you've got an ice-cold beer in front of you, and there's this 3 piece blues band on stage hammering out some of the best, no-frills blues you've heard. God's own slide-guitarist is leading the group. The other two guys are trying to hang on for dear life (and doing a darn good job of it). You wouldn't want your younger sister listening to these guys play "Roll Your Moneymaker," but someone else's sister, well, that's another story. This is the real deal.

What?!
I couldn't think of a title which made sense.

Anyway, "Natural Boogie" (which should probably have been spelled "natch'l") is Hound Dog Taylor's second album, and it rocks with at least as much fire as its predecessor.
Taylor and his Houserockers, drummer Ted Harvey and gritty second guitarist Brewer Phillips, lay down a superbly groovy rhythm on "See Me In The Evening", one of his very best songs, and they do a fine take on Elmore James' "Shake Your Moneymaker" (retitled "Roll Your Moneymaker" and shamelessly credited to Taylor himself!).

Other highlights include the unusually low-key "Sadie", and a great cover of another Elmore James-tune, James' Chess-single "Talk To My Baby (I can't hold out)".
Not all of the handful of instrumentals on this album manage to keep one interested for very long, and there isn't excactly a lot of musical variation here, but when it all gels, "Natural Boogie" really rocks, and the three-man band dig some deep grooves.
3 3/4 stars. Recommended.

I can't tell you how strongly I feel about this album. This is awesome! This is one of the more outstanding examples of the "boogie" blues style. My favorite tracks are "You Can't Sit Down," and "Sadie" although its a little like selecting favorites among your children...ultimately, you love them all very much. This makes a tremendous addition to any blues collection.

Hound Dog Taylor was born polydactyly - he had six fingers on both hands. One night in a drunken impulse, he cut off the extra digit on his strumming hand with a razor blade while leaving his fretboard hand with all six. For that reason alone, Hound Dog Taylor is the baddest MF to live in Chicago since Al Capone. While "Scareface" had machine guns to fire off in the streets of The Windy City, old "Eleven-Fingers" had his raw voice, gritty guitar, punk boogie, and sad stories to dredge up from the back alley dumpsters of Chi-town.

This entire collection is about havin' fun. You can tell Hound Dog is having a blast just by the energy put out by this record. You can almost see his smile as he rips through foot stompin' song after song. If you like powerful, raucous slide playin' with a no holds barred attitude, get this record NOW! If you don't, go listen to Bonnie Raitt! No crybabies allowed! DJM

awesome album just what i been looking for.
I really like the style,raw,simple, and something to enjoy and to let the younger people listen to.
so they can appreciate different types of music

Warning: The music of Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers may be hazardous to the health of young children and small animals. Gutsy, raw, abrasive, no-frills, and gutbucket are all adjectives which have been used in a vain attempt to describe their take on the blues, but none of those words seem to do it justice. This album is as good a starting point as any to come up with your own description, showcasing Taylor battering his thriftshop guitar into submission in a fireworks display of slide virtuosity, The Houserockers struggling to keep up. A blockbuster...

Hound Dog Taylor was inventive--be it by design or utility. His band, the House Rockers, was not bass, drums, and guitar. His trio used his slide, and a second guitar to play the basslines.

And it works. Taylor always stuck to primal twelve bar blues, and the two guitar format added an extra grit, a true meaness, to Taylor's music.

But Taylor was pretty crafty with that little slide--you can tell he did not have a lick of training, but he didn't need it. He could get a low growl, a moan, or a huge, almost tropical sound out of his axe.

He is the type of guy you can see painting his garage with a cigarette end jetting from his mouth, and you would probably be wise NOT to piss this guy off, but once he picks that six string up--wow.

Taylor only used a few textures, but in that range, he can do amazing variations on his ideas.

This album is a perfect sample of what Taylor could do. He only had a handful of albums, and a lot of them used the same sound. But they are all worth getting and Natural Boggie would be a perfect start.

Taylor did not have the polish of B.B. King, the dexterity of Muddy Waters or the writing ability of Howlin' Wolf.

But he didn't need any of it. As much or more than those guys, this mother spits nails.

This was Hound Dog Taylor's second cd and it goes from 0 to 100 mph in a few seconds! This is the most electrifying ,boogie blues album made; Just doesn't get any better than this!