The Real Thing

Taj Mahal | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 8, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 1971
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Columbia/Legacy
• ASIN: B00004XSUY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,424 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A-MEN, brother reviewer..., September 13, 2003

By 

"douglasnegley" (Pittsburgh, Pa. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Real Thing (Audio CD)

Yeah, man, the "official" reviewer just doesn't get it AT ALL. This is one of the best ROOTS recordings EVER - and I don't say that lightly. Remember...this is 1971...LIVE, a 2 LP recording, at the Fillmore...I mean, the Allman Brothers - WITH DUANE - did their recording that same year. Now, how many acts could have gotten away with playing a tune with nothing but a banjo and a TUBA, for cryin' out loud! ("Tom And Sally Drake")? Taj Mahal, that's who. Taj engages the audience as well as anyone ("Gimme some help...GIMME SOME! - You can do it...if you're jacked up to it...) and standouts here are the norm. "You're Goin' To Need Somebody On Your Bond" is the groover, with Taj 'gettin spiritual' with the blues, and doing the back and forth with the crowd. Also a highlight is "Ain't Gwine Whistle Dixie No Mo'", where every band member gets a piece of the action, and my spine tingles at the thought of John Simon groovin' on the piano, and John Hall doing a GREAT guitar solo, and ending, with Taj whistling over the many horns. No, if you don't get it, you don't get it...but I was 15...and I got it. This is Taj's moment in Time, Live - History, I believe it's called - and he grabs on and holds tight. Any fan of blues, jazz, roots, gospel, or African-American music History has to consider this a MUST HAVE CD. Period.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Blues Rev Speaks, August 8, 2001

By 

Blues Rev (Ridgefield Park, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Real Thing (Audio CD)

I completely wore out my original double LP album listening to The Real Thing. And "REAL" it is. This is my favorite Taj Mahal album and one of the top five of my favorite blues albums of all time, considering that my Blues LP and CD collection exceeds 350 albums. The ochestration of traditonal blues songs played with by a typical blues band coupled with the backing brass section of Mr. Howard Johnson and friends, is more powerful than a B-52 air raid. I'm going to purchase a second copy of this album for my archives because I know I'll wear out this CD before long.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is it!, August 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Real Thing (Audio CD)

The "official" review doesn't take into account the power of this album as a whole. The chemistry is there, and this has the raw energy of the best blues. One of my favorite albums of all time.