Customer Reviews

Sacred Island

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

From the very beginning, the Calypsonians, this CD grabs ahold of you. I listen to it in my car but I mainly listen to it while I stretch out and do yoga after I walk in the mornings. The 3rd cut, Sacred island, is a particularly haunting and beautiful instrumental that combines slack guitar, ukelele, kalimba, flute and saxophone in the most natural way. I can barely describe the effect this CD has on me every time I listen to it. I've always been a Taj fan (since I saw him in San Francisco in 1971 at the Boarding House where he sang to my fussy baby (now 28 yrs old). Every CD he puts out pushes the "coolness" envelope a little further and this is no exception. Thanks, Taj, and fans, don't miss it!!!

This is an album to listen to when you're just chillin on the couch on a Sunday afternoon - definitely laidback. Taj Mahal combines his blues with a Hawaiian feel. Most of the time it's pretty successful.

The first track is very Tom Waitsish and is among the best on the album. The title track, an instrumental, is as laidback and lazy as it gets. It almost sounds like a lost Billy Vaughan classic. "No Na Mamo" is an interesting song sung in Hawaiian, and it contrasts sharply with the following tune "Mailbox Blues" which is definitely the bluesiest song on the album. The album closes with another instrumental "Kanikapila" which is more upbeat than the title track and is complete with Taj Mahal's yelps and laughs.

Overall, it's a pretty good album that needs to be played while daydreaming about the islands.

It's not every day you get to experience a new sound from an old friend. Sacred Island by Taj Mahal and the Hula Blues Band is the kind of CD that you want to play again and again. It's catchy rhythyms fused by Tajs love of Hawaiian Music blended together for upbeat arrangements.
Outstanding cuts include "Cocunut Man", "Sacred Island" and the traditional blues offering "Mailbox Blues". Not a bad song in the bunch and the only reason I gave it 4 stars was that it didn't have more tracks. An excellent effort from a master of blues. Stretch out in your favorite lounge chair, grab a cool one and let your mind drift away with Taj Mahal at the wheel

What a happy little cd. We heard it playing in a store while shopping and HAD to have it. We have alot of Hawaiian music and love the blues......perfect combination. Don't miss this one, you'll love it.

Been a fan for quite a few years, and he just keeps getting better. This has a true island flavor, but it's well mixed with a solid blues sound. Sacred Island and No Na Maho show the former. Mailbox Blues is traditional. And Betty and Dupree is just solid lowdown dirty dancing music. Hard to pin it down to one style, so lay back and enjoy them all.

This little gem ranks up there as my favorite album of the year!

Taj expands his already vast catalog of contributions to modern music with Sacred Island. An absolute groovy time!

Grab a Drink put on your shorts and let this CD warm the room for you!

Tired of the hectic and the pressure? Taj Mahal takes you to that other world of the islands where you can enjoy sipping the cool drinks of paradise and get caught up with some of the simple but hard to find beauties of life. Great album. Don't let it escape your collection. It is a hot item in the islands.

Great Quality and arrived in excellent condition when expected. Only problem is that I can't save it to my computer so that I can make copies for myself.

This is one of Taj's best albums in my opinion. Slack key guitar mixed with Taj's great blues and Hawaiian music... it's a wonderful combination and a great album to listen to especially for summer. Though I love to listen to this album when winter is howling outside and I need to escape to the tropics.

The first track on this CD - The Calypsonians - introduced me to Taj Mahal and I had to find it. For those of you who have seen the movie "Six Days Seven Nights" it is the song being played (by Taj Mahal) on the island their first night.

The CD varies primarily between songs with an "island" feel to more bluesy tunes. The first 3 songs have an "island" feel, the next two moving into more of a blues tone, back to the islands, and back to the blues. The only track I'm ambivalent about is the last track, Kanikapila, which is more ska than anything else.

In searching for "The Calypsonians" I listened to alot of clips of different Taj Mahal CDs and was very pleased with the variety on this CD. Very cool, laid back music to enjoy!