This Week's R E V I E W ...

Taj Mahal
The Natch'l Blues

© Columbia

March 10 - 16, 2019

Year of Release: 1968
Rating:
  • Good Morning Miss Brown
  • Corinna
  • I Ain't Gonna Let Nobody
    Steal My Jellyroll
  • Going Up To The Country
    Paint My Mailbox Blue
  • Done Changed My Way Of Living
  • She Caught The Katy And
    Left Me A Mule To Ride
  • The CUckoo
  • You Don't Miss Your Water
    ('Til Your Well Runs Dry)
  • Ain't That A Lot Of Love
  • The Cuckoo (Alternate Version)
  • New Stranger Blues
  • Things Are Gonna Work Out Fine

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    IN 1969, Columbia Records released Somethin' Else Again!, a 2-LP set of the current albums and artists at the time. One of those songs was by Taj Mahal, "Ain't That A Lot Of Love." This song was from his second album of his career, The Natch'l Blues. A very accomplished blues artists, Taj Mahal has been recording since 1968, and continuing to the 21st century. His TajMo collaboaration with another great blues artist Keb 'Mo in 2017 reached #1 on the Billboard Blues Album chart. This was his first #1 album for Taj, and Keb' Mo''s sixth. Most of the songs on The Natch'l Blues were written/co-written by Taj Mahal.

    "Good Moring Miss Brown" leads the album off, and is a good blues album. Yet the next track is better - "Corinna." And the blues keep getting better, with "I AIn't Gonna Let Nobody Steal My Jellyroll." It has the B.B. King feel. "Going Up The Country, Paint My Mailbox Blue" is another standard early Blues. (Each song is getting better and better...) This song sounds like a faster version of The Doors' "Been Down Too Long."

    If you're familiar with the Blues Brothesrs, "She Caught The Katy And Left Me A Mule To Ride" (titled "She Caught The Katy" by the Blues Brothers) is here, as this song was co-written by Taj Majhal. And like the Blues Brothers' version, Tal Mahal's version is just as great. "The Cuckoo" is another good driven blues number, and nice slow and soulful has "You Didn't Miss Your Water ('Til Your Well Runs Dry)." It definitely has the Ray Charles sound. "Ain't That A Lot Of Love" almost sounds like "Gimme Good Lovin'" (Blues Brothers/Spencer Davis Group).

    The last 3 tracks are bonus ones: "The Cuckoo" is one of them, being an alternate version. Just as the original, it's B.B. King'ish. "New Stranger Blues" is a good, slow-driving blues track. Closing out the bonus tracks, is "Things Are Gonna Work Out Fine" And like the title says, this is another fine, fine Blues track.

    Taj Mahal's The Natch'l Blues is your standard, good, great Blues. Taj Mahal definitely is in the ranks of the great Blues artists, from his past, present, and future. And to think, this was just his second original album released. The other fact (as mentioned earlier), is that he wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on this album, as some of them were re-recorded in later years by other great Blues artists. Taj Mahal I'm sure has been an influence to the future Blues artists. So, if you're looking for great Blues to listen to, Taj Mahal is it. He is still with us, as his most recent album was in 2017, TajMo, with Keb' Mo'.





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