Recapturing the Banjo

Product Details

Artist : Otis Taylor
Binding : Audio CD
EAN : 0089408366727
Label : Telarc Blues
Number of Discs : 1
Product Group : Music
Release Date : 2008-03-31
UPC : 089408366727

ASIN : B0010VD7FS

Track Listings for

Disc-1
1. Ran So Hard The Sun Went Down
2. Prophet's Mission
3. Absinthe
4. Live Your Life
5. Walk Right In
6. Bow Legged Charlie
7. Hey Joe
8. Little Liza Jane
9. Five Hundred Roses
10. Les Ognons
11. Deep Blue Sea
12. Simple Mind
13. Ten Million Slaves
14. Way It Goes

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Editorial Reviews

MOJO, (Fred Dellar), April 2008

(4 stars) Taylor continues to enthrall...roots music allied to an exploration of America's past race problems and social injustices.

The Independent, (Andy Gill), February 29, 2008

The most compelling track is "Ran So Hard...", an account of lynch-mob terror delivered in Taylor's haunting monotone.

The Sunday Times, (Clive Davis), March 23, 2008

(4 stars) Inspired...What gives the disc its edge is the mouth-watering list of accomplices...it works brilliantly.

The Observer, (Neil Spencer), March 23, 2008

The eclectic US bluesman brings his keen eye to the banjo's part in black musical history...it's a fascinating group foray.

Classic Rock, (Henry Yates), April 2008

The results are nothing short of stunning...grittier than an Alabama dirt-track. Mission accomplished, we feel.

Financial Times, (David Honigmann), March 29 2008

(5 stars) Authoritative and compelling. It sets the banjo in historical context without a trace of mustiness.

The Information (The Independent), (Tim Cumming), April 5, 2008

(Album Of The Week) 14 powerful tracks, ranging from a great "Hey Joe" to traditionals such as "Deep Blue Sea".

Uncut, (Rob Hughes), May 2008

(4 stars) A fine celebration of the instrument's roots in Africa...Guy Davis' clawhammer version of "Little Liza Jane" is outstanding.

The Knowledge (The Times), (John Clarke), April 5, 2008

(4 stars) A satisfying mix of traditional tunes alongside a spikey "Hey Joe"...razor-sharp banjo riffs.

The Times, (Clive Davis), April 30, 2008

Definitely one of the must-hear records of the year.

Customer Reviews

Pleasant but, not surprisingly, banjo-heavy! (2008-08-08)

I was hesitant about buying this new album of Otis Taylor's because I'm not a big fan of the banjo as an instrument but I so enjoyed his "Double V" and "Definition of a Circle" albums that I decided to see if he could bring his gorgeous version of the blues to an album dominated by an instrument I'm not too keen on. Many of the songs on the album, understandably, are dominated by the banjo and I'm afraid I'm not really that keen on them - personal taste really - even if Otis tries hard to make them bluesy. The opening of the album is particularly affected, with the first three tracks all being ones that displease me.After this banjo-heavy opening, Otis begins to mix in other instruments and more variety into the arrangements and the songs become more interesting. "Hey Joe" and "Ten Million Slaves" are particular highlights for me: the banjo is present but as a component part within essentially electric-guitar led blues songs, more akin to his work on the two albums I've mentioned. These songs are as pleasing as the best work on those other albums.Elsewhere, there are enjoyable moments too: the French feel of "Les Ognons" is a highlight, as is "Live Your Life" which has a beautiful trumpet melodic line running through the arrangement.So, for a non-banjo lover there is a shaky start and some sticky moments further in, but enough of Otis's class and brand of blues comes through to have made this a worthwhile acquisition, and it will definitely be an album that I will come back to and hear again and again. Nevertheless, if you're not yet a fan of Otis Taylor, you may do better by purchasing something like "Double V" or "Definition of a Circle" (with Gary Moore guesting on guitar) first.

Don't be put off (2008-06-23)

Being an Otis fan I was immediately going to buy this, but had a listen to the sample listings and it put me off for a few weeks. Then I decided I'll get it regardless. It does take a bit of listening too in my opinion and there are one or two covers that I'm still not sure about, and tend to skip them. However, none the less it is a very good album and I am glad that I bought it. And if you like this, I can highly recommend Roscoe Holcomb - An Untamed Sense of Control. Amazon recommended this whilst doing a search for similar artists like Otis.

It does what is says on the cover - and how! (2008-06-08)

A diverse, yet coherent album by the cream of contemporary country blues and ethnic "roots" music featuring the banjo played in different styles ( although not bluegrass ) and songs traditional to contemporary. Many people think of the banjo they imagine the shuffling minstrel, often a white person in blackface, or an Appalachian hillbilly, from a limited gene pool, playing tunes of Irish or Scottish heritage. The banjo is derived from instruments still played in West Africa by the griots, the traditional storytellers and musicians of that area who had an esteemed role in those ancient societies similar to the medieval troubadours or celtic bards. I am a fan of old-time music and world music played on traditional instruments. I've grown to love some of these old North American field recordings, although I realize they are a taste that most won't want to aspire to. Like many fans of old time music I thought that African-American banjo playing would die out with the last of the old timers in the backwoods of the South-East U.S. Only Taj Mahal and Sparky Rucker play occasional banjo and Taj's most banjo heavy recording, the soundtrack to the film "Sounder" is hard to obtain ( it took me 25 years of searching to get a copy - well worth the effort though! ). Well I'm glad to say I was wrong. The album features contributions from some of the most respected country blues musicians performing today - Alvin Youngblood Hart, Guy Davis, Corey Hart, Keb Mo' and Otis Taylor, and Don Vappie, who plays for a Traditional New Orleans-style jazz band in his day job, sharing their singing and instrumental talents from traditional songs like "Lil Liza Jane" and "Deep Blue Sea" to a version of "Hey Joe" that would give Jimi Hendrix's version a run for its money. There's a Creole children's song, sung in French naturellement, a recapturing of the 60s hit "Walk Right In"( well, it was written by a black banjo player ) and songs about cowboys, Native Americans, racism and much more. No album made by blues musicians would be complete without a song about substance abuse. "Absinthe" is the drug du jour and some wicked cornet playing by guest musician Ron Miles really conveys a sense of paranoia and delerium. One of the album's many achievements is despite the diversity of topics and styles there's a thematic quality to the whole work and it gives a sense of satisfaction that the best concept albums deliver. The album opens with a song about a black man on the run from the Klan, rarely has the rolling sound of the banjo been used more effectively to convey the sense of urgency in flight the hero of the song needs, and finishes with some gentle homespun philosophy written and sung by Keb Mo'. If you like early Taj Mahal, like the work of the musicians featured or you think there could be more to the banjo than the themes from the "Beverley Hillbillies" and "Deliverance" then this platter may be worth checking out.

Catch this little darling (2008-04-24)

My girlfriend bought this for me, knowing that I like blues. And that's essentially what this is, a blues album. Tracks such as 'Prophet's mission' have the syncopated rolling beats of trace blues that are the north missisipi roots of becomes R&B in the modern puff daddy etc sense. Suprises such as 'Bow Legged Charlie' reminds me of Ray Charles in his western mode - indeed, the same Ray Charles of the piano blues and blues brothers released several country and western albums in the 70s and some tracks here are similar in flavour, a funkified country music that reclaims the influence that black musicians had on the earliest white country folk. Indeed, 'recapturing the banjo' is all about that - the sleeve notes describe how the Banjo originated as an African instrument and was appropriated by white players. Ths will come a suprise to those (myself included) who assumed that the banjo was the either the preserve of pink faced yodelling cowboys or hairy appalachian rednecks.This is an album demonstrating that the banjo is indeed as funky as a purple telecaster - or a depression era Gibson 6 string. Anyone not convinced by this hypothesis should listen to tracks such as 'five hundred roses' and bear in mind the similarity to Tinariwen (the North African supergroup with fans like Robert Plant and Carlos Santana). Both employ the banjo or banjo like instruments as a counterpoint to the dry soil thrubbing of a trance blues rhythm section. Yet Unlike Tinariwen, Otis delivers lyrics in English, which add to the hypnotic effect, the repetition and affirmation that gives blues much of it's power.Honestly, buy it - pour yourself a coffee and kick back, and grab the blues, OOOwwwyes.

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