Audio CD review:
Taj Mahal - Blues with a Feeling: The Very Best of Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal - Blues with a Feeling: The Very Best of Taj Mahal

Band: Taj Mahal Title: Blues with a Feeling: The Very Best of Taj Mahal Rating: Release Date: 2003-09-23 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Seņor Blues - Taj Mahal, Silver, Horace 2: Don't Call Us - Taj Mahal, Mahal, Taj 3: (You've Got To) Love Her With a Feeling - Taj Mahal, King, Freddie 4: Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes - Taj Mahal, Mahal, Taj 5: Betty and Dupree - Taj Mahal, Willis, Chuck 6: Here in the Dark - Taj Mahal, Anderson, Bernared 7: That's How Strong My Love Is - Taj Mahal, Jamison, Roosevelt 8: Lonely Avenue - Taj Mahal, Pomus, Doc 9: Mockingbird - Taj Mahal, Foxx, Charles 10: Mailbox Blues - Taj Mahal, Mahal, Taj 11: Think - Taj Mahal, Pauling, Lowman 12: Sitting on Top of the World - Taj Mahal, Chatmon, Lonnie 13: Mind Your Own Business - Taj Mahal, Williams, Hank 14: Cakewalk into Town - Taj Mahal, Mahal, Taj 15: Blues With a Feeling - Taj Mahal, Little Walter 16: Take a Giant Step - Taj Mahal, Goffin, Gerry 17: The New Hula Blues - Taj Mahal, Mahal, Taj 18: The Hustle Is On - Taj Mahal, Owens, H.E. 19: Let the Four Winds Blow - Taj Mahal, Bartholomew, Dave 20: Blue Light Boogie - Taj Mahal, Robinson, Jessie Ma

He has better I personally like his older stuff better. Some great songs on this album, but there are some that i don't care for. This has to many "poppy" type songs and not the typical blues style of his older work. Not to say i don't like it, i just prefer his earlier works. If you want a compilation, i would suggest the Essential of Taj Mahal to disc album. Its hard to please everyone with discs like these but i think the essential does him more justice. Excellent....with a catch Pleasing song choices, a top rate artist, phenomenal sound quality, and the twenty tracks. Everything about this album is very high quality. However, I must rate it at 4 stars because it claims to be "The Very Best of Taj Mahal". This is, better stated, the very best of Taj Mahal throughout the 1990s. Everyone who appreciates fine blues music will easily appreciate this fine sampling of his later works. Despite this not being a sampling of all his works throughout his musical career, this album is a fine selection to own. Many of these tracks highlight Mahal the eclectic, a genius who in later years combined strong elements of jazz, Zydeco, Calypso, reggae and tribal music fusion with his blues. Take the first track, "Senor Blues". This song begins with a bossa nova kind of feeling, with Mahal singing the song with a Latin inflection. Track two, "Don't Call Us", has almost a pop feeling to it, with elements of gospel music somewhere within. Tracks three and four have a much more down-home blues feeling to them. Track five, Betty and Dupree, has strong country blues qualities. The mixture is unique throughout on this album, showing a side of Taj Mahal fans who had not steadfastly followed him throughout his career might not easily recognize. Often I have played these tracks for friends who do not believe me when I tell them it is Taj Mahal. Excellent album for your collection! . excellent compilation, excellent music I came across Taj's "Very Best Of" disc and listened to a few samples from it in the record store, and it sounded great. I didn't know how big Taj Mahal is on the blues scene until I heard him featured on Jimmy Rogers' All-Stars "Blues Blues Blues" album with such other greats as Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, Lowell Fulson, Jeff Healey, and others. . . So I bought it. Taj Mahal definitely has his own unique flavor, excellent tunes (whether composed or re-interpreted), and excellent singing voice that is strong and assertive and at the same time very melodic and gentle. His blues range from jazzy to rocky to down-home. Some very classy tunes. When I first bought this disc, it was the only disc I played in my car probably for several weeks until I got thoroughly familiar with it. This disc seems like a very good intro to Taj Mahal's work because it covers a variety of styles and gives you an idea about what this artist can do. He's an underemphasized gem musically, and I hear he's a real class act. I will be buying more of his CDs in the near future for absolutely certain. . You can see a complete list of all Taj Mahal discography, or go back to the Taj Mahal tabs