Audio CD review:
Otis Taylor - Respect the Dead

Otis Taylor - Respect the Dead

Band: Otis Taylor Title: Respect the Dead Rating: Release Date: 2002-04-02 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Ten Million Slaves 2: Hands on Your Stomach 3: Changing Rules 4: 32nd Time 5: Baby So 6: Shaker Woman 7: Black Witch 8: Seven Hours of Light 9: I Like You, But I Don't Love You 10: Jump Jelly Belly 11: Three Stripes on a Cadillac 12: Just Live Your Life

The Dirty Driving Rain Taylor's voice has already been out there in the storm. Experiencing the aural whipping of'Respect The Dead'is rather like walking, with scant protection, into a howling rain. Electric banjo and guitar drive home the point:the banjo plucked like fingers tripping over the ribcage of skeletons. This isn't subtle music. It's mantric beat and repetitive lyrics insist on what it is we should be taking with us. Deaths described are mostly caused by misadventure rather than heroics. This is one powerful disc and its tracks are hard to separate with respect to impact. Indeed, for greater effect, the songs may best be heard apart from each other as collectively they give the head a pelting. However,'Ten Million Slaves' is an awesome opener. 'Shaker Woman', ' 3 Stripes On a Cadillac',and'Black Witch' have etched themselves upon my mind. . "Respect the Dead", Yes... the title speaks true! I have looked at the blues section of the music store, all that I could find was B. Otis Taylor has given greater meaning to blues music than any other artist I've listened to. B. King, Muddy Waters, and even some artists from the United Kingdom who would play pop-culture music, only sung with bluesy black accents. Now that Otis Taylor has arrived I can drift back into a world of brightly lit shacks nesled deep in the swamps and woods at night on the outskirts of a southern town and hear the tales of the old dark skinned folks I knew as a boy that were told in song, acoustic instruments, and spirit. Being a black American who has lived in various places in the south of the states (. . . ), I would not need no British artists telling me about blues music let alone my own culture. (No offense to them. ) My personal favorites Ten Million Slaves, Hands on Your Stomach, Black Witch, and Seven Hours of Light refelect the southern world I lived and knew in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi. BEYOND THE BLUES Those are comments from reviewers who HAVEN'T SEEN THE BAND LIVE!! This cd has everything a true blues aficionado could want. I can't believe the negative remarks some listeners have about this fine collection of Taylor tunes. Great storytelling, tales of woe and lament, spiritual and ethereal messages, and an unreal and searing guitar solo on just about every track provided by the amazing Eddie Turner. Prepare to be blown away by songs like Ten Thousand Slaves, Black Witch and the others. Turner's incredible strat is so damn reminiscent of Hendrix, it's spooky. I was so moved that I requested Eddie's guitar pick after the show. . . just for proof that what I saw was definitely real. These guys are the ultimate boogie/rock blues band from beyond. is there anything lower than one star? too bad he has nothing to say. otis taylor has a great voice. this is semi-political drivel wrapped in junior kimbrough-esque blues stylings. what are these reviewers thinking of? there's not a single sincere, personal sentiment on this entire record. the "blues community" will be the next "folk community" if this is the best theyve got. chuck it! get an old hound dog taylor record or find "the dyin crapshooter's blues" instead. More of the Same--i.e., it's a Classic Otis Taylor is, without a doubt, one of the top 5 bluesmen recording today--and the most ambitious. I am amazed that an artist can keep up this level of achievement over three discs. His songs don't just tell a story, they evoke a world, one that is light years away from the world of the average middle-class blues-CD buyer. I cannot think of any other artist who evokes so many emotions, with the possible exception of Skip James. Taylor's lyrics, coupled with his enigmatic voice, heartfelt delivery & understated music, create a work of depth that is amazing. Buy this disc; if you hunger for more, you can't go wrong with any of his others, either. You can see a complete list of all Otis Taylor discography, or go back to the Otis Taylor tabs