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Taj Mahal: Phantom Blues

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Privat Music Records
Released: 1996
Time:
 48:03
Category: Blues
Producer(s): John Porter
Rating: ********** (10/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.tajblues.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 1997.03.18
Price in €: 9,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes (Taj Mahal) - 2:43
[2] Cheatin' on You (J.Cleary) - 3:22
[3] Hustle Is On (H.Owens) - 2:41
[4] Here in the Dark (B.Anders) - 3:10
[5] Fanning the Flames (J.Cleary) - 4:50
[6] I Need Your Loving (D.Gardner) - 3:01
[7] Ooh Poo Pah Doo (J.Hill) - 4:01
[8] Lonely Avenue (D.Pomus) - 3:30
[9] Don't Tell Me (P.McLaughlin) - 3:48
[10] What Am I Living For? (A.Harris) - 2:46
[11] We're Gonna Make It (G.Barge) - 2:52
[12] Let the Four Winds Blow (D.Bartholemew) - 3:12
[13] [You've Got to] Love Her with a Feeling (F.King) - 3:48
[14] Car of Your Dreams (J.Kelly) - 4:10

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Taj Mahal - Vocals, Dobro, Harmonica

Bonnie Raitt - Vocals
John Porter - Acoustic Guitar, Guitar, Slide Guitar
Jon Cleary - Guitar, Piano, Wurlitzer Piano, Clavinet, Background Vocals
Jon Brion - Guitar, Chamberlin
Johnny Lee Schell - Guitar, Background Vocals
Eric Clapton - Guitar
Dean Parks - Guitar
John Parks - Guitar
Joe McGrath - Guitar
Mike Campbell - 12-string guitar
David Hidalgo - Accordion
Joe Sublett - Tenor saxophone
Bernard "Dr. B." Anderson - Tenor saxophone
Darrell Leonard - Trumpet, Trombonium
Mick Weaver - Organ
Larry Fulcher - Bass, Background vocals
James "Hutch" Hutchinson - Bass
Tony Braunagel - Drums, Tambourine, Percussion
"Freeze" Guillory - Rub Board
"Sir" Harry Bowens - Background vocals
"Sweet Pea" Atkinson - Background vocals
Terrence Forsythe - Background vocals
Regina Taylor - Background vocals
Alphanette Durio - Background vocals
Billy Barnum - Background vocals

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Recorded at Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, California on May 8-14, 1995 and House Of Blues Studios, Encino, California.

PHANTOM BLUES was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.



Taj Mahal has lived in Hawaii for the past dozen years. But, as evident on his latest album, Phantom Blues , the Springfield, Massachusetts-born vocalist has yet to lose his connection with the musical roots of the mainland. As the follow-up to his Grammy-nominated 1994 album, Dancing The Blues , Mahal again forsakes the acoustic sounds of his early recordings for a full-blown treatment of American blues and R&B. Accompanied by the hard-driving rhythm section of Tony Brunaegal (drums) and Larry Fulcher (bass) and joined by a horn section, a vocal choir and such stellar players as Johnny Lee Schell (guitar), Mick Weaver (organ) and Jon Cleary (piano), Mahal is given the space to showcase his soulful vocals. A number of guest musicians make vital contributions. Bonnie Raitt joins Mahal for a duet rendition of "I Need Your Loving", while Eric Clapton adds his distinctive lead guitar playing to two tunes - "Here In The Dark" and "(You've Got To) Love Her With A Feeling". Mike Campbell of the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers plays twelve string guitar on the opening track, "Lovin' In My Baby's Arms". Los Lobos ' David Hidalgo accents the New Orleans sound of Fats Domino 's song, "Let The Four Winds Blow", with his accordion playing. The influence of Ray Charles is audible throughout the album. The sole original song by Mahal, "Lovin' In My Baby's Arms", was inspired by Charles country western recordings of the early-1960's. Mahal's interpretation of Doc Pomus ' "Lonely Avenue" is nearly identical to Charles' 1956 recording. Mahal's vocals remains faithful to the spirit of other influential vocalists, as well. "Don't Tell Me" sounds like an outtake from a Sly And The Family Stones album. "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" is a remake of Jesse Hill's Little Richard. Rated: 4

Craig Harris - Music Wire (March 1996)



Eric Clapton (two cuts) and Bonnie Raitt (one, BLUES CORNER the flagwaver "I Need Your Loving") help TAJ MAHAL chase the Phantom Blues for Private Music. Raw sensualist or romantic, rootsy rustic or city slicker, Mahal is at home with blues of every stripe. While his vocal duet with Raitt on "I Need Your Loving" is a ready-made rocker for radio, these ears are more attuned to the cut (just one, unfortunately) on which the leader accompanies his own voice with dobro and harmonica, the CD-opening "Lovin' In My Baby's Eyes."

Gene Kalbacher
Exclusive Review from CMJNewMusicReport
© 1978-1998 College Media Inc. All rights reserved.



"...His music is a direct challenge to arbitrary barriers of genre and generation--a healthy antidote in our age of prefabricated styles, ideological rigidity, and corporate-driven tastes."

Living Blues 5-6/96, pp.75-76



"...Mahal seems to have reached an artistic pinnacle with PHANTOM BLUES..."

Dirty Linen 6-7/96, p.65



An eclectic bluesman would seem to be a contradiction in terms, but Taj Mahal, who has moved through the worlds of folk, rock, and pop to reach his present categorization, fits the description, and here he takes several pop and R&B oldies that came from blues roots -- "Ooh Poo Pah Doo," "Lonely Avenue," "What Am I Living For?," "Let the Four Winds Blow" -- and returns them to those roots. He also calls in such guest stars as Eric Clapton and Bonnie Raitt, who have more than a nodding acquaintance with the blues, to assist him. The result is progressive blues hybrid that treats the music not as a source, but as a destination.

William Ruhlmann - All Music Guide



"Dank souveräner Stimme und sorgfältigster Arrangements hat Taj Mahal keine Probleme eine Anthologie ohne Schwachpunkt zu machen. Adäquate Hilfe kommt von diversen Instrumental-Cracks, deren prominentester Eric Clapton ist."

H.-J. Günther in HiFiVision 5/96
 

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