ARTIST: Otis Taylor
TITLE: Below The Fold
LABEL: Telarc
GENRE: Blues
TIME: 43:21 min
SIZE: 61,1 MB
RIP DATE: Aug-02-2005
RELEASE DATE: Aug-23-2005
WEBSITE: n/a
Track List:
01. Feel Like Lightning 04:53
02. Boy Plays Mandolin 04:01
03. Hookers In The Street 04:43
04. Mama's Got A Friend 02:53
05. Working For The Pullman Company 04:17
06. Your Children Sleep Good Tonight 05:30
07. Didn't Know Much About Education 04:45
08. Went To Hermes 03:46
09. Government Lied 05:11
10. Right Side Of Heaven 03:22
Release Notes:
Otis Taylor is an original. Although he fits loosely
into the category of bluesman, his music combines
elements of folk, singer/songwriter, and R&B as
well. On Below The Fold he adds a trance-like
droneùa common element in African, Arab and
Appalachian mountain musicùto his arsenal for a
sound that's all his own.
Taylor's tunes are bluesy, but he bends the blues to
his own ends, using the music as a launching pad for
autobiographical excursions that are bursting with
vitality and compassion, brimming over with mordant
wit. Taylor has a powerful voice that can deliver an
angry wail or a rumbling world-weary growl and make
it sound authentic. "Feel Like Lightning" pays
tribute to the African-American activists of the
'60s with a lyric that stitches together fragments
of spirituals and music that combines the country
fiddling of white Southerners with a backbeat that
mimics the beating of the human heart.
On "Mama's Got A Best Friend" Taylor plays a simple,
repeating Irish melody as he tells the story of his
mother's "best friend," the woman who moved in after
Taylor's father split. A haunted fiddle, dramatic
drum accents, and Ron Miles' forlorn trumpet fills
give the tune an ominous feeling. Taylor's
understated vocal is heavy with implied
apprehension, painting a portrait of a boy torn
between his love for his mother and the unsettling
questions his classmates are asking. Taylor can also
be joyful. "Went To Hermes" has a slow, measured
tempo, just Taylor's voice and acoustic guitar,
delivering an ode to good drink, good sex, and
sunshine.
Taylor's arrangements balance the folksy sounds of
acoustic fiddle, guitar, and mandolin with the jazzy
accents of trumpet, organ, and cello. The
traditional, almost retro sound of the backing
tracks and Taylor's fiercely contemporary lyrics
create a tension that will keep you on the edge of
your seat.