Taj Mahal’s 1968 debut was a revelation, blending blues with rock, funk and soul. On most of the album, he’s covering tunes by legends like Robert Johnson and Sonny Boy Williamson. But while he does an incredible job of laying down some tough Chicago-style tracks, he also sneaks in some inspired modernisations, such as adding a Stax-like soul stomp to Sleepy John Estes’ “Everybody’s Got to Change Sometime” or putting some fierce funk inflections into another Estes tune, “Milk Cow Blues” (here renamed “Leaving Trunk”).
- 1969
- 2022
- Muddy Waters & Howlin' Wolf
- The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
- John Lee Hooker & Canned Heat
- Mississippi John Hurt