Mahal Hikes

"Happy Just To Be Like I Am" was out of print for some time, and it often falls between the cracks when Taj Mahal's early recordings are assessed, but this 1971 album is a prime example of the unique stylistic fusion Taj was going for on his early-'70s releases. It's a joyful collision of old-time jug-band music ("Stealin'"), folk ("Oh Susanna"), blues, and steel-drum-driven Caribbean sounds ("West Indian Revelation"). Holding the whole thing together, as always, is Taj's rich, soulful vocal style, not to mention his visceral acoustic fingerpicking approach. "Happy Just To Be Like I Am" stands as an unjustly overlooked entry in Taj Mahal's catalog, worthy of a reassessment.

Throughout his career, Taj Mahal has always been considered a bluesman, which is true enough, since the basis for everything he does has been the country blues, but he is not a traditionalist at heart, and he has always looked for ways to push the blues into new places and shapes. Adding at times rhythms and sensibilities that are drawn from reggae, ragtime, calypso, zydeco, and other genres, Mahal practices a kind of blues hybrid that is his alone, and he has been a huge influence on newer artists like Chris Thomas King and Corey Harris. This collection derives from the five albums he recorded with Private Records during the 1990s, and overlaps somewhat with The Best of the Private Years, released in 2000. Highlights include his version of Doc Pomus' "Lonely Avenue," a bebop blues take on Horace Silver's "Señor Blues," and an atmospheric reading of Goffin & King's "Take a Giant Step"…

When Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo' released TajMo in 2017 and toured the world, they fully intended it to be a one-off. Even as they resumed solo careers, neither could forget the merits of that partnership; they wondered if there was still magic between them in the studio. Room on the Porch answers in the affirmative. For the sake of creative possibility, they decided to write and record the material together in a studio. Over two weeks, Mahal, Mo', and their chosen collaborators worked in a Nashville studio and emerged with Room on the Porch, a solid set of seven originals and three covers co-produced by the pair. It's an intimate, warm, informal album full of laid-back good vibes and great songs.
The title-track opener, co-written with vocalist Ruby Amanfu, is a good-time acoustic rag blues buoyed by B-3, upright bass, fiddle, and resonator guitars in a welcome to a new guest and friend…