A1 	Linin' Track 	
A2 	Country Blues #1
A3 	Wild Ox Moan 	
A4 	Light Rain Blues 	
A5 	A Little Soulful Tune 	
A6 	Candy Man 	
A7 	Cluck Old Hen
B1 	Colored Aristocracy
B2 	Blind Boy Rag 	
B3 	Stagger Lee 	
B4 	Cajun Tune 	
B5 	Fishin' Blues 	
B6 	Annie's Lover

Vocals, Harmonica, Guitar, Banjo, Other [Jive] – Taj Mahal 

In less than 24 months, Taj Mahal (guitars/vocals/banjo/harmonica) had issued the equivalent of four respective long-players. The electric Giant Step (1968) was released alongside the acoustic and decidedly rural De Ole Folks at Home (1968). The nine cuts on Giant Step feature support from the instrumental trio of Jesse Ed Davis (guitar/keyboards), Gary Gilmore (bass), and Chuck Blackwell (drums). They back Taj Mahal on a wide selection of covers ranging from Carole King and Gerry Goffin's "Take a Giant Step" to the upbeat and soulful reading of the Huddie Ledbetter blues staple "Keep Your Hands Off Her." The arrangements are unique and offer the artist's distinctive approach. Nowhere is this more evident than the practically jovial midtempo "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" or the freewheeling abandon brought to the 18-wheeler anthem "Six Days on the Road"." Similarly, it recalls the version of "Ain't That a Lot of Love" from Taj Mahal's preceding LP Natch'l Blues (1968). Additionally, Blind Willie Johnson's "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond" stands out with a strong and soaring gospel-flavored arrangement. The project concludes with "Bacon Fat," a number attributed here via Garth Hudson and Robbie Robertson of the Band. That said, it may be better-known from the man they called Mr. Rhythm, Andre Williams, whose scattered down-home spoken interludes punctuate his February 1957 Top Ten R&B hit -- which incidentally was created under the working title "Diddle, Diddle Womp, Womp." Parties searching for an apt introduction when discovering Taj Mahal's voluminous catalog are encouraged to consider Giant Step as a highly recommended reference point. ---Lindsay Planer, AllMusic Review

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1. Stagger Lee
2. Dust My Broom
3. Take This Hammer
4. Blues With A Feeling
5. Big Legged Mamas Are Back In Style Again
6. Crossing
7. Come On In My Kitchen
8. Candy Man
9. Satisfied 'N' Tickled Too
10. Sittin' On Top Of The World
11. Cake Walk Into Town
12. Ain't Gwine To Whistle Dixie Anymo'
13. Big Kneed Gal
14. Texas Woman Blues
15. Tom & Sally Drake

Taj Mahal – vocals, guitar
Howard Johnson - Tuba (tracks: 11 to 15)

If you've ever caught Taj live solo, this recording, cut during an appearance in Germany, is what you've been waiting for. His sublime performances of "Satisfied and Tickled Too" and "Candy Man" are out of this world. While the inclusion of tuba on a few tracks does prove somewhat annoying, for the most part this is an excellent example of what makes Taj a treasure. ---Tim Sheridan, Rovi

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01. Fishin' Blues - 2:58
02. Ain't Gwine To Whistle Dixie (Any Mo') - 9:11
03. Sweet Mama Janisse - 3:33
04. Going Up To The Country And Paint My Mailbox Blue - 3:24
05. Big Kneed Gal - 5:34
06. You're Going To Need Somebody On Your Bond - 6:14
07. Tom And Sally Drake - 3:39
08. Diving Duck Blues - 3:46
09. John, Ain' It Hard - 5:30
10. She Caught The Katy And Left Me A Mule To Ride - 4:08
11. You Ain't No Street Walker Mama, Honey But I Sure Do Love The Way You Strut Your Stuff - 18:54

Personnel:
- Taj Mahal - vocals, acoustic and amplified harp, chromatic harmonica, National steel-bodied guitar, five-string guitar(banjo), Spirit of '76 six-holed fife
- Howard Johnson - tuba (double B flat,F), flgelhorn, baritone saxophone, brass arrangements
- Bob Stewart - tuba (doble C), flugelhorn, trumpet
- Joseph Daley - tuba (double B flat), valve trombone
- Earle McIntyre - tuba (E flat), bass trombone
- Bill Rich - electric bass
- John Simon - piano, electric piano
- John Hall - electric guitar
- Greg Thomas - drums
- Kwasi "Rocky" DziDzournu - congas
- David Robinson – producer

Taj Mahal's been chasing the blues around the world for years, but rarely with the passion, energy, and clarity he brought to his first three albums. Taj Mahal, The Natch'l Blues and The Real Thing are the sound of the artist, who was born in 1942, defining himself and his music. On his self-titled 1967 debut, he not only honors the sound of the Delta masters with his driving National steel guitar and hard vocal shout, but ladles in elements of rock and country with the help of guitarists Ry Cooder and the late Jessie Ed Davis. This approach is reinforced and broadened by The Natch'l Blues. What's most striking is Mahal's way of making even the oldest themes sound as if they're part of a new era. Not just through the vigor of his playing--relentlessly propulsive, yet stripped down compared with the six-string ornamentations of the original masters of country blues--but through his singing, which possesses a knowing insouciance distinct to post-Woodstock counterculture hipsters. It's the voice of an informed young man who knows he's offering something deep to an equally hip and receptive audience.

Soon, Mahal turned his multicultural vision of the blues even further outward. The live 1971 set, The Real Thing, finds him still carrying the Mississippi torch, while adding overt elements of jazz and Afro-Caribbean music to its flame. But it's overreaching. His band sounds under-rehearsed, and the arrangements seem more like rough outlines. Nonetheless, these albums set the stage for Mahal's career. (For a condensed version, try the fine The Best of Taj Mahal.) Today, he continues to make fine fusion albums, like 1999's Kulanjan, with Malian kora master Toumani Diabate, and less exciting but still eclectic recordings with his Phantom Blues Band. ---Editorial Reviews

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01. Statesboro Blues								play
02. If The River Was Whiskey (Divin' Duck Blues)
03. By And By (Poor Me)
04. Candy Man
05. 2:10 Train
06. Let The Good Times Roll
07. 44 Blues
08. 11th Street Overcrossing
09. Corrin, Corrina
10. Tulsa County
11. Walkin' Down The Line
12. The Girl With Green Eyes
13. Sunny's Dream
14. Spanish Lace Blues
15. The Devil's Got My Woman
16. Take A Giant Step
17. Flyin' So High
18. Dust My Broom									play
19. Last Fair Deal Gone Down
20. Baby, What You Want Me To Do?
21. Statesboro Blues version 2
22. I Got A Little (Mono)

Rising Sons: 
Ry Cooder (vocals, 6- & 12-string guitars, mandolin, slide guitar, dobro); 
Jesse Lee Kincaid (vocals, guitar); 
Taj Mahal (vocals, harmonica, guitar piano); 
Gary Marker (bass); 
Kevin Kelley (drums, percussion).

Original tracks recorded in Hollywood, California between September 9, 1965 and May 18, 1966. New Taj Mahal vocal tracks for "Dust My Broom," "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" and "Baby, What You Want Me To Do?" recorded in New York, New York on June 19, 1992. Includes liner notes by Marc Kirkeby.

In 1966 Ry Cooder was a young multi-instrumentalist with a keen interest in traditional American music. He met a similarly inclined singer called Taj Mahal, with whom he formed the Rising Sons. Countless British groups had previously combined blues with Beatles-influenced rock, but such a combination was a surprising rarity in mid-'60s California. On their sole album, the Rising Sons delve deeper than those groups for their influences, bypassing the Chicago Blues sound in favor of traditional Delta country blues.

They cover staples of the Delta repertoire like "Candyman, "The Devil's Got My Woman" and "32-20," where Cooder's nimble picking and unearthly slide mesh well with Mahal's hearty, soulful vocals. Far from revivalists, they play fast and loose with tradition--the Delta feel is offset by plenty of British Invasion-flavored rock (and "32-20" is given an Otis Redding-style treatment). The Rising Sons synthesize styles in such an effective and inventive manner that a new blues paradigm is created. ---cduniverse

Their lone single and unreleased album form the core of this 22-track reissue, which features imaginative rearrangements of standards like "Corrine, Corrina," an obscure Dylan cover ("Walkin' Down the Line"), rocking originals, a confident performance of Goffin/King's "Take a Giant Step" (later Mahal's signature tune), and nifty guitar interplay between Mahal and Cooder throughout. Overall, it sounds a lot more like it belongs in 1967-1968 than 1965-1966. This archival release has value above and beyond historical interest. --- Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com

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1. Conch (Introduction)  
2. Kalimba                 play
3. Bound to Love Me Some   play 
4. Ricochet  
5. A Free Song  
6. Corinna  
7. Conch Close  
8. Cakewalk into Town  
9. Sweet Home Chicago  
10. Texas Woman Blues  
11. Gitano Negro

Personnel
Taj Mahal - Steel-Bodied Guitar, Kalimba, Banjo, Conch, Hand Claps, Upright Bass
The Pointer Sisters - Background Vocals
Howard Johnson - Hand Claps, Tuba

One of the most prominent figures in late 20th century blues, singer/multi-instrumentalist Taj Mahal played an enormous role in revitalizing and preserving traditional acoustic blues. Not content to stay within the realm, Mahal soon broadened his approach, taking a musicologist's interest in a multitude of folk and roots music from around the world. Beautifully remastered from the analog master tapes by Ray Staff at Alchemy Soho.

Recycling The Blues & Other Related Stuff is an American blues album. Tracks 1-7 were recorded live; tracks 8-11 are studio recordings.

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[01]. Queen Bee
[02]. Think
[03]. Irresistible You
[04]. Having a Real Bad Day
[05]. Senor Blues
[06]. Sophisticated Mama
[07]. Oh Lord, Things Are Gettin' Crazy Up in Here
[08]. I Miss You Baby
[09]. You Rascal You
[10]. Mind Your Business
[11]. 21st Century Gypsy Singin' Lover Man
[12]. At Last (I Found a Love)
[13]. Mr. Pitiful

Personnel:
Johnny Lee Schell - guitar
Tony Braunagel - drums, percussion, tambourine
Mick Weaver - Hammond B-3 organ
Taj "Dadi Kouyate" Mahal - vocals, harmonica, dobro, kazoo
Larry Fulcher - bass
Donna Taylor, Terrence Forsythe - background vocals
Also: Jon Cleary, "Sir" Harry Bowens

Señor Blues is one of Taj Mahal's best latter-day albums, a rollicking journey through classic blues styles performed with contemporary energy and flair. There's everything from country-blues to jazzy uptown blues on Señor Blues, and Taj hits all of areas in between, including R&B and soul. Stylistically, it's similar to most of his albums, but he's rarely been as effortlessly fun and infectious as he is here. -- Thom Owens, Rovi

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1. Dhow Countries - 7:47 
2. Muhoga Wa jang'ombe - 6:11 
3. Zanzibar - 2:57 
4. Catfish Blues - 6:23 
5. Naahidi Kulienzi - 5:53 
6. Mkutano - 3:55 
7. Done Changed My Way Of Living - 5:29 
8. M'Banjo - 3:26 
9. Mpunga - 6:07

Musicians:
Taj Mahal (vocals, guitar, banjo), 
Bill Rich (electric bass), 
Kester Smith (drums).

Taj Mahal goes Zanzibar. As early as the first few bars of the opening song “Dhow Countries” it becomes evident that Taj Mahal’s latest African journey is a musical winner. Not only did he take his blues to a place that is the stuff of myth and fantasy, this East African island just off the coast of Tanzania has been capturing the man’s imagination and spirit in a profound kind of way. “Dhow Countries” is a slow and meditative blues in a minor key. A tender evocation of African moods with lots of feeling, enhanced by the sounds of the Culture Musical Club of Zanzibar, the first and foremost taarab orchestra of Zanzibar.

„Muhoga wa jang’ombe“ is next and presents the Culture Musical Club in full glory. Taarab music from Zanzibar still stands as a musical universe in itself, a one-of-a-kind combination of Arabic, African and Asian musical traditions. There doesn’t seem to be anything like it anywhere else and it‘s richness has never been fully revealed or analysed, it seems. The orchestra is set up in various sections that mirror the eventful cultural and social history of Zanzibar. First of all there’s a powerful Arabian section consisting of qanun (cittern), oud (Arabic lute), nai (flute) and a number of violins. Especially the latter allude to the tradition of Egyptian film orchestras and also the traditions of Western and Indian classical music. Accordions and double bass are in the mix as well and the percussion department mostly consists of dumbak and bongos. On top of all this instrumental richness, there are the voices: male and female solo singers and choruses. To this day, the Culture Musical Club plays an essential part in the island’s cultural and social life. It’s a sort of „national orchestra“ and it has more or less single-handedly created the sounds of contemporary taarab from Zanzibar. The orchestra still provides a center of social activities for people in an environment of communication and music.

The three African-Americans on board go way back by now: Taj Mahal (vocals, guitar, banjo), Bill Rich (electric bass) and Kester Smith (drums). These three African-Americans always seem to enjoy plunging into a musical culture that’s different from the West in as much as it’s not been totally commerzialised and put on the marketplace for immediate consumption. Despite touring internationally, this orchestra from Zanzibar is still hanging on to its original identity as keeper of social traditions. No elaborate wedding ceremony in Zanzibar is complete without their musical contribution. It sure is a long way from the juke joints of Mississippi or the clubs of Chicago, indeed, but any blues scholar will be able to come up with some striking similarities concerning the social importance the blues has played for the people in past times, especially for the African-American community. But despite the many cultural differences of the two groups of musicians involved, a wonderful breaching of the gap occured. Taj Mahal took his blues – and the African-born banjo – to this remote African island of legendary and mythic stature. A place where the music has kept some mystery, it seems.

Some local heroes also took part. Female singer Bikidude is well into her nineties and a living legend - the most famous musical ambassador from Zanzibar. Next to her musical prowess, the myth of Bikidude is based on a number of real-life incidents. At the age of thirteen she fled from an enforced marriage into Tanzania, where she crossed the country barefoot. She left a second unhappy marriage and took a traditional dhow sailing-boat to Egypt. It was there she became a singer. She took off her veil and shaved her head. Thus, she created an alternative and somewhat provocative new role model for Islamic women in Zanzibar. Bikidude drank and smoked, she flirted and danced, she sang and played the drums. A major artist from Zanzibar still and singing on this album.

Taj Mahal is still a restless man. His career has exceeded a forty-year time-span by now and he’s been a recording artist for just a little less. His discography feature more than three dozen albums. His classic credo is still valid: “In the end, ultimately, the music plays you, you don’t play the music.” The man is more than just a performer – he’s also a receiver. The spirits of the ancestors have been working their way into his new project again. The meeting place is a spiritual terrain on which everyone taking part seems to be moving. Even a very secular song like “Catfish Blues” seems to be infused by these spirits, creating a unified and unifying concord of souls. This is even more evident in a song like “Naahidi Kulienzi”, Taj’s duet with singer Makame Faki.

Despite this fascinating unity of spirit, the search for the all-important moment of truthful musical communication becomes audible as well. But even this struggle provides valuable moments of musical authenticity. When Mahal’s banjo and the orchestra’s violins embark on a journey through the pentatonics of the blues („M’Banjo“), the listener becomes a witness to the process of finding mutual musical linguistics. TAJ MAHAL MEETS THE CULTURE MUSICAL CLUB OF ZANZIBAR presents another fascinating chapter of Taj Mahal’s ongoing musical journey to the source – nothing more and nothing less. It will not be his last. The search goes on. ---tradition-moderne.com

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01.Queen Bee
02.Tunkaranke
03.Ol' Georgie Buck
04.Kulanjan
05.Fanta
06.Guede Man Na
07.Catfish Blues
08.K'an Ben
09.Take This Hammer
10.Atlanta Kaira
11.Mississippi-Mali Blues

Personnel: 
Taj "Dadi Kouyate" Mahal (vocals, guitar, piano); 
Kassemady Diabate, Ramatou Diakite (vocals); 
Banning (guitar); 
Ugouye Koulibaly (kamalengoni); 
Toumani Diabate, Ballake Sissoko (kora); 
Bassekou Kouyate (ngoni, bass); 
Lasana Diabate (Mande balafon).

This informal collaboration between veteran American bluesman Mahal and Malian kora (it's a 21-stringed lute-like instrument) master Diabate was recorded in an Athens, GA, studio with a sextet of West African string instrumentalists and vocalists. It sounds like a half a world away, with the two mixed cultures merging to create traditional blues based on non-traditional musical values. Mahal's gruff, weary voice is soothed by the Malian crew's sweet tones; conversely, the leaders' picking styles sound as if they were harvested from the same land. Natural, unpretentious, and occasionally sensual, Kulanjan is classy world music without the stuffy undertones. ---Michael Gallucci, Rovi

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1  Great Big Boat  
2  Blackjack Davey  
3  Moonlight Lady  
4  King Edward's Throne  
5  African Herbman  
6  Baby You're My Destiny  
7  Stagger Lee  
8  Living On Easy  
9  My Creole Belle  
10 All Along The Watchtower  
11 Hanapepe Dream  

Musicians:
Taj Mahal - Composer, Epiphone, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Vocals
Carlos Andrade - Composer, Slack Key Guitar, Vocals
Michael Barretto - Ukulele, Vocals (Background)
Pat Cockett - Ukulele, Vocals
Patrick Cockett - Composer, Liliu Ukulele, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Rudy Costa - Clarinet, Kalimba, Piccolo Flute, Saxophones, Vocals (Background)
Pancho Graham - Bass (Acoustic), Bass Instrument, Vocals (Background)
Wayne Jacintho - Tenor Ukelele, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Fred Lunt - Hawaiian Guitar, Hawaiian Lap Steel Guitar,
Kester Smith - Drums, Rhythm Arrangements
Carey Williams - Vocals (Background)

Recorded in the year 2000 in Bremen and in Hawaii, Hanapepe Dream is ethnomusicologist, guitarist, and composer Taj Mahal's own gumbo of Caribbean, Polynesian, African, and American folk roots styles done up in the glorious dress of "song," for anyone who has ears to hear, feet to shuffle, and an ass to shake. Featuring a large band replete with three ukuleles (little, baritone, and tenor), Hawaiian steel guitars, slack key guitars, horns, steel drums, and standard bass, drums, and guitars, Mahal reveals why he's a master of combining traditions and musics from different histories and regions. In fact, Mahal can prove, via his very fine performance here, that all forms of soul and blues, reggae, jazz, and rock & roll music come from one source and that source lies in the African Diaspora. Mahal's own songs here are fine offerings: There's "Great Big Boat," the opener full of celebratory drums and choral singing and loping winds and horns, and "Baby You're My Destiny," a slippery swing tune that borders on Hawaiian folk music and could have been recorded by Django Reinhardt with Louis Prima, Gabby Pahinui, and Ike Quebec sitting in. But it is in the traditional folk tunes such as "Blackjack Davey," "King Edward's Throne," and the most unique and gorgeous reading of "Stagger Lee" ever that Mahal pulls out the stops and showcases his entire vision. The latter song becomes an expression of how community embraces story, movement, tragedy, celebration, and shared space and time. They come roiling from different musical approximations -- not appropriations -- as Mahal doesn't steal anything here; he offers the ancient sources of this music up as easily identified if not easily separated, and engages the song itself as the easiest and most memorable form of communication we have as human beings. Mahal offers further proof by using Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" and Richie Havens' "African Herbman" as current examples of cross miscegenation of course material. In the Dylan song, jazz entwines reggae and calypso as well as Hawaiian slack key, and the Havens track moves through the Nigerian and Malian folk legacies and brings them to the Caribbean for articulation. Any way you hear it, Hanapepe Dream is further evidence that Mahal has been on a hot streak these past six years, and it continues here with a vengeance. ---Thom Jurek, Rovi

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