Have You Dug Don Covay Yet?

Do you dig on The Rising Storm? If you are saying "Who the heck is Don Covay?" then the answer is undoubtedly no. Wait....should I back up? Do you dig classic funk/soul/rhythm and blues/rock and roll? Then peep The Rising Storm out. In their words: "The Rising Storm is an mp3 blog about fine forgotten albums. We focus on lost gems in the genres of garage, country rock, psych folk, psychedelic rock, and other overlooked classics." Need I say more???? Don Covay is a soulful brother whose "Mercy Mercy," which I first found on Aquarium Drunkard (through The Rising Storm) a few months back, was recorded with a young Jimi Hendrix on guitar. The difference between the record discussed in that original post, See Saw, which is a classic soul groover and "The House of  Blue Lights," which more closely resembles a gritty Taj Mahal record of the same era shows the range and roots of this forgotten talent. The mp3s from the older post have expired, but the new one has two downloadable tracks and if you see one of this cat's records in some dingy bin somewhere then buy it. If you don't want it hit me up and I promise to pay you twice what it cost you plus shipping or whateva. Grazie

RVOW: Taj Mahal's 1968 self-titled Debut

For this week's "Random Vinyl," I am spinning Taj Mahal's 1968 self titled debut. If you love the blues or even just rock-and-roll you will dig this record "top left to bottom right."

Taj Mahal was born in Harlem in 1942. His father was a pianist and arranger and his mother sang in a local gospel choir. Mahal was raised to be proud of his heritage; having parents who witnessed first hand the art, prose, poetry, and music, of the Harlem Renaissance. This sense of pride for his West-Indian and African ancestry would prove ever-present in his work as he matured and became one of the most prominent voices in blues music; eventually melding it with the likes of gospel, funk, rock, reggae, and Caribbean music.
On his self-titled debut, under his stage name, which he took around 1961 at the age of 19, we hear what the average listener today might call 'classic blues.' The electric blues as played by people like Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, and B.B. King. When Taj Mahal began playing it in 1968, however, it wasn't so well known and wide-spread. Classic blues was Robert Johnson and Son House and was acoustic. People like the blues legends mentioned above and Taj Mahal (certainly a legend in his own right today) were responsible for plugging-in and electrifying the genre. This album is certainly a classic, though, with tracks like the opening "Leaving Trunk," and "Dust my Broom." Songs that have been endlessly covered, but rarely played with as much grit, emotion, and loose groove as they are represented here on this LP. The most notable musicians on the album other than Mr. Fredericks are Charles Blackwell (Drums) and Ry Cooder (Guitar), but I prefer the description of the group quoted from Taj Mahal himself on the back of the sleeve: "We got a pretty tight band here, though-a son of a Texas sharecropper, a Hungarian Jew, a wild-eyed Irishman, and a crazy swamp Spade...(playing) Blues-rock-gospel-Country-funk. Screamin' and Singin'." Its hard to argue that last sentiment. They are definitely screamin' and singin' on "E Z Rider," a classic blues tale of lost love, and on the album's closing track, one of my personal favorites, "The Celebrated Walkin' Blues," which features Mahal playing some tasty slide guitar and, of course, his signature blues harp.