Taj Mahal – Giant Steps/De Old Folks At Home (1969/2013) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Taj Mahal – Giant Steps/De Old Folks At Home (1969/2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:10:42 minutes | 761 MB | Genre: Blues
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia

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 Jessie 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 mid-tempo “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” or the freewheeling abandon that is brought to the 18-wheeler anthem “Six Days on the Road,” recalling the version of “Ain’t That a Lot of Love” from Taj Mahal’s preceding effort 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-flavoured score. Giant Step 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 10 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 catalogue are encouraged to consider Giant Step as a highly recommended reference point.  ~ AllMusic Review by Lindsay Planer

Tracklist:
01. Taj Mahal – Ain’t Gwine Whistle Dixie (Anymo’) (Album Version) (01:03)
02. Taj Mahal – Take a Giant Step (1969 Version) (Album Version) (04:18)
03. Taj Mahal – Give Your Woman What She Wants (From the Motion Picture “The April Fools”) (Album Version) (02:32)
04. Taj Mahal – Good Morning Little School Girl (Album Version) (03:46)
05. Taj Mahal – You’re Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond (Album Version) (04:58)
06. Taj Mahal – Six Days On the Road (03:02)
07. Taj Mahal – Farther On Down the Road (Album Version) (04:40)
08. Taj Mahal – Keep Your Hands Off Her (Album Version) (02:16)
09. Taj Mahal – Bacon Fat (Album Version) (06:46)
10. Taj Mahal – Linin’ Track (Album Version) (01:42)
11. Taj Mahal – Country Blues #1 (Album Version) (02:39)
12. Taj Mahal – Wild Ox Moan (Album Version) (02:48)
13. Taj Mahal – Light Rain Blues (Album Version) (03:23)
14. Taj Mahal – A Little Soulful Tune (02:40)
15. Taj Mahal – Candy Man (02:57)
16. Taj Mahal – Cluck Old Hen (02:33)
17. Taj Mahal – Colored Aristocracy (Album Version) (02:07)
18. Taj Mahal – Blind Boy Rag (Album Version) (04:14)
19. Taj Mahal – Stagger Lee (Album Version) (03:26)
20. Taj Mahal – Cajun Tune (Album Version) (01:59)
21. Taj Mahal – Fishin’ Blues (Album Version) (03:10)
22. Taj Mahal – Annie’s Lover (Album Version) (03:33)

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