A great summer just got better. Last year Otis Taylor released his CD
“Recapturing the Banjo.” Which was just fabulous. Redefining the parameters
of banjo music, like you have never heard it before. A blockbuster, monumental CD that made people
re-think the banjo.
This summer, in fact on June 23rd I
believe, Otis will release his newest CD entitled “Pentatonic Wars & Love
Songs.” Absolutely knockout! The best thing I have heard in a long
time. Talk about blues and love stories,
and haunting descriptions put to music here it is. Multi-layered blues without
being heavy or in the way. Strings, horns, pianos, African rhythms, stories from his life,
just remarkable. I don’t know
Otis, but from what I hear he is a very introspective,
and passionate man who has learned a lot of lessons from life. They are on this CD to his glory. Pentatonic guitar, slide,
electric wah-wah, even flamenco, but never too much
or in the way. Wonderful backups
with haunting voices, the more you listen the more you will hear. It’s one of those type
of CD’s. We have waited a year to see
what he would do, and he hasn’t disappointed us.
There are 13 cuts on the CD. There’s a blues number for you. Even perhaps a love song
number. From the opening cut
“Looking For Some Heat,” a story of love he just pulls at your ears and heart
and mind. “Sunday Morning” features
Otis’s daughter Cassie on vocals. It
captures Sunday Morning if you really listen. Just great. One of my favorites is “Lost My Guitar.” A love song about a little
girl who died in a car accident.
The loss of his guitar means the loss of the little girl. Wrenching, wailing, cries of sorrow, electric
guitar, and even the sound of what seems to be car horns. I can’t imagine the sadness of losing a
child, but this song brings it home. I
can understand. The last song “If You
Hope,” is the story of a ghost who wants to be reunited with his lover in the
afterlife. Maybe we all will be able to
do that someday. The song just builds
and builds. What power here. Otis Taylor – “Pentatonic Wars & Love Songs.” Look for it out there. Or go to www.telarc.com. I’m telling you, the summer just got
better. You’ve got to believe. Thanks Otis............. One love, blue barry