Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler The Best of Taj Mahal????

I have an old burned copy of this CD, and although I LOVE every song on it, the recording quality is weak. Does anyone have an original copy that they could comment on recording quality before I go and buy another copy for myself?? If you have any of the bluesy cds by them that will work too.

i do not have a copy of that, but i have a cd with them doing a great live version of "aint that a lot of love". its a great up-beat, funky, blues tune that makes me smile every time i hear it.

the song is on the rolling stones rock & roll circus cd. i would be happy to burn a copy of that for you if you like? its got a great live sets from the stones, the who, and jethro tull. to me, the best song on the cd is an experiemental band doing a cover of the beatles song "yer blues", from the white album. its band made up of john lennon, clapton, keith richards on bass, and mitch mitchell from the hendrix experience on the drums. they call themselves "the dirty mac". anyway, they do a great version of 'yer blues'.

let me know if you are interested.

bigjohn

Guys, I believe Taj Mahal is a "he," not a "they."

"Born Henry St. Claire Fredericks in Harlem on May 17, 1942, Taj grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts.

interesting.. i just always assumed it was the name of the band, i never realized it was the name of the singer?

thanks for the 'light bulb'

bigjohn

When I was a disc jockey, 30+ years ago, I played a LOT of Taj Mahal. Always enjoyed his work. That's the only reason I knew. If I remember correctly, all those years ago I, too, was initially confused as to whether or not Taj was a "them," or a "him."

Bray,

I do have this cd but like yours it too is a copy.I have a stand alone cd recorder that I used to record it from the original.I find that my copy sounds pretty good.

bray,
I have The Best of Taj Mahal-volume 16. Some of the songs sound ok considering how long ago they were recorded. Some of it can be down right fatiguing. I like the music so much that I'm willing to put up with the poor recording quality of some of the tunes. I also have one of his cds entitled Sen'or Blues which has a much better recording quality and has some of his later work on it. I highly recommend it.

Ajax is correct, Taj Mahal is the guys name. I had the pleasure of meeting Taj back in the 70s. It was backstage at a local venue (The Kingfish Club) in Baton Rouge, LA. It was great fun because he played for us backstage while he was waiting to go on. The guy just loved to perform and he had the happiest personality of anyone I think I've ever met. It is a fond memory.

Thanks guys. I went ahead and bought "Taj's Blues" and "Blues with a Feeling". Both are compilation discs, and I noticed that the older songs just arent recorded as well, such as Statesboro Blues (one of my favorites) but the newer songs seem to open up more, I went to three stores and none of them had "The best of", so I guess I'll stick with my burned copy for awhile.

This might be the way to go http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004XSUS/002-0221665-5886409?v=glance

It's been remastered so who knows if it will be better...

OOOOOO! Lots of good ones on that album.

Statesboro Blues
Take a Giant Step
Six Days on the Road
Farther on Down the Road
Ain't Gwine to Whistle Dixie Anymo'
You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond (one of my favorites)

Maybe that's why they call the album "Best of......" DUH!

I do think the remastered one is the one I copied mine from.Sounds pretty good to me.

I've never heard anything from this artist.
I might have to pick it up.

tleigh
The combination of the songs on The Best Of are perfect in my opinion.
They'll put a spring in your step and get ya to whistleing.

Taj Mahal is just amazing. I finally saw him for the first time in the early 90s opening for Tom Petty. No backing band, just Taj and a Rhodes piano doing an amazing Ray Charles-ish kind of thing, then switching to the guitar. I'd ingested enough...um...ergot derivative...ahem...to stun an ox and I've been a huge fan ever since.

It's hard to go wrong with Giant Step/De Ole Folks At Home, but they are old recordings and really don't sound that great. If you like live albums, Shoutin' In Key sounds terrific on my Axioms. Hanapepe Dream is a little odd for Taj, but it sounds wonderful.