Trombone Shorty, Mavis Staples, Otis Taylor, North Mississippi Allstars & More

OTIS TAYLOR

Hey Joe Opus/Red Meat

Trance Blues Festival Records

10 tracks/48 minutes

By Steve Jones

Otis Taylor is an iconic musical powerhouse who presents us with a 10-part grand suite to debut his Trance Blues Festival record label.  The Hey Joe Opus/Red Meat CD features the classic Jimi Hendrix song twice along with Taylor’s original cut “Sunday Morning” (which is presented three times in three variations) along with five other songs written by Taylor.  The songs weave a psychedelic web of Taylor’s trance blues that blend hypnotic guitar and instrumental work along with Taylor’s unique vocal style.  Intended for presentation and listening as an opus from start to finish, Taylor perhaps reminds us of early Pink Floyd where they use recurring musical themes to blend a coherent sound for the listener.  Taylor takes that approach in this opus and it is quite successful.

The work opens with “Hey Joe (A),” where Taylor is accompanied by frequent companion musician Anne Harris on violin. This is a song that is a staple to his live performances.    Warren Haynes appears both here and on the first rendition of “Sunday Morning.” The blending of Warren Haynes’ guitar and Ron Miles’ cornet is ethereal and almost mind blowing.  Haynes attacks and Miles parries with his horn, and later they wind their way together in a latticework of beautiful musical complexities.  Taylor returns to remind us of the murderous story and then the accompaniment delivers a melodious ending that blends into the intro for “Sunday Morning (A).”  The song goes on and then Haynes finally breaks into a tornado-like whirlwind of a solo that is later accompanied by Miles and the rest of the band; it’s a very fascinating instrumental piece. 

They begin somewhat ethereally but then deliberately build up to a crescendo and then fade into “The Heart is a Muscle (Used for the Blues).”  A pulse-like beat opens and then drives this cut throughout.  It is a song about love and its effects on the heart. Taylors delivers some poignant vocals as the call part of a call and response.  The response to the call comes on his and Larry Scott’s guitar; it is an interesting effect.  “Red Meat” features Taylor’s huge acoustic guitar in the forefront as he sings, “Sometimes you eat the steak, sometimes the steak eats you,” and then, “Sometimes you take the love, sometimes the love takes you.”  Taylor tells us the things we do and enjoy can benefit us and they can also hurt us, whether it is food or love.  The acoustic guitar is full and beautiful behind the repetitive lyrics that drive his point home. 

The first half of the album closes with a song about transsexuality entitled “Peggy Lee.”  A man named Lee becomes Peggy and Taylor sings, “Peggy Lee can’t go back and undo what you done,” and “Now it’s time to live a new life.”  It appears to be a song about both regrets and hope; nothing in life is black and white.  The change perhaps leaves doubt in Peggy’s mind and some potential regrets, but it also offers hope in the life ahead.  There is beautiful acoustic guitars and banjo interplay on this song.

The transition to “They Wore Blue” is somewhat seamless, marked only by the switch to electric guitar from the ending instrumental of the prior song.  This instrumental blends the guitar, bass and cornet with layers upon layers of the cornet creating an intricate wall of sound.  “Hey Joe (B)” follows in a somewhat simplistic manner with Taylor in the lead, then the organ, synthesizer and violin come into play to build into a larger sound and help paint a dark picture for the “Hey Joe” story. The violin goes stratospheric and then the song breaks with Langhorne Slim taking the vocal lead.  Then the guitar takes over to create its own intricate sound and then at the next break we have Taylor again on vocals, with a little banjo thrown in quite sweetly.  The song closes with a whirl of guitar and then the acoustic guitar and violin move us into “Sunday Morning (B).” 

The instrumental piece takes on an almost melodic Japanese sound before moving into another ethereal moment with the electric guitar and organ taking the lead.  It’s a short version of the song that then takes us into “Cold at Midnight,” where the driving guitar groove takes charge and Taylor describes a life of loneliness and infidelity.  Alone late at night, Taylor describes the thought processes where worries for his woman’s safety transition to a belief she has run off to Mexico.  The tempo and volume increases as fear turns to anger.  The album finishes with “Sunday Morning (C),” a concluding instrumental which begins with some very special guitar, synthesizer and organ work.  The violin emerges from this cacophony and then the entire band builds into a repetitive sort of groove that slowly grows until the cornet appears, fluttering and flying above the ever-growing groove.  Then it all stops for a brief moment for the guitar and then the cornet to escort us out of the opus.

I’ve listened to this several times now.  To even think I’ve begun to understand Taylors’ complete intent would be insane; this is a huge and marvelous work.  Taylors’ fans will laud all over Taylor for this in its brilliance and emotion.  Some will listen once, leave it and be confused or even upset.  I find it to be intriguing and enthralling, building on what Taylor does best in his idiosyncratic songs and also in the trance-like jamming that is his other trademark.

The mix of musicians here is quite good.  As noted, Chicago’s Anne Harris appears on violin.  She is spectacular as she always is.  Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers, Govt. Mule) adds his exceptional guitar into the mix in his two appearances.  Langhorne Slim provides backing vocals on “Hey Joe (A)” and then takes the lead for part of (B) and also appears on “Peggy Lee.”  Todd Edmunds on bass, Larry Thompson on drums, Ron Miles on cornet, Taylor Scott, Bill Nershi (of String Cheese Incident) and Daniel Sproul on guitar, David Matthew Moore on banjo, Steve Vidaic on organ, and Gus Syinas on the Moog are all superb in support of Otis, but it is Taylor who is out front and in charge of this opus.  He has taken his Trance Guitar Festival and used that name to create a record label to showcase him and his work in this, his inaugural release.

In the CD liner there is a statement: “These songs explore the decision that we make and how they effect us.”  Perhaps in proper grammar that should be affect, but we understand the intent of the statement.  From killing one’s girlfriend to sex changes to how food and love can both fulfill and hurt us and to the effects of life on the muscle of our heart, we see our decisions creating the path for our lives.  Taylor masterfully weaves this all together with some intriguing instrumentals and creates for us a complete work of musical art.  I will listen to this many more times this summer; with each listen I pick up a new twist.  Taylors’ fans will likely love this and well they should.  It is both captivating and musically intriguing.  I enjoyed this thoroughly; it ranges from traditional in sound to psychedelic (and everything in between).  It is Otis Taylor at his wildest and best.  Most highly recommended!

For info or to buy the CD:

www.otistaylor.com

www.trancebluesfestival.com