Etta Baker With Taj Mahal - 1998 (2004)

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Etta Baker With Taj Mahal - 1998 (2004)

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Product Description: Etta Baker died this past September 2006, leaving behind an underappreciated legacy of wonderful Piedmont style finger-picking guitar. I was totally blown away after hearing this album at a friend's place, only to find out that it was Etta Baker, and then to find out she had passed away just 2 months ago. The first dozen tracks on this all-instrumental CD were cut relatively recently; six with accompaniment by Taj Mahal and six solo tracks. They all have that intimate front porch or living room recording session feel, and if you listen closely you can hear the joyful sounds of feet tapping and arms rhythmically banging against guitars. Ms. Baker and Taj Mahal sound like they've been playing together for decades, breathing mellower, more mature life into traditional classics such as "Railroad Bill" (her best known song), "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad", and "John Henry". She also shines when left to her own devices; check out "Cripple Creek" on which she jams on banjo of all things! If these cuts were not enough to leave you smiling, the final seven tracks include the original 1956 field recordings of Ms. Baker! Several songs are repeats, yet provide an interesting contrast with the more chill, current takes as the originals are significantly more upbeat in tempo. Overall, this is fantastic, timeless music, played with an obvious love for the material and the craft. After listening to Ms. Baker, the feeling is very mutual. ~ Amazon Customer

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Etta Baker With Taj Mahal - 1998 (2004)

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Review: There really isn't much Taj Mahal on this album, but that's OK, since Etta Baker is a national treasure all on her own. Baker has been playing guitar since she was three years old, and is now well into her ninth decade doing it, which is amazing in itself, but what makes the jaw drop here is her total command of the instrument. Arguably the last of the true Piedmont blues guitarists, Baker may have slowed a bit over the years, but not much, and her new version of her trademark "Railroad Bill" included here is only a half step behind her famous 1956 recording of it (which is also included), and the precision and tone of her playing on the piece is still breathtaking. This is sort of a patchwork album, with six new recordings featuring Taj Mahal as an accompanist stitched in with six songs of Baker recorded solo by her friend, Wayne Martin, and rounded off with the original seven tracks she made for folksinger Paul Clayton back in 1956, the tracks which introduced her to the world. The sequence still moves fairly seamlessly, though, and shows off Baker's versatility, as she tackles slide on "John Henry," electric guitar (don't worry, it works) on "Madison Street Blues," and banjo on a vigorous version of "Cripple Creek." Any Etta Baker album makes a fine introduction to her enduring art, since she has never taken a day off on guitar in her life, but having the original Clayton tracks gathered together with more recent recordings makes this one feel a bit like a retrospective, and it shows that this amazing lady has been awfully good for an awfully long time. ~ Steve Leggett (allmusic.com)

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Etta Baker With Taj Mahal - 1998 (2004)

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Etta Baker With Taj Mahal - 1998 (2004)

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