KOKO
TAYLOR
"OLD
SCHOOL"
ALLIGATOR
RECORDS
BY PETER "BLEWZZMAN"
LAURO
Watch out all you
blues divas - KOKO TAYLOR is back. And if "OLD SCHOOL" is any
indication, all of you aspiring heirs to her throne may as well just put
those aspirations on hold - "THE QUEEN" is showing no signs of being
ready to relinquish it.
A long layoff, bouts
with illnesses and stays in the hospital were all just a part
of paying the dues to sing the blues. With all that
behind her, KOKO's sounding as vibrant and confident as I've ever heard her
sound.
"OLD
SCHOOL" features a dozen good old, hard core, down in the basement
blues tracks of which five are KOKO TAYLOR originals. On various different
tracks she is joined by various different musicians who include: "STEADY
ROLLIN' BOB MARGOLIN on guitar; CRISS JOHNSON on guitar; BILLY BRANCH on
harmonica; BROTHER JOHN KATTKE on piano; KENNY HAMPTON on electric bass; JIMMY
SUTTON on standup bass; WILLE "THE TOUCH" HAYES" on drums; MARK KAZANOFF on
tenor sax; and members of THE BLUES MACHINE featuring VINO LOUDEN and SHUN
KIKUTA on guitar, STANLEY BANKS on piano, MELVIN SMITH on bass and RICKY NELSON
on drums.
The opening track,
"PIECE OF MAN" - a KOKO TAYLOR original - immediately tells the listener that
"THE QUEEN" is feeling and sounding like she's in her prime. The gritty
growling, the fiery attitude and all of her other classic characteristics are
vibrantly present right from the opening "Heyyyyyy Yawwwwwwl".
BILLY BRANCH'S harp & CRISS JOHNSON'S guitar highlight this
one.
I wouldn't want to
be the "BLACK RAT", whose trail KOKO is on. This dude's in
for some serious problems if she get her hands on him. BOB
MARGOLIN, who in this writers opinion is the best slide guitarist in
the business, and KOKO'S vocals, steal this one.
Some of the best
vocals on the disc can be heard on the slow, soulful ballad 'MONEY IS THE
NAME OF THE GAME". Songs like this were made for KOKO to sing.
The gritty growling
doesn't get any better as KOKO tells her poor excuse of a man "YOU AIN'T
WORTH A GOOD WOMAN". This one features BROTHER JOHN sounding great on
the piano and CRISS once again smokin' on guitar.
"YOU BETTER
WATCH YOUR STEP" has everyone in high gear. This fast paced smoker is
led by the fiery rhythm section of KENNY and WILLIE on bass and drums while
BILLY and BROTHER JOHN duke it out on harp and piano. One of the discs
best.
A stroll down
"BAD AVENUE" will ultimately lead you to one of the more down and dirty
blues tracks. BOB'S at it again on slide and BILLY'S best work on the
harp can be heard right here. More great work by KOKO.
A disc by "THE
QUEEN" just wouldn't be right without a WILLIE DIXON song or two.
"DON'T GO NO FURTHER" takes care of that. This one's got lots of
big sounds coming from CRISS'S guitar, JIMMY'S bass and MARK'S sax.
"OLD
SCHOOL" closes out with what seemed like such an appropriate
song. It's another WILLIE DIXON track titled "YOUNG FASHIONED
WAYS". The lyrics state "I may be getting old, but I've got young
fashioned ways". Having heard what I just heard, I believe KOKO just
may be sending us a message with that line. This track unites KOKO
TAYLOR & THE BLUES MACHINE.
Other tracks include
"GONNA BUY ME A MULE", "BAD ROOSTER", "ALL YOUR
LOVE" and "HARD PILL TO SWALLOW"
Give KOKO a holler
at www.kokotaylor.com and let her
know that you heard from Pete the Blewzzman that she's Wang Dang Doodling
again.