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Album Details

• Artist: Otis Taylor
• Album: Below The Fold
• Label: Telarc
• Year of Release: 2005
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2006-03-22

For some, the jury is still out on Otis Taylor. Purists decry his "trance blues", the signature droning guitar lines, and the addition of non-traditional blues instruments like the cello. Yet it works for him. He has charted his own musical course, incorporating country music, odd bluegrass timing and other colors to lyrics equally as adventuresome. His blues is a history of both the personal and communal. "Government Lied" and "Don't Know Much About Education" trace the African-American experience with being marginalized. "Hookers in the Street", like "Working For the Pullman Company", show the personal struggle as the historical struggle to do the right thing. "Right Side of Heaven" offers hope that some day someone will notice the struggle and bring relief. Daring without ever being preachy or self-indulgent, Taylor sings the Blues, which are meant to be personal and universal. Drone on.

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