Taylor recorded and released this, his second record, in 1973. It offers more of the blazing slide guitar work, juke joint boogie and raspy vocals that marked his first, Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers, which appeared in 1971.
Showing posts with label HOUND DOG TAYLOR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HOUND DOG TAYLOR. Show all posts
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Hound Dog Taylor - 2004 - Release The Hound [256]
As the first artist on Chicago's esteemed Alligator imprint (and the reason owner Bruce Iglauer started the company), wild-man slide guitarist Hound Dog Taylor has attained legendary status. His crude, propulsive sound even inspired the label's "Genuine Houserockin' Music" motto. Taylor left behind only two studio releases and a live disc when he died in 1975, but Iglauer has now unearthed more previously unreleased material. Recorded between 1971 and 1975, Release the Hound contains a mix of studio and live material that is every bit the equal of Taylor's existing catalog--and even more raw and primitive. The six-fingered six-stringer explodes through a volatile collection of boogie, blues, and good-time shuffles that makes Elmore James sound like Keb' Mo' in comparison. Hound Dog and his riotous bass-free backing duo of guitar and near-tribal drums were not technical perfectionists, but they could sure fire up a party thanks to Taylor's combustive mix of scorching slide playing and magnetic personality.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers - 1999 - Deluxe Edition [256]
One could conceivably argue that Hound Dog Taylor was a blues punk; he favored energy, excitement, and above all, fun over minor considerations like, say, tuning. It's that exuberance that carries the day on this best-of collection. It's all material from Taylor's too-brief stint at Alligator in the 1970s (he died in 1975), but it's all good blues--blues good enough to launch a record label. Taylor's guitar is grungy enough to get a starring role in a Seattle band circa 1990, and while his voice never quite rises out of a monotone, it's still oddly expressive. Fast, furious, and brimming with energy, Taylor is the perfect cure for the wintertime blues.
Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers - 1994 - Freddie's Blues [256]
On this second CD from Hound Dog & The Houserockers you can listen to more great Chicago blues performed live at Joe's Place. Freddie's Blues features versions of the Elmore James hits "Dust My Broom" and "It Hurts Me Too", as well as a fantastic version of "Freddie's Blues."
Hound Dog Taylor - 1971 - Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers [192]
If you think the slide guitar blues of Elmore James is as loud and ragged as music can be, then you've never heard Hound Dog Taylor. Born Theodore Roosevelt Taylor in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1915, he didn't pick up the guitar until he was 20, and was instantly smitten by the rawboned sound players like James got by slipping a slide across the strings of an electric guitar. The raw, boogie style of his trio (with Brewer Phillips on second guitar and Ted Harvey on drums) was nurtured over endless nights in Chicago blues clubs. Sometimes, Phillips plays a single-note lead guitar that suggests Buddy Guy on a bender. More often, the trio slams out a boogie beat that is topped by Taylor's slide guitar, an electrified whine that's about as subtle as a broken bottle on a tavern floor. This 1971 album was the first release by Alligator Records, which went on to become a major independent label specializing in contemporary blues.
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