Octave Records’ latest release, Otis Taylor and the Electrics, reaffirms the singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist as one of the greatest artists on the modern blues scene, capturing the unfiltered energy, grit, and soul that have made Taylor and his band a thrilling presence on stages worldwide. The album was recorded live in Octave Records’ state-of-the-art studio in high-resolution Pure DSD, delivering all the power and drive of Taylor’s hypnotic trance blues style. It’s a recording that channels the immediacy of a live performance with remarkable you-are-there fidelity.
Otis Taylor is the winner of five DownBeat awards, along with Living Blues, W.C. Handy and other awards. His music blends elements of blues, rock, mesmerizing grooves, unbounded improvisations, and fearless lyrics. On the album, Taylor sings and plays guitar, acoustic and electric banjo, and harmonica. He’s joined by Nick Amodeo on bass and mandolin, Brian Juan (organ), Callum Bair (lead guitar), Fara Tolno (djembe), and Tobias Juniel on drums, augmented by cellists Beth Rosbach and Kimberlee Hanto on “Five Hundred Roses.” The eight songs on the album encompass a range of styles and moods that go far beyond the conventions of standard 12-bar blues.
The album was produced by Otis Taylor, with Joe Kessler as associate producer and Jessica Carson serving as executive producer. It was recorded and mixed by Paul McGowan and mastered by David Glasser. The album was recorded using Octave’s state-of-the-art Pyramix Pure DSD system. Otis Taylor and the Electrics was done live in the studio as it happened, with no overdubs or studio gimmicks or tricks – raw, honest, and authentic. The sound is driving and intense, and captures all the nuances and spontaneous interplay of the musicians, making a compelling emotional connection with the music.
Otis Taylor.
The opening track, “Three Stripes on a Cadillac” is the story of a tragedy at the Carrera Panamerica race, and the compassion that followed. It combines a rock beat with Taylor’s deep, weathered voice, the classic sound of the Hammond B3 organ, djembe accents, and the harmonically rich, overdriven tones of Callum Bair’s electric guitar. “Ran So Hard the Sun Went Down,” a song about a desperate escape from the Jim Crow south, is propelled by mandolin, acoustic guitar and brushes on snare drum with startlingly realistic instrumental textures. “Blue Eyed Monster” and “Five Hundred Roses” establish a bottomless trance groove, while “Zig Zag Man” builds on a bright repeating melody, and all three songs explore themes of myth, restlessness, and survival.
“Hold My Hand” combines an off-time riff with a simple, direct sentiment: “Oh please, walk with me/Oh please, hold my hand.” “Twelve String Mile” features one of Taylor’s most gripping performances and a slow build by the band that ends with an intense electric guitar solo: “When I swing that hammer, nobody sees me/I’m alive now, but I’ll be in my grave/One more mile to go.”
“They Don’t Want Me” is the emotionally powerful album closer, merging a harmonica-driven, relentless Bo Diddley beat with Otis Taylor’s yearning lyrics: “They don’t want me back again/what price a man?” Otis Taylor and the Electrics continues his lifelong exploration of the blues as both art form and testimony, as an artist who is still expanding the language of American music.
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