Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(6 customer reviews) 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
a cool drink of summer,
July 4, 2003 Jerome Clark (Canby, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hanapepe Dream (Audio CD)
Taj Mahal has never done an album so good-natured and accessible as Hanapepe Dream. It's a perfect summer record, full of high spirit and sunny attitude -- not to mention, of course, the sort of splendid, inspired musicianship Taj and Hula Blues bring to the party.Sometimes pigeon-holed as a bluesman, Taj is actually far more than that, more an old-fashioned songster in a modern context, picking up a variety of roots styles and incorporating them into a coherent art. Even so, I was surprised to see Taj take on the centuries-old ballad "Blackjack Davy" (aka "Gypsy Davy," "Raggle Taggle Gypsies," et al.), but not so surprised to hear how well he reimagines it. He fuses part of the ballad text with the floating "who's gonna shoe your pretty little foot" verses, setting it to gently rocking r&b sounds. It is sheer delight. The 108-year-old African-American murder ballad "Stagger Lee" is unkillable, of course, but Taj's reading sounds so fresh that you'd swear he'd come upon the...Read more
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
The wistful blues,
October 1, 2003 Jan P. Dennis "Longboard jazzer" (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hanapepe Dream (Audio CD)
Has Taj Mahal lost it? One might think so after a superficial listen to his latest outing. Closer attending renders a different conclusion.It's all about the vibe, here--one that, apparently, not everyone can get on board with. How can you have the blues on Hawaii? Or in the Caribbean? Simple. Not everyone is a plantation owner or scuba-diving tourist guide. Read V. S. Naipaul's great book, The Middle Passage, and find out what it means to be a "client culture."Yes, there's a kind of inanity in much of the lyrics (although a good portion of them are traditional). Yes, this is miles from Mississippi John Hurt (although it contains one of his tunes), let alone Cory Bell or even Muddy Waters.But you know what? Taj Mahal still works his magic here: The trademark vocal gruffness, esp. manifesting itself at the end of "Blackjack Davey" (easy to see where Captain Beefheart got his basic approach from), the raw edge of his electro-acoustic guitar (which...Read more
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
This cd gives the blues...,
July 4, 2003 John A. Gregorio (Castalian Springs, TN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hanapepe Dream (Audio CD)
This cd gives the blues, but not in the way intended. This is a disappointing cd from a musician who has produced many great works. The music draws from Hawaiian music, but not enough. What comes out is a water down version mixed with a dash of R&B.
The band is not much better in concert. I recently saw them at the Fillmore in SF. They appear to be very good musician, but there is no spark. All the energy was coming from Taj. He had three ukulele players, and this could have been a great opportunity to show mainlanders what a great ukulele musician can do with four strings. But, these musician only played rhythm and mostly the three chords all ukulele students learn in the first lesson, G, F and A. My son and I, the next night, went to a concert of hawaiian music which was excellent by Amy Gillion, Willie K and Makana.
I advise getting Taj Mahal with the Phantom Band or earlier material. If you want hawaiian music visit the international music section at...Read more
