Fantasizing About Being Black

I've appreciated all of Otis Taylor's output over the years. He strikes me as being somewhere between James Blood Ulmer and John Lee Hooker musically, but the politics within his lyrics make him stand proud in his own right. I haven't had to live in his shoes but can empathize with what he's about and what he has to say. It's not slick, showbiz-creepy and twinkly, just honest feelings from the gut that hit you with the truth of it all.Eamonn

Not his best but still good. Hard to beat his "White African" album but a good attempt.

Love this, great voice!

On first listen I thought that this was more of the same from Otis Taylor - his unique mixture of African American history and trance blues with his singular mixture of instruments which on this record include violin, cornet, electric lead guitar and slide guitar - but the record has grown on me and drawn me in. His band includes Anne Harris on violin, drummer Larry Thompson, Todd Edmunds on bass with Otis handling the vocals, guitar and banjo plus there are guests - Jerry Douglas on slide guitar, cornetist Ron Miles and young lead guitarist Brandon Niederauer. Niederauer definitely adds an extra touch of excitement on songs like "Hands on Your Stomach" and "Jump Jelly Belly" that in the past was provided by guitarists Gary Moore and Mato Nanji but he also plays some lovely much subtler electric lead guitar in the background on "Just Want to Live With You Baby".Most of the songs are Otis's trademark trance blues, we've heard it before but he does them so well, with total commitment and complete sincerity that I find it impossible not to be won over. Jerry Douglas brings his sublime slide guitar to enhance "Twelve String Mile" and "Jump to Mexico" - probably my favourite track, with Otis's very emotional vocals on top of the minimal backing with Douglas's superb slide flitting in and out. I think that this is one of Otis's best records for some time, in my opinion much better than "Hey Joe Opus Red Meat" his last outing, he marshals all the usual elements present in his music but somehow manages to make them sound fresh and different.