Otis Taylor – Hey Joe Opus/Red Meat
taoboy@cox.net
Posted On May 4, 2015
Otis Taylor is the foremost of the musicians that are playing psychedelic blues trance music. They not only broke, but completely shattered and scattered the mould immediately after he was born. If you have heard his music you don’t forget him very easily. The first thing I noticed with this disc was that two of the songs were done multiple times; “Hey Joe” was done two times, and “Sunday Morning” was done three times. This raised all kinds of questions, however from the little I know of him I just kind of figured let’s hold off and wait this one out. I was very glad I did as there was no disappointment and a new amount of respect for the depth, creativity, and thinking of this musician. He says something which he expresses much more clearly than the thoughts that ran in my mind. “Music is not a spectator sport. In a world where there is a lot of misunderstanding, music can help people communicate and break down barriers, and really start to see each other for who they are.”
On this disc I garnered a new respect for his nuance and ability to shift focus for point A to point B without losing the thread of why. There is a continuity of music and thought that can lead to new discoveries, as well as some exciting new thoughts. All those whys may not be answered, however they sure can take you in some new and not thought of directions. It isn’t too clear however a couple of heads came together to figure out what the wording meant and the conclusion was that all songs on the disc except for, “Hey Joe” were written by Mr. Taylor, and they cover a plethora of diverse subjects.
His band as usual is extraordinary; Anne Harris on violin, Todd Edmunds handles bass instead of his daughter Cassie, Larry Thompson on drums Ron Miles handles the cornet. As an added treat on this one we have a variety guest artists such as Warren Haynes and Langhorne Slim. If you by chance haven’t heard this artist this is an excellent introduction to his music and a very different take on a song we all know but never imagined like this before. Another winner from this Colorado based artist.
