Taj's Blues
Taj Mahal's dazzling 1968 debut provides the foundation for this 12-song overview of the bluesman's early solo years. Tracks like "Leaving Trunk" and "Statesboro Blues" from that first record signaled the arrival of a young black man grounded in tradition yet committed to innovation. Over the next half-dozen years, Taj fulfilled much of that promise. Taj's Blues eschews his previous island folk experiments in favor of country blues inspired by Sleepy John Estes and Mississippi John Hurt.--Steven Stolder