Taj Mahal  Phantom Blues
Released: 1996
Label: BMG/Sony
Total Time: 47:58.00
Format:[email protected]



PHANTOM BLUES[/color] was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

An eclectic bluesman would seem to be a contradiction in terms, but Taj Mahal, who has moved through the worlds of folk, rock, and pop to reach his present categorization, fits the description, and here he takes several pop and R&B oldies that came from blues roots -- "Ooh Poo Pah Doo," "Lonely Avenue," "What Am I Living For?," "Let the Four Winds Blow" -- and returns them to those roots. He also calls in such guest stars as Eric Clapton and Bonnie Raitt, who have more than a nodding acquaintance with the blues, to assist him. The result is progressive blues hybrid that treats the music not as a source, but as a destination. ~ William Ruhlmann

Recorded at Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, California on May 8-14, 1995 and House Of Blues Studios, Encino, California.
Tracklist:

01. Lovin' In My Baby's Eyes [0:02:42.50]
02. Cheatin' On You [0:03:22.13]
03. The Hustle Is On [0:02:41.62]
04. Here In The Dark [0:03:10.38]
05. Fanning The Flames [0:04:50.25]
06. I Need Your Loving [0:03:01.57]
07. Ooh Poo Pah Doo [0:04:01.68]
08. Lonely Avenue [0:03:30.00]
09. Don't Tell Me [0:03:48.17]
10. What Am I Living For? [0:02:46.50]
11. We're Gonna Make It [0:02:52.00]
12. Let The Four Winds Blow [0:03:12.70]
13. (You've Got To) Love Her With A Feeling [0:03:48.05]
14. The Car Of Your Dreams [0:04:08.70]

Personnel:
Taj Mahal (vocals, dobro, harmonica); Bonnie Raitt (vocals); John Porter (acoustic guitar, guitar, slide guitar); Jon Cleary (guitar, piano, Wurlitzer piano, Clavinet, background vocals); Jon Brion (guitar, Chamberlin); Johnny Lee Schell (guitar, background vocals); Eric Clapton, Dean Parks, John Parks, Joe McGrath (guitar); Mike Campbell (12-string guitar); David Hidalgo (accordion); Joe Sublett, Bernard "Dr. B." Anderson (tenor saxophone); Darrell Leonard (trumpet, trombonium); Mick Weaver (organ); Larry Fulcher (bass, background vocals); James "Hutch" Hutchinson (bass); Tony Braunagel (drums, tambourine, percussion); "Freeze" Guillory (rub board); "Sir" Harry Bowens, "Sweet Pea" Atkinson, Terrence Forsythe, Regina Taylor, Alphanette Durio, Billy Barnum (background vocals).