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Koko Taylor

Koko Taylor image
Parent Issue
Day
9
Month
May
Year
1975
OCR Text

Koko Taylor

Koko Taylor, I Got What It Takes, Alligator 4706

Koko Taylor is a beautiful and genuine woman, and these are the very qualities which shine through her new album on Alligator Records. I Got What It Takes. She's got it, and also something else she sorely needed - a new label.

She previously made two records for Chess, under the somewhat smothering wing of Willie Dixon. Dixon, the fantastic songwriter and bass player on so many great Chicago blues tunes, produced both albums and seemed to have some ideas concerning "commercial potential" which didn't jive with Koko's basic and powerful voice. Her new record does her justice.

The back-up band. composed of six strong blues musicians, deserves a lot of credit for this tight and for the most part successful album. Mighty Joe Young, on guitar, is also credited with co-production along with Koko and Alligator owner Bruce Iglauer. I would guess that Joe is also responsible for most of the arrangements, especially the soul-flavored tunes such as "Voo Doo Woman," and "Find a Fool.'" "Blues with a Touch of Soul" is Joe's trademark. Koko and Joe have worked extensively together in the past, both touring and recording, and their compatibility adds strength to the overall sound.

Bill Heid (late of Ann Arbor's Blues Busters and his own groups) carries a great deal with his excellent keyboard work. But the album's special treat is Sammy Lawhorn. He is described in the accompanying promo sheet as "Chicago's greatest guitar technician," and his lead and slide work, especially on Elmore James' "Happy Home" often has a flavor that melts in your mouth. The sound is completed by a tight and bouncy (only rarely over-elaborate) rhythm section of Joe Young's bass player Cornelius Boyson, and Koko's road drummer Vince Chappell . Abe Locke contributes some fine appropriate sax solos.

Koko herself always puts every ounce of herself in whatever she does. She wrote three of the LP's tunes, and all are strong, simple examples of good blues writing. As I listened through the album the first time I heard all the familiar energy and power I expected to hear, all the growls and moans her audiences scream for, all the rhythm with which she drives her bands . . . but at the very end of the album is a big surprise. It struck me flat out. The last cut on side two is "That's Why I'm Cryin'," a beautiful song written by Magic Sam, and produced in a way strikingly different from the rest of the album. Mellow isn't the word - it practically seeps out of the speakers. The organ is subdued, sax, guitars, and drums roll smoothly in the background, and Koko's voice is toned down in a way I've never heard before. At times almost whispering, she uses incredible feeling and dynamics and covers the song with a compelling intensity.

I'd like to hear more from her in the low-keyed mood. But in the meantime, I'll keep listening to what she's given us on this record - a good dose of her warmth and talent.