Jan 172008
Happy birthday ya lousy quitter. Ahh I don’t mean it like that. I know you really needed to leave so you could gig with greats like The Dead Elvi.
Anyway, happy birthday.
Happy birthday ya lousy quitter. Ahh I don’t mean it like that. I know you really needed to leave so you could gig with greats like The Dead Elvi.
Anyway, happy birthday.
Happy birthday, indeed!
Has Mick Taylor played on relevant note since leaving the Stones? I see him crop up on blues workouts with slumming rock stars now and then, but did he never rip off a solo on as a guest artist on another rocker’s big release? Did a Bowie or even Don Was never rope him into a recording session that the general rock public would have heard?
He played on Bob Dylan’s Infidels, considered one of the better ’80s Dylan albums. And then he did a European tour with Bob a year later, which is not nearly as well-regarded.
Yeah, he’s on the Dylan album. Stones fans like that tour he did, but then again, those people still think he’ll show up onstage again with The Stones.
He’s done a lot with Carla Olsen, including versions of Winter and Sway. There’s a sketchy YouTube of one of those out there, but I deemed it unworthy of the Main Stage. If you catch him in your town and he;s in a good mood, you’ll see a guy as talented as anyone in a very small setting that will blow your mind. It was worth the 12 bucks when I saw him once.
He played on the first Joe Henry album, Murder of Crows. Anton Fier (Feelies, Golden Palominos) produced it, and he put together a nice little band for him — with himself on the drums, Tim Drummond on bass, and Chuck Leavell on keys, plus string arrangements by Van Dyke Parks. It sounds like a band album instead of a singer/songwriter album, and Taylor both supports the songs and solos in his inimitable style. I love this record and recommend it highly (though Henry supposedly hates it and thinks it’s unrepresentative).
Thanks for fiiling me in on Taylor’s relevant post-Stones works. I forgot he was on Infidels, maybe my favorite “post-great” Dylan album.
You want the real straight dope on Mick Taylor? Check *this* out:
http://www.micktaylor.net/MT_re-examinedp1.htm
HIGHLY recommended — make sure you stick around for the lengthy explanation of the John Phillips/Keef/Mick/Woodie/Mick Taylor solo album from 1974! Wowsers, what a story!
I’ve also got Mick’s spottily excellent 1979 solo album I could share if there’s a desire.
HVB
That John Phillips album sucks hard. The stories surrounding that album are amusing, including supposedly Mick banging a 14 year old Mackenzie in John’s bathroom. I’ve got the original bootlegged version of the album, but it was officially released a few years later.
Mick’s first solo album really does have some moments, especially Leather Jacket, which is leftover from a Stones session from Olympic in 1970. Some Tattoo You trivia is that Mick plays on Tops and sued successfully for royalties and he’s also on a very early version of Waiting on a Friend, which can give you an idea of how how far back ideas go on that album.
Moddie, as a not-very-closeted mid-70s Santana fan, I feel sure you’d like lots of this 1979 Taylor LP. It’s not without its flaws, but, by God, the dude really seems to *care* about the music he’s making, which is more than can be said of most post-’79 Stones albums. And the high points are really high, even beyond the unquestionably tasty guitar work.
And as far as that guitar work goes, this album is a genuine masterwork of guitar wankery — and I mean that in a very good way. Endlessly fascinating for guitar players, for sure. Intermittently fascinating for everybody else. A solid “B-” effort — and I’m not grading on the Rock Curve there.
HVB
HVB and 2K, could you guys each post a few choice tracks from these albums – Mick’s solo album and the John Phillips atrocity – if you’ve got some time in the coming days? 2K, let me know if you need help getting those bad boys up here. You’ve got the power to do so. Hrrundi, that Mick album rings a bell. I think I’ve heard it once before, many moons ago. I’ve been dying to hear the Phillips album. I sense Dr. John’s as anxious as I am to hear it. Thanks!
I’ve heard the Phillips record (titled Pay, Pack, and Follow). Typical of Phillip’s ego, he makes the record sound a lot more promising that it really is. What I hear are skeletal songs that don’t go anywhere, played in a drug-induced stupor. One song, “Zulu Warrior” is an embarassment to all involved.
Dr. John wrote:
One song, “Zulu Warrior” is an embarassment to all involved.
I say:
Let’s hear *that* one, please!
HVB