The Best of Taj Mahal [Sony Remaster]

Performer: Taj Mahal
Producer: David Rubinson; Taj Mahal; Bob Irwin (Compilation)
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Includes liner notes by Keb Mo and Stanley Crouch. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Personnel: Taj Mahal (vocals, guitar). Photographers: Guy Webster; David Gahr; Bob Cato; Don Peterson; Rod Dyer. Arranger: Taj Mahal. Columbia/Legacy's 2000 collection The Best of Taj Mahal is a first-rate overview of Taj Mahal's classic late-'60s/early-'70s work for Columbia. Spanning 17 tracks, including a previously unreleased cut "Sweet Mama Janisse" from 1970, this hits many of the key points from the records he released between 1967 and 1974, including "Statesboro Blues," "Leaving Trunk,' "She Caught the Katy and Left Me a Mule to Ride," and "Fishin Blues." Although his albums were constructed and worked as actual albums, this does an excellent job of summarizing these thematic affairs and functions as a nice introduction to Mahal's music. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Entertainment Weekly (9/8/00, p.89) - "...A breath of fresh air....drawing from his 1st 9 LPs, some of which remain out of print..." - Rating: A Living Blues (5-6/01, p.90) - "...Mighty fine...he remains an adventurous and consistently interesting musician whose 'best' might always be yet to come..."

From the beginning, singer/guitarist Taj Mahal had an interest in/gift for rural blues, and has since embraced everything from electric and psychedelic-tinged blues to reggae and calypso. A tireless performer, he's recorded in many settings, with his honest and impassioned singing providing the common thread through it all. He was a member of '60s band the Rising Sons (which also included Ry Cooder) before embarking on a successful solo career that spanned several decades.

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