Name: Phantom Blues
Brand: Private Music
SKU: 12701
Price: 27.48 SGD
Availability: InStock

Tracks

Performer Notes

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).
Recorded at Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, California on May 8-14, 1995 and House Of Blues Studios, Encino, California.
PHANTOM BLUES was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
Personnel: Taj Mahal (vocals, dobro, harmonica); Bonnie Raitt (vocals); John Porter (guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar); Jon Cleary (guitar, piano, Clavinet, Wurlitzer organ, background vocals); Jon Brion (guitar, chamberlin); Johnny Lee Schell (guitar, background vocals); Dean Parks, Eric Clapton, John Parks, Joe McGrath (guitar); Mike Campbell (12-string guitar); David Hidalgo (accordion); Bernard Anderson , Joe Sublett (tenor saxophone); Darrell Leonard (trumpet, trombone); Mick Weaver (organ); Larry Fulcher (bass guitar, background vocals); James "Hutch" Hutchinson (bass guitar); Tony Braunagel (drums, tambourine, percussion); Freeze Gullory (rub-board); Bill Barnum, Regina Taylor, Terrence Forsythe, Alphanette Durio, Billie Barnum, Sir Harry Bowens, Sweet Pea Atkinson (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Joe McGrath; Rich Veltrop.
Recording information: House Of Blues Studios, Encino, CA (05/08/1995-05/14/1995); House Of Blues, Encino, CA (05/08/1995-05/14/1995); Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA (05/08/1995-05/14/1995).
Photographer: James Minchin.
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

Professional Reviews

Dirty Linen (6-7/96, p.65) - "...Mahal seems to have reached an artistic pinnacle with PHANTOM BLUES..."

Living Blues (5-6/96, pp.75-76) - "...His music is a direct challenge to arbitrary barriers of genre and generation--a healthy antidote in our age of prefabricated styles, ideological rigidity, and corporate-driven tastes."

Album: Phantom Blues
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes
2)	Cheatin' on You
3)	Hustle Is Om, The
4)	Here in the Dark
5)	Fanning the Flames
6)	I Need Your Loving
7)	Ooh Poo Pah Doo
8)	Lonely Avenue
9)	Don't Tell Me
10)	What Am I Living For?
11)	We're Gonna Make It
12)	Let the Four Winds Blow
13)	(You've Got to) Love Her With a Feeling
14)	Car of Your Dreams, The

Album: Phantom Blues
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes
2)	Cheatin' on You
3)	Hustle Is Om, The
4)	Here in the Dark
5)	Fanning the Flames
6)	I Need Your Loving
7)	Ooh Poo Pah Doo
8)	Lonely Avenue
9)	Don't Tell Me
10)	What Am I Living For?
11)	We're Gonna Make It
12)	Let the Four Winds Blow
13)	(You've Got to) Love Her With a Feeling
14)	Car of Your Dreams, The