Aural Fixations

OTIS TAYLOR
Double V
(Telarc)
Blues songwriter Otis Taylor's sixth album Double V shows growth while still retaining his trademark sound. Producing himself for the first time (his loyal sidekicks bassist/producer Kenny Passarelli and guitarist Eddie Turner are nowhere to be found), Taylor strips his sound down further, joined only by his daughter Cassie on bass and a sparse cello section. He plays with his usual songwriting formula a bit, drawing heavily on African music (especially Ali Farka Toure's take on the blues) as the backbone for the haunted "Sounds of Attica" and the delightful "Please Come Home Before It Rains." He also puts his daughter at the mic for "Buy Myself Some Freedom," which features some stellar trumpet from guest Ron Miles. But he hasn't given himself a complete makeover, of course. There's plenty of his distinctive, contemporary country blues drone on "It's Done Happened Again," the anguished "Mama's Selling Heroin" (based on a true story from his own family history) and the mesmerizing "Mandan Woman" (the story of an American slave entertaining a Mandan tribe). There's plenty of his historical social commentary, as he uses the past to shine a light on the present in "Took Their Land," "Plastic Spoon" and "He Never Raced on Sunday." Taylor has definitely found a groove on his last few records, and while it's a good groove, it was starting to sound a bit limited. By introducing a few new elements into his sound without altering it significantly, he's made a record that sounds both fresh and faithful. Michael Toland [buy it]