Do You Really Want To Drink
All The Liquor In Costa Rica-When Taj Majal- Blueman Not High-End India Homestead
Searched For The High White Note In Frisco Town
By Leslie Dumont
Seth Garth the old time
music critic for the now long gone alternative newspaper The Eye who had followed all the trends in the folk world in the
old days once his friend from high school, Jack Callahan, had turned him on to
the genre after having heard some mountain music coming on from a fugitive radio
station one summer Sunday night still was interested in what was left of that
world. More importantly who was still left still standing from that rough-hewn
folk minute of the early 1960s. An important part of that interest centered on
who still had it from among those who were still standing.
That was no mere academic
question but had risen quite sharply in the early part of 2002 when Seth, Jack
and their respective wives had attended a Bob Dylan concert up in Augusta,
Maine and had come away disappointed, no, more than disappointed, shocked that
Dylan had lost whatever voice he had had and depended increasingly on his
backup singers and musicians. Dylan no longer had it, both agreed that they would
have to be satisfied with listening to the old records, tapes, CDs, and
YouTube. That single shocking event led subsequently to an earnest attempt to
attend concerts and performances of as many of the old-time folkies as they
could before the performers had passed on. They have documented elsewhere some
of those others some who have like Utah Phillips and Dave Van Ronk subsequently
passed on but one night recently, a few months ago now, they were discussing
one Taj Majal (stage name not the famous wonder of the world in India) and how
they had first heard him back in the day since in anticipation of seeing him in
person up at the great concert hall overlooking the harbor at
Rockport.
Naturally enough if you
knew Seth and Jack they disagreed on exactly where they had first seen him after
Jack had hear him do a cover of the old country blues classic Corrina,
Corrina on that fugitive folk program out of Rhode Island, WAFJ. Seth
said the Club 47 over in Harvard Square in Cambridge and Jack said they had
gone underground to the Unicorn over on Boylston Street in Boston. Of course
those disputes never got resolved, never got final resolution. What was not
disputed was that they had both been blown away by the performance of Taj and
his small backup band that night. His blues mastery proved to them that someone
from the younger generation was ready to keep the old-time blues tradition
alive, including playing the old National Steel guitar that the likes of Son
House and Bukka White created such great blues classic on. The highlight that
night had been The Sky Is Crying
which has been covered by many others since but not
equaled.
The track record of old
time folkies had been mixed as one would expect as the shocking Dylan
experiences pointed out. Utah Phillips by the time they got to see him had lost
it, David Bromberg still had it for two examples. The night they were
discussing and disputing the merit of Taj’s case both agreed that he probably
had lost it since that rough-hewn gravelly voice of his had like Dylan’s and
Willie Nelson’s taken a beating with time and many performances. Needless to
say, they should not have worried (although they did when old be-hatted Taj
came out and immediately sat down not a good sign for prior experiences with
other old-time performers) since Taj was smokin’ that night. Played the old
Elmore James Television Blues on the National Steel like he
was about twenty years old. Did his old version of Corrina proud
and his version of CC Rider as well. Yeah, Taj still had it.
But if you don’t believe a couple of old folkies and don’t get a chance to see
him in person out your way then grab the album Shoutin’ In Key from
the old days and see what they meant. Got it.
