CD Reviews

Koko Taylor

Old School | Alligator

By TED DROZDOWSKI | April 3, 2007

3.5 Stars

The title here is befits the kind of shouting, romping music this grand madam of the blues began performing as songwriter/producer/scout Willie Dixon’s protégée roughly a half-century ago. Thanks to modern studio sheen and younger players whose skills are informed by the rock era, it’s a little slicker and brassier, but these dozen tunes invoke the days when Chess Records was formulating Chicago blues and Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf stalked the stages, with Memphis-raised Taylor following in their footsteps. Although she doesn’t revisit her own historic Chess catalogue here, Taylor applies her still gruff, powerful voice to numbers minted by Waters and Wolf (“Don’t Go No Further,” “Young Fashioned Ways”) and other great spirits of the style. She pounds wanton abandon into every syllable of Magic Sam’s “All Your Love,” churning the gravel in her voice on the choruses; she pays homage to her biggest influence, Memphis Minnie, with “One Black Rat” — one of Taylor’s favorite songs — accompanied by Waters Band alum Bob Margolin on slithering, nasty slide. Margolin, harmonica ace Billy Branch, and pianist John Kattke add their own old-school expertise to Taylor’s, enabling her four new numbers — especially the raw done-me-wrong anthem “Gonna Buy Me a Mule” — to stand comfortably among the classics.

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