Otis Taylor
Pentatonic Wars and Love Songs
Telarc Blues
www.telarc.com
By George W. Harris

Last year, banjo/guitarist Otis Taylor put out a gritty folk/blues
release (Recapturing The Banjo) that was a bona-fide classic. This
follow-up has Taylor taking a side step, focusing more on original tunes
that tell sordid and dark stories of various aspects of love
relationships.

Some of the tunes are backed by strings, while others have Taylor’s 21
year old daughter Cassie delivering lyrics of woe and heartache.
Feeling like a mid to late period Tom Waits release, Taylor growls with
Jason Moran/p, Ron Miles/tp, Nasheet Waits/dr and Tarus Nasheet/b on
the painful “Lost My Guitar” and “Silver Dollar On My Head.” You’ve got
to be ready for some salt inthe wounds on this one, as the sinful side
of man (and woman) is exposed for all it’s worth here. Nothing but
God’s grace will get these characters through these songs, as with us
and life.