Otis Taylor – My World Is Gone

I’ve had countless discussions with other blues’ fans, with nearly everyone regretting that they weren’t there when the sensuous strummings, phrasing, and attitudes first made their mark on the musical map. Yet these same people seem to have their feet so firmly rooted in the past that they are unable, or perhaps unwilling, to see what’s happening now, and are missing one of today’s truly great artists. Now mind you, I’m not talking about white-man’s blues, or even contemporary black man’s-blues, which to be honest, are relatively the same, a learned fashion that’s been repeated over and over again so often that it stands light years from what those extraordinary English artists, such as John Mayall were doing, and is even further removed from what was being laid down in the 40’s and 50’s, nearly becoming a parody of itself.

Otis Taylor, especially here on My World Is Gone, has taken probably the first significant step in embracing and bringing blues up to date [and this is not his first release], allowing blues to be as interesting and compelling as it was when I first heard it during the mid 60's. His songs are remarkably simple in many aspects, visionary and complex in others, while being as true to life and honest as the blues was when the great legends first captured my ears. Otis Taylor is deeply rooted in several blues' traditions, whether he's playing guitar, banjo, or mandolin, it's simply impossible not to be raptured under his dark enchanting influence. Mr. Taylor’s music manages to conjure a simmering blues’ atmosphere, one filled with what I can only refer to as trance blues ... a significant sound that catches fire, one laced with shadows of Native American percussions that are mixed with a rich simmering laid-back drifting southern swamp sound that’s rock solid, throbbing, and ethereal all in the same breath. Having said this, Otis Taylor has not neglected his lyrics, managing to incorporate honest stories and vocals that have too long been lost or neglected when it comes to contemporary blues ... with his songs sounding as old and sun bleached as anything you’ve ever heard, or have ever experienced before.

My World Is Gone is magic, sacred, filled with protagonist pain, longing, and the joy of an elusive jazzman buried somewhere deep inside his soul.

Review by Jenell Kesler