Melvin TAYLOR - Plays The Blues For You / Blues On The Run

A fleet-fingered guitarist with a technique that encompasses elements of blues, R'n'B and jazz, Melvin Taylor led his own group, the Transistors, at the age of 15. A stint with The Legendary Blues Band brought him to Europe in 1981 and he made his recordings debut in following year. This and another French-recorded album were issued in the US a decade later, forming the basis of a recording cereer notable for its eclecticism and the speed and clarity of his guitar playing.

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Album: PLAYS THE BLUES FOR YOU
Styles: Modern Electric Chicago Blues
Recorded: 1984
Released: 1987
Bitrate: 320k/s
Size: 128.24 MB
Time: 55:53
Art: Front & Tray (Isabel)

1. Talking To Anna-Mae Pt.1 (4:11)
2. TV Mama (3:14)
3. I'll Play The Blues For You (5:16)
4. Born To Loose (2:59)
5. Tribute To Wess (3:25)
6. Cadillac Assembly Line (5:17)
7. Voodoo Daddy (6:29)
8. Talking To Anna-Mae Pt.2 (4:10)
9. Groovin' In Paris (3:16)
10. Kinda Easy Like (5:28)
11. Don't Answer The Door (7:07)
12. Ridin' (5:01)

Personnel: Melvin TAYLOR - Guitar, Vocals
Lucky Peterson - Organ, Piano, Vocals on tr.11
Titus Williams - Bass
Ray 'Killer' Allison - Drums

Note: Guitarist Melvin Taylor's fluid, smartly constructed solos and understated yet winning vocals are surprises on this 1984 twelve-track set recorded for Isabel and recently reissued by Evidence on CD. Taylor is not a fancy or arresting singer but succeeds through his simple, effective delivery of lyrics, slight inflections, and vocal nuances. His guitar work is impressive, with skittering riffs, shifting runs, and dashing solos. Organist/pianist Lucky Peterson is an excellent second soloist, adding cute background phrases at times, then stepping forward and challenging or buttressing Taylor's playing with his own dazzling lines.

                                                          Plays The Blues For You
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Album: BLUES ON THE RUN
Styles: Modern Electric Chicago Blues,
Recorded: 1982
Released: 1994
Bitrate: 320k/s
Size: 102.47 MB
Time: 43:48
Art: Full

1. Travelin' Man - 6:23
2. Lowdown Dirty Shame - 7:30
3. Escape - 6:55
4. Cold, Cold Feeling - 4:41
5. Just Like A Woman - 8:02
6. Chitlins Con Carne - 10:04

Personnel: Melvin TAYLOR - Lead Guitar, Vocals
Johnny Dollar - Rhythm Guitar;
Big Moose Walker - Piano
Willie Love - Bass
Casey Jones - Drums

Notes: With this album, recorded in Chicago originally for the French label Isabel, Taylor sprang fully formed from hiss shell. His effortless extended improvisations confine a 43-minute programme to just six tracks, the longest a ten-minute exploration of Kenny Burrell's 'Chitlins Con Carne'. Others sources are Albert King, T-Bone Walker and Louis Jordan, with the artist's sole contribution a seven-minute instrumental 'Escape'. Although his musicians are given little to do except keep up, they do so willingly, with an occasional solo from Walker.

Taylor is a weak vocalist here but verses are merely bookends for his guitar solos, in which he displays unflagging invention. But for all their dexterity, these profligate solos lack character and dynamic contrast, numbing the ear to whatever fleeting emotion may be present.

                                                             Blues On The Run
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