Larry Taylor & the Taylor Family — Generations of Blues: West Side Legacy — Nola Blue Records (June 16)
Larry Taylor has created the best kind of tribute band.
It’s the kind that involves the real deal, not imposters — in this case family members, carrying on a Chicago blues tradition.
The father, Eddie Taylor, was a fixture on Chicago’s West Side blues scene. His distinctive guitar work was a driving force behind the music of Jimmy Reed, Snooky Pryor, John Lee Hooker, Floyd Jones, Elmore James and more, until his death in 1985.
In 2015, Taylor’s son Larry, a singer and drummer, got his brothers and sisters together to create a tribute to their father and the West Side blues that nourished them. Since then, that album project grew to become a salute to the 100th anniversary of their father’s birth in 1923.
This tough, old-school session includes 13 songs performed by the Taylor family’s second and third generations: with five written by Eddie Taylor, one by Vera Taylor, four by Larry Taylor and three blues covers.
It’s truly a blues family affair. And since that family is steeped in the deep tradition of Chicago’s West Side blues, it’s blues with a feeling, doubled down on by these rich family connections. The entire session breathes new life into the classically tough Eddie Taylor songbook and adds a pair of blues chestnuts for good measure.
Eddie Taylor Jr. plays guitar on nine tracks recorded before his death in 2019. Larry Taylor handles most of the vocals, Larry’s son, Lil’ Jet, raps on an adaptation of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Sisters Brenda and Demetria contribute fiery vocals and brother Tim handles most of the drums.
Larry Taylor opens it all up with a hard-driving “She Treats Me Just the Same” with relentless drums and stinging guitar and the harp-backed shuffle “Take Your Hand Down”; Demetria Taylor follows with a scorching vocal on “Bad Girl.” Johnny Taylor slips in with the bouncy “I Feel Do Bad,” then Brenda Taylor takes the next two fierce turns with “I Found Out” (a Vera Taylor composition) and “Talk to Your Son” (from J.B. Lenoir).
Demetria comes back hard on Magic Sam’s “You Belong to Me;” Eddie Taylor Jr. offers fine take of “Big Town Playboy:” then Larry carries on with a “Penitentiary Blues,” “I Paid My Dues,” then Larry’s son, Lil’ Jet raps “No Shine.” Larry returns for a swinging “Jump Down American Queen,” and the closer is the gorgeous harp-centric instrumental, “Larry & Eddie Jr.’s Groove.”
“Generations of Blues” by the talented Taylor family happily revives Chicago blues with a tough, old-school attitude, and adds a spicy topping with a contemporary vibe.
An interesting recent interview with Larry Taylor about revitalizing the West Side blues.
Larry and Demetria Taylor, two of Chicago blues artists Eddie and Vera Taylor’s musical children, sing Eddie Taylor Sr.’s song “Bad Boy (Bad Girl)” at Antones Nightclub in Austin, Texas, on Jan. 27, 2023, in honor of the 100th anniversary of their father’s birth.
Track list and credits:
Blues Roadhouse 