Taj Mahal - Phantom Blues (1996)

One of the most prominent figures in late 20th century blues,
singer/multi-instrumentalist Taj Mahal played an enormous role in
revitalizing and preserving traditional acoustic blues. Not content to stay
within that realm, Mahal soon broadened his approach, taking a
musicologist's interest in a multitude of folk and roots music from around
the world - reggae and other Caribbean folk, jazz, gospel, R&B, zydeco,
various West African styles, Latin, even Hawaiian. The African-derived
heritage of most of those forms allowed Mahal to explore his own ethnicity
from a global perspective and to present the blues as part of a wider
musical context.

Yet while he dabbled in many different genres, he never strayed too far
from his laid-back country blues foundation. Blues purists naturally didn't
have much use for Mahal's music, and according to some of his other
detractors, his multi-ethnic fusions sometimes came off as indulgent, or
overly self-conscious and academic. Still, Mahal's concept was vindicated
in the '90s, when a cadre of young bluesmen began to follow his lead - both
acoustic revivalists (Keb' Mo', Guy Davis) and eclectic bohemians (Corey
Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart).

An eclectic bluesman would seem to be a contradiction in terms, but
Taj Mahal, who has moved through the worlds of folk, rock, and pop
to reach his present categorization, fits the description, and on
"Phantom Blues" he takes several pop and R&B oldies that came from
blues roots - "Ooh Poo Pah Doo", "Lonely Avenue", "What Am I Living
For", "Let The Four Winds Blow" - and returns them to those roots.
He also calls in such guest stars as Eric Clapton and Bonnie Raitt,
who have more than a nodding acquaintance with the blues, to assist
him. The result is progressive blues hybrid that treats the music
not as a source, but as a destination.