Otis Taylor - Respect the Dead
List Price:
Our Price: $9.65
You Save: $6.33 (40%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $8.99 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Artist: Otis TaylorEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2002-04-02
Music Label: Northern Blues
Soundtracks:
- Ten Million Slaves
- Hands on Your Stomach
- Changing Rules
- 32nd Time
- Baby So
- Shaker Woman
- Black Witch
- Seven Hours of Light
- I Like You, But I Don't Love You
- Jump Jelly Belly
- Three Stripes on a Cadillac
- Just Live Your Life
Music reviews of Respect the Dead
Music Review: Give Me a Break!
Rating: 1 Stars
As far as I'm concerned, Otis Taylor is critically acclaimed bull.... It seems on this CD, he plans on keeping the critics and Handy Awardsmen impressed with a set of pretentious, melodramatic, moody, and ambitious songs. You know an album is preachy when the title is a command. Also, the album artwork does not exactly endear me to Mr. Taylor. His uber-serious expression and his hidden face on the cover gives me the impression he thinks hes the most important person in the world. The album gets off to a great start, admittedly, with "Ten Million Slaves." A great sounding banjo piece, not to mention Otis Taylor's distinct voice, and even the fuzzy bass-like touches underneath all blend in well to create a compelling song that deals with the subject of slavery. Its for about the whole rest of the album that I lose touch with Mr. Taylor. The premeditated whisper vocals of "Black Witch" make me want to laugh. Why does he have to force his vocal style so much? Hearing it au natural in "Ten Million Slaves" was just fine. And its kaleidescopic feedback-like noise touches give the song a contrived, atmosphere-building feel. I could imagine this music as the mood-establishing piece on an episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger" when the bad guy walks on to the screen. Than, the next piece, "Seven Hours of "Light," is a melodramatic acoustic piece that again, just doesn't sound natural and soulful. It sounds like a man who wants to remain his title of "...the critically acclaimed." I mean, even Charlie Patton had a sense of humor. This is a humorless miserable album that is designed to impress. Granted, an album that deals with oppression, slavery, racial politics, and the historical experience of African Americans in the US may not always be a joyride, but that doesn't stop me from hating this album. There are a few shining moments, but the general feel of this album is too premeditated and contrived to be worthwhile.
Description of Respect the Dead
Emotional storm clouds roil over the powerful songs of Otis Taylor, surely the most important presence to emerge on the contemporary blues scene since Corey Harris. Taylor's stories of racial struggle and heartbreak ring with a near-mystical sense of portent and crackle with an elemental weight akin to John Lee Hooker's while embracing the sonic edges of psychedelic rock. This disc is even better than 2001's critically heralded White African, upping the intensity with numbers that probe the lingering ties of slavery ("Ten Million Slaves"), the legacy of the Freedom Riders ("32nd Time"), and the dark staples of suicide and murder ("I Like You, But I Don't Love You," "Three Stripes on a Cadillac").Taylor's slightly hoarse, husky voice seems risen from the Delta mud. It's a mighty instrument, whispering and wailing--sometimes, thanks to careful mixing, sounding like a ghost slipping through the cracks of time. And he's an even better musician-arranger, whose command of slide guitar and effects makes for shivery peals that underpin the drama of his singing, and who maps out an entirely new vocabulary for electric banjo. Churning one-chord Mississippi blues, African rhythms, and electronically intensified guitar riffs all blend into a terrain no other contemporary bluesman is exploring. In fact, this may be the sound of genius. --Ted Drozdowski
Blues CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Blues CDs
Southern String BandsRelease date: 1997-05-07; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Lightnin Hopkins - Texas BluesRelease date: 1993-11-30; Music CD
Price in other shops:
15 Regional Mexican Music ClassicsRelease date: 1997-02-25; Music CD
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Etta James - Love's Been Rough on MeRelease date: 1997-04-29; Music CD
Best price: $8.97
Price in other shops:
Etta James - Mystery LadyRelease date: 1994-03-15; Music CD
Best price: $8.96
Price in other shops:
Taj Mahal - Dancing the BluesRelease date: 1993-09-28; Music CD
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
![Moments to Remember [VHS] Image](/images/Moments-to-Remember-VHS-6304199058-X.jpg){kind=small}
Bill Gaither & Gloria - Moments to Remember [VHS]Chordant; Release date: 1996-09-03; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
![Sing Your Blues Away [VHS] Image](/images/Sing-Your-Blues-Away-VHS-630419904X-X.jpg){kind=small}
Sing Your Blues Away [VHS]Chordant Distribution; Release date: 1996-09-03; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.18
Price in other shops:
![Rhythm Country & Blues [VHS] Image](/images/Rhythm-Country-Blues-VHS-630303831X-X.jpg){kind=small}
Rhythm Country & Blues [VHS]Mca; Release date: 1994-03-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $99.75
Robert Cray - Smoking GunPublished: 1988; Music CD
Similar CDs
Public EnemiesRelease date: 2009-06-30; Music CD
Best price: $10.18
Price in other shops:
Otis Taylor - Below the FoldRelease date: 2005-08-23; Music CD
Best price: $6.18
Price in other shops:
Otis Taylor - Definition of a CircleRelease date: 2007-02-27; Music CD
Best price: $6.18
Price in other shops:
Otis Taylor - Pentatonic Wars & Love SongsTaylor; Release date: 2009-06-23; Music CD
Best price: $8.04
Price in other shops:
Otis Taylor - Double VRelease date: 2004-04-27; Music CD
Best price: $7.71
Price in other shops:
Otis Taylor - Clovis People, Vol. 3Release date: 2010-05-11; Music CD
Best price: $8.89
Price in other shops:
Otis Taylor - Otis Taylor's ContrabandRelease date: 2012-02-14; Music CD
Best price: $10.88
Price in other shops:
Otis Taylor - White AfricanRelease date: 2001-03-06; Music CD
Best price: $9.65
Price in other shops:
Otis Taylor - Recapturing the BanjoRelease date: 2008-02-05; Music CD
Best price: $6.23
Price in other shops:
Otis Taylor - Truth Is Not FictionRelease date: 2003-06-24; Music CD
Best price: $9.48
Price in other shops: