The University News

Issue date: 1/8/07 Section: Culture

Media Credit: Jordan Kerfeld

After heavily exploring the diverse blues genre in the past three months or so, I found myself taking a peer-suggested journey. After going through just about every "mainstream" name in the book, it was the random selection of Hound Dog Taylor that resonated most deeply.

I'd never heard of Chicago blues artist Hound Dog Taylor before, and if not for a random listen at the Marr Sound Archives at Miller Nichols Library, I probably never would.

Taylor's biggest strength is his insane guitar work. His guitar sounds like an undisciplined and messy version of Jimi Hendrix. He shreds with loud, fuzzy, visceral guitar licks that not only inspire appreciative grimaces from listeners but have the capacity to frighten small children.

It is a cliché to say a particular blues artist is invisible and/or underappreciated. Nevertheless, I'm unsure why it took so long to find him. I suppose it might be because he doesn't have the chops of Muddy Waters or Howlin' Wolf, or the attached folklore of Leadbelly or Robert Johnson.

As his pictures and music would suggest, Taylor was all about picking up an electric guitar and having fun. And "fun" doesn't usually equal respect in the elitist perspective of blues being authored by people with, well, the blues.

Either way, "Natural Boogie" from 1973 is a fantastic album and a lot of fun.

"Natural Boogie" is a fast-paced album that doesn't allow for catching your breath. As the album title suggests, this music is intended for dancing. The "boogie factor" is overwhelming, though it is admittedly hard to qualify that comment.

"Take Five" starts the party with an upbeat song with throwaway lyrics. "Hawaiian Boogie" follows, and Taylor makes some sounds with his axe I have never heard before in my life. "Sadie" simmers as a cool and restrained number that sounds vaguely like Booker T and the MG's. It is one of the best songs on the album.

The album's only problem area is the tracks begin to get a bit repetitive. But, the blues idiom is strict and the problem plagues countless other artists. Repetition is the nature of the beast.

Yet Hound Dog Taylor and his two band-mates crank out a 41-minute treat in "Natural Boogie," attacking ears with a brand of electrifying blues I have not heard before or after this album. He died just two years after this album was released, and the following is found in the album's liner notes:

"Hound Dog used to say, 'When I die, they'll say 'he couldn't play shit, but he sure made it sound good!'"

Mission accomplished.

Grade: A+

jkerfeld@unews.com

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