Otis Taylor says he’s risen to a new level of risk-taking with 14th album Hey Joe Opus / Red Meat.
It’s a study of Hey Joe, made famous by Jimi Hendrix, which has been a staple of Taylor performances for years – but it becomes the focus of a range of variations in his trademark trance blues style.
The launch follows a career that saw him quitting music in 1977, returning nearly 20 years later then reinventing his approach to banjo playing in 2008.
Taylor tells The Examiner: “You’re sticking your neck out – and this one’s a little different.
“People decide what they want to think about it, whatever you do. I don’t tell them what to think, but it is an album. That’s why I called it an opus.
“It’s an album of different misdirections – if you get going in one place, all of a sudden you go in another place. Sometimes people don’t know if they’re listening to Hey Joe or if they’re listening to me.”
Hey Joe Opus / Red Meat is available via his own Trance Blues Festival label.
Tracklist
01. Hey Joe 02. Sunday Morning 03. The Heart Is A Muscle (Used For The Blues) 04. Red Meat 05. Peggy Lee 06. They Wore Blue 07. Hey Joe (version) 08. Sunday Morning (version) 09. Cold At Midnight 10. Sunday Morning ©
