Search - Eddie Taylor :: Bad Boy

A fine collection of Taylor's classic 50s singles

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 02/28/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Eddie Taylor is perhaps best known as Jimmy Reed's second guitarist, but during his time with Reed in the 50s he also found time to record a dozen excellent sides for Vee-Jay Records, ten of which can be found on this fine compilation.



Taylor recorded the instrumental "E.T. Blues" and three of his best and most succesful sides in 1955: "Bad Boy", "Ride 'Em On Down", and the classic "Big Town Playboy". He is backed by Jimmy Reed on harmonica and rhythm guitar, and on Taylor's later sides, five of which are included here, Hubert Sumlin lends a hand on guitar.



Eddie Taylor's brand of blues was deeply rooted in the Delta, with Reed's rudimentary harmonica playing adding to the "earthy" flavour, and while most of these songs are not as immediately recognizable as, say, Willie Dixon's best tunes, there is a lot of great stuff here and precious few clunkers. The arrangements are excellent, as are the musicians...Johnny Jones plays excellent piano on "I'm Sitting Here" and "Do You Want Me To Cry", and his too-brief solo on "Train Fare" all but takes over the track. Al Duncan and Earl Phillips are great on the drums (a swinging, muscular drumbeat is so important in electric blues), and the Big Town Playboy himself lays down the groundwork with his gritty rhythm playing.



It's a shame that this fine album is no longer in print, but do not despair. The "Masters Of Modern Blues" disc featuring Eddie Taylor and Floyd Jones features tremendous re-recordings of "Bad Boy" and "Big Town Playboy", and the Japanese P-Vine compilation titled "Big Town Playboy" includes versions of "Ride 'Em On Down", "Do You Want Me To Cry", and "Find My Baby" as well as the title track, "Bad Boy", and "E.T. Blues"."

One of the best examples of Eddie Taylor out there.

Earl Louis | New York, NY | 07/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Eddie Taylor played the bottom on all the Jimmy Reed hits, which is already a great thing, but he was much more of a guitar player than that. In person Taylor was truly one of the most exciting blues guitar players. With a shake of his head he'd hit a single note that would ring out with a stinging vibrato that made your spinal cord glow. And this was coupled with great slippery rhythmic timing. Unfortunately, not many of his solo recordings capture Taylor's live sound. Bad Boy is closest, and should be at the top of the list of anyone interested in Eddie Taylor."