Search - Johnnie Taylor :: Rated X-Traordinaire: The Best of Johnnie Taylor

A Great Talent

mistermaxxx@yahoo.com | usa | 06/04/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Johnnie Taylor is a True Soul Singer.His Voice had so Much Force&Energy that it is Amazing after all of these years.He Covered a Wide Range Of Musical Styles.You Feel The Power Of His Raw Talent here."

The Philosopher of Soul: The CBS/Columbia Years

Eddie Landsberg | Tokyo, Japan | 09/20/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After STAX went bankrupt in the mid-70s, Johnnie Taylor headed over to Columbia records.



The sound on this album is classic Memphis soul meets the disco...



Frankly speaking, while the tunes themselves are great and Johnnie's voice is great, I think the productions lack much of the raw drive and imagination that his STAX stuff had... The result is what sounds like a musical genius/performer in the hands of a well tooled formulaic hit machine running on auto-pilot... You get the impression that Johnnie is doing his best, but the production team just aren't that into it... One strange example (can anyone explain this?) is the absence of back-up vocals and other types of hooks - - making a few otherwise great tracks sound lackluster... (One can only imagine if Joe Bataan or Gamble and Huff got to him first, or consider the production values on Carl Douglas's Kung Fu Fighting.) Whatever, the end result was that after one major across the boards hit with DISCO LADY, JT's career pretty much sizzled out. This is one of history's great tragedies, because this was the height of the '70s sweet soul era, and in more apt hands, his sound could have *really* been coming of age... All this said, when Johnnie shines, Johnnie shines. My favorite track being YOUR LOVE IS RATED X, with its haunting flute and happy and some really slick bass work - - still, I'd put it like this: If Johnnie and Bobby Womack are to be compared... Johnnie had the '60s and Bobby had the '70s... but both were great, period.



If you want to experience the true experience of JT, check out his performances at WATTSTAX (Jody's Got Your Girl and Steal Away) or his Live at the Summit Club album, then you'll see that although this album is great, it really doesn't capture the magic of the legend...



Sadly, JT is no longer with us, and although CBS should have done much better, the fact is getting to hear JT is a real treat PERIOD, so if you have his classic stuff, and need an even deeper dose, definitely dig this (or EARGASM and RATED EXTRA-ORDINAIRE.)"

Loving J T

Mrs. Wanda MOORE | Birmingham, AL United States | 11/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just love this mans music,I miss him, he knew how women felt during a relationship"