A Stones' Throw

Taylor opened with four songs from his most recent and underrated album “A Stones’ Throw” (sic). These are rather complex and extended compositions with a jazzy sound and construction. They do not follow the melody or structure patterns that are typical of the blues, yet are interwoven with most subtle blues chords and blues sounds – often obtained by simply brushing the strings. Throughout the show, Mick would flirt with both blues and jazz – often simultaneously – and occasionally mix it with funk, like on “Goin’ South”. These tunes   allowed keyboardist Max Middleton to show his first class status. Still, Mick also treated us to a round of genuine blues: acoustic Delta (“You Gotta Move”), Stax soul-blues (Albert King’s “Laundromat Blues”) and British-modelled Chicago in the guise of a roaring version of “You Shook Me” that easily stands comparative tests with Jeff Beck’s or Led Zeppelin’s interpretations. The gloomy Rolling Stones ballad “No Expectations” – a forgotten b-side from the sixties – was a real surprise and showed yet another side of Taylor’s.

Subtle guitar

Taylor is not only a subtle and pure guitarist, he is first of all a stylist. Passages that are initially conceived as bridges or short solos are extended and developed (often by improvising, another feature of jazz music) until they metamorphose into a composition within the composition. This approach allows Taylor to display his virtuosity. Don’t attend a Mick Taylor concert if it is so-called “pure” blues you are after. His blend consists of an under-layer of traditional blues and a multifaceted construction following the jazz idiom. 

Eddy Bonte

 

RIGHT: At the Spirit of 66 ( Max Middleton on (keyboards)
Photos © Eddy Bonte

First ppublished in ‘Back to the Roots’ magazine, issue 39, 2002, www.backtotheroots.be

Photos © Eddy Bonte

SET LIST

[OPENING ACT: Erik Nijhoff]

• Secret Affair
• Twisted Sister
• Late At Night
• Losing my Faith
• You Gotta Move
• Goin’ South
• Blind Willie McTell
• You Shook Me
• Laundromat Blues
• Boogie Man
• No Expectations (first encore, with Erwin Nijhoff on voice and guitar) 
• Little Red Rooster  (second encore, with Erwin Nijhoff on voice and guitar)  

THE BAND

Mick Taylor: guitar, lead vocals; Max Middleton: keyboards; Michael Bailey: bass; Godfrey McLean: drums