Search - Koko Taylor :: I Got What It Takes

Koko Taylor
I Got What It Takes
Genres: Blues, Pop

Track Listings (11) - Disc #1
1. Trying To Make A Living - Koko Taylor, Public Domain [1]
2. I Got What It Takes - Koko Taylor, Dixon, Willie [1]
3. (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean - Koko Taylor, Lance, Herb
4. Voodoo Woman - Koko Taylor, Taylor, Koko
5. Be What You Want to Be - Koko Taylor, Dixon, Willie [1]
6. Honkey Tonkey - Koko Taylor, Taylor, Koko
7. Big Boss Man - Koko Taylor, Dixon, Luther
8. Blues Never Die - Koko Taylor, Spann, Otis
9. Find a Fool, Bump Her Head - Koko Taylor, LaSalle, Denise
10. Happy Home - Koko Taylor, Josea, Joe
11. That's Why I'm Crying - Koko Taylor, Maghett

CD Details

All Artists: Koko Taylor
Title: I Got What It Takes
Members Wishing: 3
Total Copies: 0
Label: Alligator Records
Release Date: 10/1/1993
Genres: Blues, Pop
Styles: Chicago Blues, Vocal Blues, Electric Blues, Modern Blues
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 014551470625, 014551470618, 014551470649

Synopsis

Amazon.com

Few artists better fit Alligator Records' avowed house policy of "House Rockin' Music" than Koko Taylor. What she lacked in subtlety she made up in raw authority. This was her Alligator debut after several years on Chess, and it established the formula she would use from that point onward. The focus is on mid- and uptempo songs. The band, led in this instance by Mighty Joe Young, is tight and rocking, and just one song breaks four minutes. Blues standards, such as "Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean" and "Big Boss Man," are mixed with self-composed numbers like "Voodoo Woman." The only surprise is country star Webb Piece's "Honky-Tonk Song." The formula would eventually wear thin, but it works splendidly here. --Colin Escott

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CD Reviews

I've Got What it Takes

Timothy G. Kenny | Libertyville, IL USA | 12/17/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is quintessential Electrified Chicago Blues at its very best! If you like the Blues Brothers sound, if you like horns-This CD is for you! My blues collection spans the earliest recordings to the most recent, and this CD is on my short list. Truely outstanding!"

****1/2. Wonderful, gritty Chicago blues

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 12/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is Koko Taylor's first Alligator album, forty minutes of tough electric blues and one of the very best of her many post-Chess recordings.

It is not as polished as some of her later efforts, and she is backed by a tight little combo which includes guitarists Mighty Joe Young and Sammy Lawhorn, pianist Bill Heid, and saxist Abb Locke.

Taylor tears into the driving "Trying To Make A Living", and does a great, funky rendition of Ruth Brown's "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean". The title track is a rather obvious rewrite of Willie Dixon's "The Same Thing", and "Happy Home", although credited to producer Joe Bihari's alter ego "Joe Josea", is obviously "Dust My Broom" with different lyrics (and some terrific piano playing, by the way). But who cares, really, when it is delivered with such gusto?

Koko's supremely funky take on "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean" rides high on Abb Locke's sax and Bill Heid's piano, and Locke also lends both additional soul and additional power to Taylor's own "Voodoo Woman" and the magnificent opener, the aforementioned "Tryin' To Make A Living".

Koko Taylor also supplies the rollicking bar boogie "Honkey Tonkey", which offers some more terrific piano playing, and a terrific saxophone solo to boot. Yummy!

And Denise LaSalle's swaggering "Find A Fool, Bump Her Head", one of the finest songs of Taylor's long career. The band was supposedly hand-picked by herself, by the way, and she acts as co-producer as well, alongside guitarist Joe Young and Bruce Iglauer.

Koko Taylor has one of the most memorable voices you'll ever hear, right up there with Muddy and Elmore James, and second only to Howlin' Wolf himself, and anyone who loved Muddy and the Wolf should take comfort in the fact that Koko Taylor is still around.

This is one terrific, muscular slice of Chicago blues by one of true greats of the genre. Start off with Taylor's classic Chess sides, and then pick up this one and work your way up!

4 1/2 stars. Highly recommended."

Koko Can Sing The Blues

Timothy G. Kenny | 11/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Koko Taylor lets out all of her power onto this cd. She really shows that she puts effort into the blues. Buy this CD and I mean it. She is the only woman I have ever heard make such growls and have such energy. Koko Taylor is The Quen and get it straight. Buy this Cd and I know you will not be dissapointed."