Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor (April 12, 1915 - December 17, 1975) was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer. Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi in 1915 (although some sources say 1917). He originally played piano, but began playing guitar when he was 20. He moved to Chicago in 1942. He became a full-time musician around 1957 but remained unknown outside of the Chicago area where he played small clubs in the black neighborhoods and also at the open-air Maxwell Street Market. He was known for his electrified slide guitar playing roughly styled after that of Elmore James, his cheap Japanese Teisco guitars, and his raucous boogie beats. He was also famed among guitar players for having six fingers on his left hand. Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers played foot-stomping boogies to make fans forget their troubles and dance. They played grinding slow blues to exorcise their demons. "I'm with you, baby I'm with you," Taylor would shout when someone yelled a request out of the audience. "Let's have some fun," he'd holler after sitting down and plugging in his ultra-cheap Japanese guitar into his cracked-speaker Sears Silvertone amp. And with Brewer Phillips playing bass lines on his old Fender and Ted Harvey pounding away at the drums, this three-piece blues band made a lot of wonderful noise. "When I die," Taylor once said, "they'll say, 'he couldn't play shit but he sure made it sound good.'"
Hound Dog Taylor's second album was every bit as wild as the first, bringing with it a fatter sound and a wider range of emotions and music. A recut here of Taylor's first single, "Take Five," totally burns the original while the smoldering intensity of "See Me in the Evening" and "Sadie" take this album to places the first one never reached. [AMG]Raw Garagey Boogie Blues screech, in tradition of Elmor James. Sloppy, primal, outta tune polydactil blues of Mr.Taylor and his combo on their classic 2nd slab is not just for blues fans but for everyone who's into rockin' good times stuff. Two guitars, drums and no bass is formula for success not just for Hound Dog, but for some well known modern Blues-Punk acts as Jon Spencer Blues Exp. or The Gories as well. For me, this is one of the best blues Lp's out there, it's a "Hound Dog BLUES EXPLOSION!". Natural white label Vinyl Rip by Surfadelic, Not for sale. Take Five!
Take... Six
