In my soul
Robert Cray
Keywords
Reviews (4)
AllMusic
2017
By
By
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
2017
"Otis Taylor stands alone among 21st century blues musicians in his fearlessness in redefining what the music means in modern society. He pushes forward, but he also has a deep knowledge of its history, and 2017's Fantasizing About Being Black draws upon the past to offer commentary of contemporary race relations in America".
The observer
d. 12. Feb. 2017
By
By
Neil Spencer
d. 12. Feb. 2017
"Intended as a history of African-American life, from slavery onwards, the 15th album from "trance blues" maestro Otis Taylor proves a raw experience ... It's unflinching stuff, though Taylor rings the changes musically. His customary guitar and banjo drones are here, along with fiddle and cornet, but there's also John Lee Hooker-style raunch, slide guitar from Jerry Douglas and the psychedelic flourishes of teenage axe tyro Brandon Niederauer. A triumph".
Record collector
463 (2017 March)
By
By
Kris Needs
463 (2017 March)
"Fantasizing About Being Black may be Taylor's most complete work yet as he explores links between historical and contemporary treatment of black people; casting back to slavery, injustices and the victory of human spirit with emotion dripping from his rich voice ... Finding inspiration in the current climate, Taylor has created a modern blues masterpiece for troubled times".
Living blues
2016 April
By
By
Frank Matheis
2016 April
" ... strong, bombastic and uncompromising, hypnotic, trancelike and deliberately confrontational to complacent indifference ... Taylor is a brilliant literary performance artist, a revelatory poet and a musical expressionist on par with the great expressionists of our time ... Fantasizing About Being Black is a musical masterpiece engulfed in elements of pre-blues work songs and field hollers, blues, jazz and modern, post-avant-garde music with meaning".