| Happy Just to Be Like I Am | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Taj Mahal | ||||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Genre | Blues | |||
| Length | 42:36 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Taj Mahal, David Rubinson | |||
| Taj Mahal chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+ |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| Rolling Stone | |
Happy Just to Be Like I Am is the fourth studio album by American blues artist Taj Mahal.
Reception
Christgau's Record Guide said in their review: "this relaxed, witty survey of musical Afro-America is strongest when its compositions verge on interpretations". Disc and Music Echo called it a "fine album, it's funky and it's gutsy, and there's splended brass on it". Rolling Stone Magazine said it is a "loose riotous blues 'n roots album", and that Taj Mahal is "nearly alone carrying the torch of the country music blues for other young black musicians to hear".
Eric Zoeckler wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that it is the "unconventional mixture of instruments, Taj's six-holed fife, a section of four tubas, gung-ko-gwees, flugelhorns and steel bodied guitars, that makes this recording the delight that it is".
Track listing
All tracks composed by Taj Mahal; except where indicated
- "Happy Just to Be Like I Am" (3:49)
- "Stealin'" (Gus Cannon) (6:58)
- "Oh, Susannah" (Traditional) (5:19)
- "Eighteen Hammers" (5:45)
- "Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day" (4:14)
- "Chevrolet" (Ed Young, Lonnie Young) (2:45)
- "West Indian Revelation (AKA West Indian Reservation)" (6:09)
- "Black Spirit Boogie" (7:10)
Personnel
- Taj Mahal - guitar, steel guitar, mandolin
- Bill Rich - bass
- Howard Johnson - baritone saxophone
- Jesse Ed Davis - guitar on "Oh Susanna" and "Chevrolet"
- Earl McIntyre - trombone
- Andy Narell - steel drums on "West Indian Revelation"
- John Simon - piano
- Hoshal Wright - guitar
- Kwasi "Rocky" Dzidzornu - conga
- Bob Stewart - flugelhorn
- Joseph Daley - tuba
- James Charles Otey, Jr. - drums
- Technical
- Glen Kolotkin - engineer
- John Simon, Taj Mahal - mixing
References
- ^ "Happy Just to Be Like I Am - Taj Mahal | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 2, 2019 – via Robertchristgau.com.
- Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 26.
- Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (1979). The Rolling Stone Record Guide: Reviews and Ratings of Almost 10,000 Currently Available Rock, Pop, Soul, Country, Blues, Jazz, and Gospel Albums (1st ed.). New York: Random House. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-3944109-6-8. LCCN 79004757.
- ^ McStravick, Summer; Roos, John (2001). "Taj Mahal". Blues-rock Explosion. Old Goat Publishing. pp. 170–171. ISBN 978-0-9701332-7-4.
- Zoeckler, Eric L. (February 24, 1972). "Happy Just to Be Like I Am". Record Reviews. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 5D.
- ^ "Happy Just to Be Like I Am - Taj Mahal | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 24, 2021.