Week 38
Koko Taylor, I Got What it Takes
(Alligator 4706)

From her first major hit — 1965's "Wang Dang Doodle" — to the present, Koko Taylor has been one of the premier voices in the blues. Her recordings and extensive touring not only serve notice that the blues is alive and well, but that women can be as riveting and relevant in their performance as the men who have long dominated the tradition.

Although Taylor's presentation occasionally recalls the blueswomen who came before her — particularly blues shouter Big Mama Thornton — it draws equally from the male blues icons, among them Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, who directly inspired her to sing upon her move to Chicago in 1953. The result, powered by Taylor's gravelly and full-powered voice, is uniquely and memorably her own.

Recorded in 1975, "I Got What It Takes" was Taylor's debut release for Alligator Records. Setting the template for much of Taylor's subsequent career, the CD's 11 tracks are succinct, polished, and fully electric. The result is blues party music for the modern age, irresistibly upbeat and undeniably gritty.

As the liner notes to the release state, Koko Taylor has "no hesitation at all to put you right down in blues alley. There's total involvement, total commitment to the truth of the blues. Whether you want to or not — she'll make you get down." As amply displayed on this record, that's a fine thing.

Listen: Koko Taylor - "Trying to Make a Living"
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