Taj Mahal - Hidden Treasures / Live from Royal Albert Hall

One of the most prominent figures in late 20th century blues, singer/multi-instrumentalist Taj Mahal played an enormous role in revitalizing and preserving traditional acoustic blues. Not content to stay within that realm, Mahal soon broadened his approach, taking a musicologists interest in a multitude of folk and roots music from around the world - reggae and other Caribbean folk, jazz, gospel, R&B, zydeco, various West African styles, Latin, even Hawaiian. The African-derived heritage of most of those forms allowed Mahal to explore his own ethnicity from a global perspective and to present the blues as part of a wider musical context. Yet while he dabbled in many different genres, he never strayed too far from his laid-back country blues foundation. A two-disc sonic portrait chronicling the early stirrings of Taj Mahal's solo career, THE HIDDEN TREASURES OF TAJ MAHAL 1969-1973 features two CDs comprised entirely of unreleased finished material. The first disc debuts studio recordings from 1967-1973, while the second disc premieres a full-length live concert, recorded April 18, 1970 at the Royal Albert Hall in London (on a bill that included Santana).

1) Chainey Do
2) Sweet Mama Janisse [Version]
3) Yan-Nah Mama-Loo
4) Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day
5) I Pity the Poor Immigrant
6) Jacob's Ladder
7) Ain't Gwine Whistle Dixie (Any Mo')
8) Sweet Mama Janisse [Version]
9) You Ain't No Streetwalker Honey But I Do Love the Way You Strut Your S
10) Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
11) Shady Grove
12) Butter
13) Runnin By the Riverside [Live]
14) John Ain't It Hard [Live]
15) Band Introduction [Live]
16) Sweet Mama Janisse [Live]
17) Big Fat [Live]
18) Diving Duck Blues [Live]
19) Checkin' Up on My Baby [Live]
20) Oh Susanna [Live]
21) Bacon Fat [Live]
22) Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day [Live]