Johnnie Taylor, Live & No Foolin’
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007Some folks prefer to listen to music recorded in the controlled environment of the studio, which generally provides the opportunity to clean up or record over any mistakes in execution and thereby to present the music in its best possible face.
I’m not one of those folks. I’m among those who prefer music recorded in a live setting. Whatever live recordings might sacrifice in terms of sonic perfection (unless they’re subsequently overdubbed or recorded over) seems more than compensated for by the energy that comes from spontaneous creation and interplay that can happen onstage, between the musicians, and between the musicians and the audience.
Which brings us to Johnnie Taylor Live at the Summit Club, among the first new releases by the rejuvenated Stax label in 2007, which documents Taylor’s complete September 1972 set at a funky little Los Angeles nightspot. Filmed footage of Taylor’s legitimately smokin’ finale “Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone” was inserted into the Wattstax concert documentary and ended up one of the film’s musical highlights. But except for that one song on that soundtrack, this is the first time this music has been released.
Live at the Summit is not fascinating for its note-perfect performances, because there aren’t any. What IS fascinating is getting to hear JT chide, coax, and cajole the band into shaping the music to his needs without diluting his powerful stage command one tiny bit. You can’t really hear Taylor telling the band all about it unless you’re listening for it. But, boy, it’s there to hear.
Things begin promisingly enough with the finger-poppin’ hip shaker “Take Care of Your Homework,” deep bass drum and bass guitar kicking its groove forward. But after Taylor’s famous blues “Little Bluebird,” he steps forward to introduce “Steal Away,” and says to the band AND the crowd: “Let me put a little spice in this thing - hold it, please. Let me put a little spice up in this thing, we’ve been draggin’ here all night.”
Someone counts off four, the band wades into the groove, the background vocalists come in, to whom Taylor responds: “Wait a minute, don’t nobody say nothing. No, no, don’t say nothing. We’re gonna set this groove here. Come on, rhythm! Come ON, rhythm! We’re gonna set this rhythm!”
After the band chugs through most of the tune, Taylor asks the rhythm section to back off the throttle just a bit: “Wait a minute, rhythm. I want y’all to wait a minute. Everybody quiet now, for a minute. I want to talk to the audience. I think I could get a better understanding out of the audience here right now…”
“I think I could get a better understanding out of the audience here right now”?!? If that’s not ripping your band a new one onstage with a smile, I don’t know what is!
Yet it’s fascinating, because even though Live at the Summit Club seems from these circumstances like it should be a complete disaster, it’s not. Not even close. Taylor the soul showman simply triumphs over it all. He pulls the crowd into “Who’s Making Love” to fuel this crackling uptempo blues with their enthusiastic vocals and soul-clapping. He even seems to eventually pound that first version of “Steal Away” into suitable shape, although a second whack at it proves almost more problematic later in the set. (Here Taylor jokes, “Even my conductor wants to ‘Steal Away’ - he forgot what’s happening.” Kind of jokes, anyway. I think.)
Taylor’s vocal and interaction with the crowd during “Hello Sundown” is a simply magnificent live blues performance. He testifies to the power of his lovesick blues with the conviction of a gospel preacher: “Every now and then, everybody gets the blues sometime. Now, if you ain’t never had the blues, you ain’t got no soul. Because you know, sometimes your woman can hurt you so bad. And, girls, sometimes your man can treat you so mean…” then later jiving the women and the men about pulling in some sweet forbidden stuff on the side. Even if Mister T. constantly tries to cue the guitar player by vocalizing a blues rhythm guitar riff all through the tune, and every single time the guitar player wobbles off in a different direction.
Nobody, not even Lee Hildebrand whose notes accompany this release, seems to know for sure if this band came with Taylor from his Dallas hangouts, if Taylor hired musicians in LA for this show, or if this band was a combination of both. But there’s absolutely no doubt as to who was The Man in Charge on this particular evening, Live at the Summit Club.
