Brenda Taylor – Buggy Ride

Critic By Blues & Rhythm

BRENDA TAYLOR & HER CHICAGO BLUES BAND: Buggy Ride Wolf CD120841 (48:14) Sweet Home Chicago! I Found Out/ Mama Talk To Your Son/ Better Look Out For Me! I’m Good! Help Me/ I’m Movin’ On! All Your Love! Baby, What You Want Me To Do/ I Feel So Bad! Smooth Ridin’ Buggy/ You Don’t Treat Me Right

We will forgive the artist for Including the opening number. that is well past Its sell by date, on this twelve-track outing that is a real Chicago blues outing. Recorded in the city in 2018, it has the late Eddie Taylor Jr, on guitar, Tim Taylor is the drummer. Freddie Dixon on bass and Illinois Slim and Harmonica Hinds on harmonica. All are steeped in the Chicago blues scene. in support of Brenda, who is one of the daughters of the late Eddie and Vera Taylor.

Brenda has four originals on the disc and they show she has considerable potential with her song writing skills. First Is the bouncy rhythm of ‘Better Look Out For Me’ where she threatens her partner serious damage for his wanderings, then there is ‘I’m Movin’ On’ with Its catchy shuffle rhythm, you have the classic Chicago lump de lump sounding ‘Smooth Ridin’ Buggy’, full of sexual Innuendo, and lastly the menacing sounding ‘You Don’t Treat Me Right’ which is a tale of a wronged woman.

As for the rest, the slow blues of ‘I Found Out’ is a Vera Taylor number. ‘I’m Good’ is from the pen of the late and great Bonnie Lee. ‘All Your Love’ Is the Otis Rush classic and Brenda and the band make a good job of the number with its complex arrangements. ‘I Feel So Bad’, with Its great catchy up-tempo rhythms, is one of Brenda’s father’s numbers. Throughout, the band offer some very good, never flashy, ensemble support. It is an album full of class4c Chicago blues with few if any modern leanings, and thus will appeal to the real deal blues lovers out there.

Mike Stephenson