Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo' - Room On The Porch

 

Taj Mahal and Keb Mo — Room On The Porch

Roots and blues musical legends return for the follow-up to TajMo

It's been nearly a decade since Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo' teamed up for their collaborative debut, TajMo, and though the album was a runaway success — it won a Grammy Award, garnered rave reviews, and spawned a massive joint tour of the U.S. and Europe — neither artist ever expected to record a follow-up.

"That first album turned out so great that part of me wondered if maybe we just got lucky," Keb' says with a laugh. "I always figured it was a one-time thing. But when we got back into the studio together, I felt that same magic again, and I realized it wasn't luck at all."

Recorded in Nashville with Keb' and Taj co-producing, Room On The Porch finds the pair in peak form, playing to each other's strengths and opening up new creative horizons more than a half-century into their storied careers. The songs are warm and inviting here, rooted in the joy of human connection and the power of positivity, and the performances are as timeless as they are adventurous, incorporating the full spectrum of American roots music from blues and jazz to folk and country. Keb' and Taj invited an all-star group of players, singers, and co-writers (including their sons) to join them in the studio for the sessions, but the spotlight remains firmly fixed on the legendary pair throughout the collection, their instantly recognizable voices and guitar stylings complementing and elevating each other at every turn. The result is a delightful, big-hearted work that manages to feel both classic and current all at once, an album rooted in deep tradition delivered by two icons with a boundless appetite for growth, reinvention, and discovery.

"The two of us collaborating has always been a very organic thing," Taj reflects. "We have different skill sets that go well together, and even though it'd been a while since we'd played together, it was easy to get back to that same creative place we landed with the first album."

Though the two only began recording together as TajMo in 2017, the pair's creative relationship (and mutual admiration) stretches back decades.

"Taj Mahal has always been one of my favorite artists," Keb' explains. "I first heard his music during my senior year of high school, and it had a profound effect on me. His playing was immediately imprinted on my psyche."

Rather than rest on their considerable laurels, Taj and Keb' decided to continue pushing themselves into new creative territory with Room On The Porch, writing and recording the bulk of the album from scratch over the course of just two weeks in the studio.

"Taj writes from a very spontaneous place, but I'm all about preparation, so this was a brand new way of working for me," Keb' explains. "It was honestly a little frightening, but I figured if we surrounded ourselves with talented people and really trusted each other, we'd come up with something special, and that's exactly what happened."

"It was like a party every day," adds Keb', who later put the finishing touches on the album at his own home studio. "We had our sons in there playing with us and all the other musicians and writers were hanging the whole time, so it was a really fun place to be."

The excitement is palpable on Room On The Porch, which feels just as fresh and revelatory as the pair's debut. No luck required.

 

1. Room on the Porch (feat. Ruby Amanfu)

2. My Darling My Dear

3. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out

4. She Keeps Me Movin’

5. Make Up Your Mind

6. Thicker Than Mud

7. Junkyard Dog

8. Blues’ll Give You Back Your Soul

9. Better Than Ever

10. Rough Time Blues

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