Designed to be listened to as a single piece of music in ten parts, the new album has the song Hey Joe as its overriding theme. Made famous by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, who Taylor jammed with in Colorado, it’s performed in two different versions here. Audience reaction to Taylor’s take on this 1960’s classic has always been strong and the piece was greatly expanded in live performance, creating new extended arrangements. This fresh approach, indicative of his artistic fearlessness, is present on the new CD where song forms move into instrumental sections.
Notable guests include Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule) and Bill Nershi (The String Cheese Incident). Otis Taylor’s cutting edge sound balances music of the modern world with echoes of ancient Africa, Appalachia and more.