Bath Review

Mick Taylor, Bath Pavillion

Bath International Guitar Festival

 Of all the great blues guitarists who appeared in the UK in the 1960's, none were ever more self-effacing than Mick Taylor.

After a career that has included stints with John Mayall, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, he is still something less than a household name. 

But as the full house at the Pavillion demonstrated last night, there is still a good number of people who appreciate his talents. With a finely drilled band featuring Max Middleton on piano, Michael Bailey on bass and Godfrey McLane on drums, Mick played a set that mixed some impressive original material with a few well-chosen covers.

Losing My Faith was an excellent gospel-tinged original, the kind that Eric Clapton excels at when he's got his eyes on the ball. Even better was his arrangement of You Gotta Move, the Mississippi John Hurt blues classic that the Stones covered memorably on Sticky Fingers.

Mick's arrangement started with a strong Indian flavour – Delta Blues from the Ganges rather than the Mississippi – before progressing through down home country blues and uptown city style, and  finished with a solid dose of Hendrix.

 The evening ended with a tremendous cover of Dylan's Blind Willie McTell and an equally impressive No Expectations, from the Stones Beggar's Banquet, followed by an extended jam on Can't You Hear Me Knocking, another diamond from Sticky Fingers.

 The evening began with an excellent set by Kevin Brown, Bath's own master of the slide guitar, who played highlights from Mohave Dust, his most recent album, as well as a few appetisers from his forthcoming release, Tin Church.

                                                                                                                        Matthew Zuckerman
                                                                                                                        The Bath Chronicle