
HIDDEN TREASURES / LIVE FROM ROYAL ALBER - Taj Mahal
Audio Mixer: Todd Whitelock.Liner Note Author: Miles Mellough.Recording information: The Royal Albert Hall (04/18/1970).Photographers: Bob Cato; Chris Walter.In celebration of his 70th birthday, The Hidden Treasures of Taj Mahal 1969-1973 is the first of a series of volumes issued by Legacy that will eventually encompass his entire Columbia catalog. Hidden Treasures consists of a studio disc and a live one. The studio set contains a dozen tracks that were rejected from the final versions of Mahal's albums for various reasons, as well as alternate takes. All tracks are unreleased. The quality of the material can be slightly uneven, but that's to be expected (being rejects after all). That said, disc one is not without sufficient charm, and even revelatory moments. Its first four tracks feature Mahal and guitarist Jesse Ed Davis in the company of Jim Dickinson's Dixie Flyers. "Chainey Do" and the first of the two alternate takes of "Sweet Mama Janisse" are excellent showcases for Davis i