Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal’s 1968 debut was a revelation, blending blues with rock, funk, and soul. On most of the album, he’s covering tunes by legends like Robert Johnson and Sonny Boy Williamson. But while he does an incredible job of laying down some tough Chicago-style tracks, he also sneaks in some inspired modernizations, such as adding a Stax-like soul stomp to Sleepy John Estes’ “Everybody’s Got to Change Sometime” or putting some fierce funk inflections into another Estes tune, “Milk Cow Blues” (here renamed “Leaving Trunk”).

Taj Mahal's debut album was a startling statement in its time and has held up remarkably well.