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| | Koko Taylor: Royal Blue - PopMatters Music Review |
 | | Taylor knows it, too, and Royal Blue is a head-held-high celebration of her stellar 30-year career as a mainstay of the Chicago blues scene, full of star-power guests like B.B. King, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Keb' Mo', and Johnnie Johnson. |
 | | Koko's voice is as fine as ever, still beautifully raspy and evocative, and it's telling that during her duet with B.B. King on "Blues Hotel", I couldn't wait for B.B. to quit singing so Koko could get back in front of the microphone. |
 | | Royal Blue is Chicago blues, through-and-through -- there's one countryish traditional song on here, "The Man Next Door", a beautiful, slow tune of Koko's that features just her wonderful voice and the musical accompaniment (and singing) of Keb' Mo', but beyond that, this is definitely city blues, as gritty as the streets of Chicago. |
| www.popmatters.com /music/reviews/t/taylorkoko-royal.shtml (490 words) |
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