Taj Mahal – Music Keeps Me Together (1975) (24/44 Vinyl Rip)

Mr. Mark Deming from Allmusic doesn't seem to like it so much, but for me it's a very entertaining record just because of the style and rhythm changes and also because of the excellent musicians.

Review from Allmusic:
Taj Mahal had displayed a keen interest in African and Caribbean music along with the country blues that was the foundation of his sound on his first several albums, so it was no great surprise that he'd become enamored of reggae by the mid-'70s, and Music Keeps Me Together found him working with Earl "Wire" Lindo, the keyboard man and arranger who had accompanied the likes of Bob Marley, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Burning Spear. The tough but sensuous pulse of Jamaican music certainly makes itself felt on Music Keeps Me Together, but Mahal seems reluctant to dive into it headfirst – "My Ancestors" and "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" are both skank-heavy, but "Further on Down the Road" fuses reggae with blues and funk until all the elements have been diluted too far, and the title cut (written by Lindo) sounds curiously indecisive about its stylistic direction. Elsewhere, "Why? … and We Repeat Why? … and We Repeat!" plays more like fusion jazz than anything else (with all the lack of bite that description implies); "Roll, Turn, Spin" (a Joseph Spence cover) bears faint echoes of Afro-beat; and "When I Feel the Sea Beneath My Soul" feels more like calypso, though with the energy brought down to the level of a quiet ocean breeze. The diversity of Mahal's music has always been a key element of his recordings, but Music Keeps Me Together goes in plenty of directions without sounding especially engaged with any of them, and the polished performances only add to the aimless tone of this album. This music may keep Taj Mahal together, but it doesn't do that much for his listeners.

Tracks
A1 Music Keeps Me Together 3:39
A2 When I Feel the Sea Beneath My Soul 3:06
A3 Dear Ladies 6:05
A4 Aristocracy 2:29
A5 Further on Down the Road 3:24
A6 Roll, Turn, Spin 4:44
B1 West Indian Revelation 6:57
B2 My Ancestors 4:06
B3 Brown-Eyed Handsome Man 3:43
B4 Why? … And We Repeat. Why? … And We Repeat! 7:15
Total Time: 44:48

Musicians
Taj Mahal: Vocals, Guitar, Banjo, Electric Piano, Piano, Mandolin, Production
Hoshal Wright: Guitar
Bill Rich: Bass
Ray Fritzpatrick: Bass
Earl Lindo: Keyboards
Rudy Costa: Clarinet, Saxophone
Kwasi Dzidzornu: Congas
Larry McDonald: Congas
Kester Smith: Drums, Percussion
Larry McDonald: Percussion