Rock and Roll Joe

There are songwriters with more melodic voices and some with more chart success, but few are as consistently interesting as Chip Taylor. Best known as the writer of “Wild Thing” and “Angel of the Morning,” and more recently as an Americana artist, Taylor is never complacent. His 7 Days in May told of his complicated romance with a young French woman, the topical Black and Blue America channeled U.S. history and Yonkers, NY revisited his childhood. This is not a man who just strings songs together.
It’s little wonder, then, that his new album Rock And Roll Joe is similarly ambitious, recognizing the unsung heroes of rock music. Joined by Kendel Carson and long-time guitarist John Plantania, Taylor salutes Savoy Records players on “The Savoy Files,” revisits his own Hollies hit “I Can’t Let Go,” teases Plantania for leaving him to play with Van Morrison on “The Van Song” and celebrates the musician’s union on “The Union Song.” Whew.
Like all of Chip Taylor’s work, there’s a rough-hewn and almost off-the-cuff feel here. That intimacy – and Taylor’s sincerity – give Rock and Roll Joe its charm.
(Be sure to check out the companion website. It’s a terrific collection of essays about the largely uncelebrated musicians, writers and producers who transformed rock.)