{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Infobox album | name = Bang That Bell | type = studio | artist = Melvin Taylor | cover =Bang That Bell.jpg | alt = | released = 1999 | recorded = | venue = | studio = Ardent | genre = Blues | length = | label = Evidence Music<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/melvin-taylor-the-slack-band-mn0000871602/biography|title=Melvin Taylor & the Slack Band Biography, Songs, & Albums|website=AllMusic}}</ref> | producer = John Snyder | prev_title = Dirty Pool | prev_year = 1997 | next_title = Rendezvous with the Blues | next_year = 2002 }} '''''Bang That Bell''''' is an album by the American musician Melvin Taylor, released in 2000.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hunter, Jr. |first1=Al |title=No Slack in Taylor's Guitar Virtuosity |work=Philadelphia Daily News |date=May 19, 2000 |department=Features Yo! |page=68}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VZufy6sKmN0C&pg=PA205|title=Today's Chicago Blues|first=Karen|last=Hanson|date=October 28, 2007|publisher=Lake Claremont Press}}</ref> He is credited with the Slack Band.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TURWt5WuQfEC&pg=PA961|title=Encyclopedia of the Blues: K-Z, index|first=Edward M.|last=Komara|date=October 28, 2006|publisher=Taylor & Francis US}}</ref> Taylor supported the album with a North American tour.<ref>{{cite news |title=Melvin Taylor to bring the blues to Muncie Civic Theatre |work=The Star Press |date=June 23, 2000 |page=D1}}</ref>
==Production== Produced by John Snyder, the album was recorded at Ardent Studios, in Memphis.<ref name=PG/><ref name="CA">{{cite news |last1=Ellis |first1=Bill |title=Your Feet Will Have a Memphis Tap with These National Releases |work=The Commercial Appeal |date=April 1, 2000 |page=F8}}</ref> Though mostly blues, it is marked by more prominent jazz, funk, and rock influences.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SPvhCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA86|title=More Blues Singers: Biographies of 50 Artists from the Later 20th Century|first=David|last=Dicaire|date=December 19, 2001|publisher=McFarland}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Christiano |first1=Nick |title=A Young Blues Man On the Rise |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=May 19, 2000 |page=W30}}</ref> Eric Gales played guitar on the album; Sugar Blue played harmonica.<ref name=CA/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Andrews |first1=Marke |title=Blues |work=Vancouver Sun |date=June 17, 2000 |page=E21}}</ref> "Trick Bag" is a cover of the Earl King song.<ref name="auto">{{Cite magazine|url=https://jazztimes.com/archives/melvin-taylor-and-the-slack-band-bang-that-bell-2/|title=Melvin Taylor and the Slack Band: Bang That Bell|first=Bill|last=Milkowski|magazine=JazzTimes}}</ref> "If You're Goin' to the City" was written by Mose Allison.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Beebe |first1=Mike |title=Blues |work=The Buffalo News |date=April 21, 2000 |page=G16}}</ref> "Even Trolls Love Rock & Roll" is a cover of the Tony Joe White tune; "A Quitter Never Wins" is by Tinsley Ellis.<ref name=DF/><ref>{{cite news |title=These 2 New Releases Offer Something Different |work=Telegraph Herald |agency=AP |date=June 8, 2000 |page=B14}}</ref>
==Critical reception== {{music ratings |rev1 = AllMusic |rev1score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bang-that-bell-mw0000059870|title=Melvin Taylor & the Slack Band Bang That Bell|website=AllMusic}}</ref> |rev2 = ''DownBeat'' |rev2score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Point |first1=Michael |title=Melvin Taylor: Bang That Bell |magazine=DownBeat |date=Sep 2000 |volume=67 |issue=9 |page=64}}</ref> |rev3 = ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' |rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref name="CL">{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=8 |page=68}}</ref> |rev4 = ''The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings'' |rev4score = {{rating|2.5|4}}<ref name="PG">{{cite book |title=The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings |date=2006 |publisher=Penguin Books Ltd |page=633}}</ref> }} ''JazzTimes'' noted that "for sheer guitar heroics and fretboard flash, it’s hard to beat Melvin Taylor."<ref name="auto"/> The ''Daily Herald'' opined: "With its cartoonish cover artwork and more party-oriented songs, it sounds specifically tailored to a rock audience impressed by more bland guitar technicians like Kenny Wayne Shepherd."<ref name="DH">{{cite news |last1=Guarino |first1=Mark |title=Taylor tailoring |work=Daily Herald |date=April 7, 2000 |department=Time Out! |page=4}}</ref> The ''Star Tribune'' determined that Taylor's "funk is fiery and fertile, his rock is about punch and substance rather than idle flash, and his jazz detours are potent and legit."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Surowicz |first1=Tom |title=Blues |work=Star Tribune |date=September 22, 2000 |department=Free Time |page=10}}</ref>
The ''Toronto Star'' wrote that "a galloping four-piece group primes Taylor continuously, Norris Johnston making keyboards wail hard, and the boss ... is quick, uses the axe's full range and specializes in hard-bent notes."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chapman |first1=Geoff |title=Guitarist no ordinary slack artist |work=Toronto Star |date=May 6, 2000 |page=M9}}</ref> The ''Detroit Free Press'' determined that "''Bang That Bell'' sees him inching closer to Robert Cray territory, where blues meets soul for some serious storytelling."<ref name="DF">{{cite news |last1=Lawson |first1=Terry |title=Blues |work=Detroit Free Press |date=June 4, 2000 |page=G5}}</ref> ''The Dispatch–Argus'' opined that the Slack Band "are as tight as any band around."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kell |first1=Ellis |title='Bang That Bell', Melvin Taylor and the Slack Band |work=The Dispatch–Argus |date=April 2, 2000 |department=Life}}</ref>
AllMusic wrote that "Taylor is undoubtedly blues-oriented, but his music is also fueled by bursts of jazz, R&B, funk, and distorted wah-wah-inflected rock."<ref name="auto1"/>
==Track listing== {{Track listing | all_writing = | title1 = Bang That Bell | length1 = | title2 = Love Is a Gamble | length2 = | title3 = Another Bad Day | length3 = | title4 = It's Later Than You Think | length4 = | title5 = My Life | length5 = | title6 = Trick Bag | length6 = | title7 = If You're Goin' to the City | length7 = | title8 = Don't Cloud Up on Me | length8 = | title9 = A Quitter Never Wins | length9 = | title10 = Even Trolls Love Rock & Roll | length10 = }}
==References== {{reflist}}
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Category:Melvin Taylor albums Category:2000 albums Category:Evidence Music albums