Taj Mahal LP Columbia CS 9579 RE Ry Cooder Jesse Ed Davis Archival Sleeve This is Taj's Best Essencial.    70s yellow Columbia border on label pressing sounds great
Taj Mahal is the debut album by American guitarist and vocalist . Recorded in 1967, it contains  songs by , , and  reworked in contemporary blues- and folk-rock styles. Also included is Taj Mahal's adaptation of 's "", which inspired the popular  recording.

Taj Mahal, who provides the vocals and blues harmonica, is backed by guitarists  and .   released the album in February 1968 to favorable reviews, however, it did not reach the album charts

Music critic Bruce Eder gave the album five out of five stars. In his review for , Eder described it as "as hard and exciting a mix of old and new blues sounds as surfaced on record … in what had to be one of the most quietly, defiantly iconoclastic records of 1968."

In a music review of Taj Mahal reissues for , Tony Scherman gave the album an "A" and wrote that the album "explodes with high spirits; of Taj’s 30-plus albums, it might be the best

 – vocals, harmonica,   – lead guitar, slide guitar  – rhythm guitar, mandolin Bill Boatman – rhythm guitar James Thomas – bass Gary Gilmore – bass Sanford Konikoff – drums Chuck "Brother" Blackwell – drums
Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr. (born May 17, 1942), better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American  musician. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments, often incorporating elements of  into his work. Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his more than 50-year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, , Hawaii, and the South Pacific

Mahal moved to Santa Monica, California, in 1964 and formed  with fellow  musicians  and Jessie Lee Kincaid, landing a record deal with  soon after. After the Rising Sons disbanded, , a native from Oklahoma, joined Taj Mahal and played guitar and piano on Mahal's first four albums. The group was one of the first interracial bands of the period, which may have hampered their commercial viability. However, Rising Sons bassist  later recalled the band's members had come to a creative impasse and were unable to reconcile their musical and personal differences even with the guidance of veteran producer . They recorded enough songs for a full-length album, but released only a single and the band soon broke up.  did release The Rising Sons Featuring Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder in 1992 with material from that period. During this time Mahal was also working with other musicians like , , , and .

Mahal stayed with Columbia for his solo career, releasing the self-titled Taj Mahal and The Natch'l Blues in 1968. His track "" was featured on side 2 of the very successful Columbia/CBS , , giving a huge early impetus to his career.