Gilberto Gil & Jorge Ben - Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal was the 1972 hit of Jorge Ben but this is not that version. Instead this is a version from the Gil e Jorge album. This is the acoustic version, and probably the one that should be on your playlist. On the collaborative album both Gilberto Gil and Jorge Ben went into the studio together with an acoustic guitar each and recorded acoustic versions of each other’s hit songs and a few other new ones. Incidentally, Ben’s “hit “Taj Mahal” is recognizable (and was legally recognized in a plagiarism lawsuit) as the source of the melody in Rod Stewart’s hit “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” [via]

What sets this acoustic version apart is the fun they obviously had in the studio with this one. You can even “hear” them smile during their extended vocal play/harmonzing in the last half of the song. Love it. (ps is it just me or does it sound like they’re singing toucha myballs…)