Woman's Gotta Have It
Filmed at The Workplay Theater in Birmingham, AL 9-26-09 with Ona Watson.
Song available on Taylor's new album, The Distance.
On sale now! Pick your copy today!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

AllMusic's Review of Taylor Hick's "Early Works" CD

ALL-MUSIC Guide recently posted their official review of Taylor's "Early Works" CD. They gave a very fair and positive review which should attract folks reading about the album for the first time (3 1/2 stars out of 5). I loved the way he sensed a Stephen Stills/Van Morrison feel to a few of the songs. He calls the songs "sweet, folky singer/songwriter pop". I have a feeling Taylor's new album will be more in this vein than the first one on Arista. Taylor's music is *real* with *real instruments* - not synthesized prefabricated beats. A big thanks to Stephen Thomas Erlewine who reviewed this album without the obligatory comparison to anyone else. That really gets old and is completely unnecessary. Here is a fresh, clean opinion sans any comparisons. How nice. You can read it on their website, or I brought it over here for your convenience:

Review
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Officially released on CD late in 2008, long after his American Idol spotlight dimmed so dark he lost his major-label contract, Early Works reveals that Taylor Hicks was always a working musician, a no-fuss journeyman that cranked out soulful rock & roll, the kind that always sounds pretty good in a beer ad. That isn't much of a surprise: his Idol performances and post-Idolalbum suggested that he could always crank songs like "Soul Thing" and the softer "The Deal," a
Bob Seger-styled midtempo number that surfaced on his major-label effort and is here in an early incarnation that isn't that much different. What's surprising about Early Works is its strain of sweet, folky singer/songwriter pop, halfway between Van Morrison and Stephen Stills. Most of the record is in this vein - possibly because it's a sound that's easier to market than the soul-rock that made his name - and while it's just as classic rock in its own way as the barroom blues boogie that brought him fame, it does suggest a depth not quite heard in his Idol-era performances. It's still journeyman stuff - music marked by its dogged devotion not divine spark - but it's well-done, heartfelt and endearing, sounding like the work of a local boy made good.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good find, Griz!
Thanks for putting this up.
Fair and balanced....
Nice to read the good stuff!

juliegr said...

Thanks for finding a review of EW. Can't remember if there have been others.

Anonymous said...

Always nice to hear good things about Taylor.

I'm also glad to hear there were no comparisons to other idols or people.

tishlp said...

This is my favorite part,
"it does suggest a depth not quite heard in his Idol-era performances."

I suspect the new album will reveal even more of that depth.