Taylor Hicks comments on his new album, "The Distance"

Taylor Hicks offered a few comments on each track of his new CD, "The Distance". Make sure you pick up a copy next Tuesday, March 10 where ever CDs are sold!

"The Distance": "It's kind of like my version of `Born in the U.S.A. I think the message is clear; the distance between us and the world is closer than we think."

"What's Right Is Right": "Soul Song 101. The saxophone subtone in the solo is kind of like a little music lesson. You can really hear the instrument breathe. In the video for the song, I wanted to get across my idea of what true love is, when you know it's real. What happens to one person happens with another."

"New Found Freedom": "It's my take on a gospel number. I have strong gospel influences, so we worked that over and decided to bring in a gospel choir."

"Nineteen": "It's American and honest, the story of a war hero. Our war heroes sometimes happen to be 19 years old. I felt it was relevant right now."

"Once Upon a Lover": "I had been trying my hand at Latin music a bit, quietly to myself. I decided to go that way with this song, because the title is so strong and the idea behind the story is so strong. We have (bassist) Abe Laboriel Sr. and (drummer) Abe Laboriel Jr. playing on it. These are legendary Latin musicians, a father-and-son duo. I think that makes it pretty authentic."

"Seven Mile Breakdown": "Traveling to the west side of Mississippi in a conversion van with no air-conditioning in the middle of summer. That was the inspiration, and I have first-hand experience. Doyle (Bramhall II) plays a great slide guitar part in it."

"Maybe You Should": "I wrote that with Mike Reid, who's famous for `I Can't Make You Love Me' with Bonnie Raitt. It's one of those songs where we got chill bumps. It could end up being a career song for me."

"Keepin' it Real": "That's my tongue-in-cheek reference to pop culture. I got my ideas for it when I went to a local magazine stand."

"I Live on a Battlefield": "I see this as the traditional blues song on the record. It's got great lyrics and a great story. I thought that I would love to be able to tell that story in my own way."

"Wedding Day Blues": "That one's from Alan Little of Huntsville. Some of us might have had that experience - well, scratch that, it's just a great story. I think it could be a movie someday."

"Woman's Gotta Have It" (with Elliott Yamin): "I fell in love with Bobby Womack and that particular song. To a certain degree, there's a call-and-response on the original version, and I think both Elliott and I have a natural, soulful sound to our voices. There's no better pure vibrato sound than Elliott Yamin's way." Mary Colurso --

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