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.
.jpg)