Search - Eric Taylor :: Resurrect

Excellence in Songcraft

02/15/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is an awesome example of the craft of song writing. Eric Taylor has taken experiences from his many years of traveling as a singer/songwriter and turned them to songs that tell the truth and make the listener feel warm inside."

Rotogravure

10/19/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Taylor1s music reminds me of an old rotogravure photograph. The textures are there, and the contrasting hues. And the images are crystal clear. But there1s something strangely monochromatic here. Perhaps it1s the bridges he1s building -(Taylor seems to be constructing some sort of personal edifice within his soul between his roots in Georgia and his adopted home of Texas) - the feel of his music is subtly complex, yet evokes a yearning for a simplicity which escapes most of us these days. As such, perhaps, his vision is broader than he would dare let on: that of poet, bridging the provincial folk music of the past with the yearning for a softer, more caring present and future in a world with little elbow room. But in straddling such cultural dilemmas, Taylor seems unable to spare himself the angst of the effort. Such inner and outer catalysts are often the spark to ignite dazzling creativity - hence Resurrect: one of the finest collections of music to be found anywhere. In 3Louis Armstrong1s Broken Heart2 you feel not only the sadness of a musician whose open heart and beautiful music belies the way he is portrayed as a caricature of himself in his waning years, but also the sadness of anyone who opens up his heart to a sometimes avaricious world. 3Texas, Texas2 allows the listener the feel and comfortable expanse of that great state as well as Cormac McCarthy or Larry McMurtry might do - small wonder, then, that Taylor feels so secure in that expanse. 3Birdland2 is as close as he comes on this disk to a lush arrangement, with its jazzy overtones and bopping beat. 3Strong Enough for Two2 expresses a sympathy for the disadvantaged rarely heard in folk music in recent years, yet composed and arranged with the accessibility of a pop tune. 3Four Great White Fathers2 is an upbeat return to the topical broadsides of yesteryear, in which Taylor brings a piece of the US1s troubled past into an inescapable focus. Even the tenderly rendered 3Comanche2 is not without the iconoclastic perspective of topical folk music. Taylor1s tunes are masterfully composed. The spare arrangements of this music (Taylor produced this disk) show his confidence in his own composing abilities as well as his able guitar playing and a voice as rich as old whiskey. But I find myself wondering what more could be done for this dazzling musical experience with colors and arrangements similar to those of his first disk."