Post by jrmugz on Jul 26, 2015 10:16:20 GMT
OK, for my pick for this week it's Russ Taff's self-titled CD, from 1987.
He was a big CCM guy back then, made three mainstream pop-rock sounding CCM CDs, "Medals", "Russ Taff" (the one we're reviewing), and "The Way Home". Each of them fantastic.
All his stuff before and after those are southern gospel or country type of stuff whether with the Imperials, Gaither Vocal Band or solo, haven't really kept up with any of his stuff before or after the three CDs mentioned above.
This guy is all about the crooning, he's a great great singer, to me along the lines Gladys Knight meets Michael Bolton, but with southern gospel roots. His mom would sing in the church, and her style was all about getting an emotional reaction from people. So this guy learned about that kind of singing real early in life, and had a big effect on shaping his style. That's what I gather from his interviews and liner notes I have read over the years.
To make matters better for his albums, some genius guy names James Hollihan, I believe, was the musical mastermind behind the production, arrangements, and a lot of the songwriting and arrangements. So with the two of them working together, they certainly made a lot of magic for those three albums and at least a couple afterwards, with James on guitar and the other great musicians, IMHO. They made a good Christmas album too back then, a really good one, most outstanding version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" I've ever heard.
I hope you enjoy it, the sentiments seem to be universal on the CD from people I've talked to who have heard it. The main sentiment being "yeah, I can really relate to it." Kind of like Bruce Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town", one of those CDs down there with you in the trenches to get you through. When I saw one of his concerts in 1989 he said something like "Some people say it's a dark album. Well, yeah I guess if Daniel wrote an album from inside the lion's den, it would be pretty dark too." So apparently that's the type of situation that was happening in his life when the album was made, as reflected in the songs, seems to maybe have been a relationship issue maybe with his wife Tori, whom looks like he is still married to.
Well, to me the whole CD is like a therapeutic whole in a sense; but here's my take on each song:
01. "Shake" - Good bluesy rocker to set the somewhat serious and introspective tone of the CD. I LOVE the line that says "you can't package faith in some shrink to fit size". It reminds me of people who claim to be Christians and some of the watered-down beliefs they hold to and I have to say "O........ kay.....?"
02. "Walk Between the Lines" - Good song to me about going through hard times and reading The Bible. Maybe it means something else, but that's what I get out of "my heart is hitting hard upon The Word", though "The Word" is a name for Jesus, as well, in John 1:1 - "in the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God."
03. "Do You Believe in Love?" - A little more meaningful than Huey Lewis' song of that title apparently about asking someone for a one night stand. But regarding THIS song of that title, I really like it. I think a lot of people who have gone through a rough patch in their relationship can really relate to it. I remember when our engagement was on hold 1992, until we worked some stuff out, this one really hit home with me.
04. "Down in the Lowlands" - Fantastic cover of a great Charlie Peacock song. This is definitely the quintessential version of the song, IMHO. Continues the somewhat serious/dark tone of the CD.
05. "This Love is Strong" - Continues with the theme of "Do You Believe in Love?" it seems. I like the sparse but haunting keyboard notes touch at the beginning and repeated once or twice throughout.
06."I Still Believe" - Welcome to pop-rock paradise, hey mister mister. Breathtaking cover of a great great song by The Call. I need to check out more of their stuff, I guess they say Michael Been is an incredible songwriter, etc. Based on this song, I (still) believe it! Playing this song is, for me, like the ultimate pop-rock experience ever.
07. "Steal Away" - A very short bluesy take on a southern gospel standard. Seems to fit the theme of leaning on God during crisis times.
08. "Living on the Edge of Time" - First of what are in my book two of the most incredible songs on the CD. Totally cutting-edge, relevant, down to earth, musically aggressive, etc.
09. "Higher" - Just absolutely fantastic. Incredible, one of my all time favorite songs ever. Such soul, such depth, such profundity, and so well-performed. Definitely my favorite song on the CD. It calls me to be a better person without the sap of a song like MJ's "The Man in the Mirror", which I'm not necessarily knocking for the record.
10. "Breathe Life Into Me" - We've probably all been there.
11. "Healing Touch" - Seems to me like this song and the previous one are a good way to close a CD of somewhat serious nature like this one.
Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Prime Cuts: "I Still Believe", "Higher", "Living on the Edge of Time", "Down in the Lowlands"
Bottom Line: An authentic CCM pop-rock 80's CD, devoid of the usual cliches.
To me, it seems like one of those CDs where anyone who likes pop-rock music would be able to connect with at least one or two of the songs in some way or another.
I couldn't decide between presenting this CD or his previous one called "Medals" for this week. They're both incredible, though I think this one would definitely be the strongest of the two as it's very focused, etc. I'm sure I'll eventually get to putting up "Medals" on one of my turns for CD of the Week, as it's very good in it's own right.
Jim
----------------------
01. "Shake"
02. "Walk Between the Lines"
03. "Do You Believe in Love?"
04. "Down in the Lowlands"
05. "This Love is Strong"
06. "I Still Believe"
07. "Steal Away"
08. "Living on the Edge of Time"
09. "Higher"
10. "Breathe Life Into Me"
11. "Healing Touch"
He was a big CCM guy back then, made three mainstream pop-rock sounding CCM CDs, "Medals", "Russ Taff" (the one we're reviewing), and "The Way Home". Each of them fantastic.
All his stuff before and after those are southern gospel or country type of stuff whether with the Imperials, Gaither Vocal Band or solo, haven't really kept up with any of his stuff before or after the three CDs mentioned above.
This guy is all about the crooning, he's a great great singer, to me along the lines Gladys Knight meets Michael Bolton, but with southern gospel roots. His mom would sing in the church, and her style was all about getting an emotional reaction from people. So this guy learned about that kind of singing real early in life, and had a big effect on shaping his style. That's what I gather from his interviews and liner notes I have read over the years.
To make matters better for his albums, some genius guy names James Hollihan, I believe, was the musical mastermind behind the production, arrangements, and a lot of the songwriting and arrangements. So with the two of them working together, they certainly made a lot of magic for those three albums and at least a couple afterwards, with James on guitar and the other great musicians, IMHO. They made a good Christmas album too back then, a really good one, most outstanding version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" I've ever heard.
I hope you enjoy it, the sentiments seem to be universal on the CD from people I've talked to who have heard it. The main sentiment being "yeah, I can really relate to it." Kind of like Bruce Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town", one of those CDs down there with you in the trenches to get you through. When I saw one of his concerts in 1989 he said something like "Some people say it's a dark album. Well, yeah I guess if Daniel wrote an album from inside the lion's den, it would be pretty dark too." So apparently that's the type of situation that was happening in his life when the album was made, as reflected in the songs, seems to maybe have been a relationship issue maybe with his wife Tori, whom looks like he is still married to.
Well, to me the whole CD is like a therapeutic whole in a sense; but here's my take on each song:
01. "Shake" - Good bluesy rocker to set the somewhat serious and introspective tone of the CD. I LOVE the line that says "you can't package faith in some shrink to fit size". It reminds me of people who claim to be Christians and some of the watered-down beliefs they hold to and I have to say "O........ kay.....?"
02. "Walk Between the Lines" - Good song to me about going through hard times and reading The Bible. Maybe it means something else, but that's what I get out of "my heart is hitting hard upon The Word", though "The Word" is a name for Jesus, as well, in John 1:1 - "in the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God."
03. "Do You Believe in Love?" - A little more meaningful than Huey Lewis' song of that title apparently about asking someone for a one night stand. But regarding THIS song of that title, I really like it. I think a lot of people who have gone through a rough patch in their relationship can really relate to it. I remember when our engagement was on hold 1992, until we worked some stuff out, this one really hit home with me.
04. "Down in the Lowlands" - Fantastic cover of a great Charlie Peacock song. This is definitely the quintessential version of the song, IMHO. Continues the somewhat serious/dark tone of the CD.
05. "This Love is Strong" - Continues with the theme of "Do You Believe in Love?" it seems. I like the sparse but haunting keyboard notes touch at the beginning and repeated once or twice throughout.
06."I Still Believe" - Welcome to pop-rock paradise, hey mister mister. Breathtaking cover of a great great song by The Call. I need to check out more of their stuff, I guess they say Michael Been is an incredible songwriter, etc. Based on this song, I (still) believe it! Playing this song is, for me, like the ultimate pop-rock experience ever.
07. "Steal Away" - A very short bluesy take on a southern gospel standard. Seems to fit the theme of leaning on God during crisis times.
08. "Living on the Edge of Time" - First of what are in my book two of the most incredible songs on the CD. Totally cutting-edge, relevant, down to earth, musically aggressive, etc.
09. "Higher" - Just absolutely fantastic. Incredible, one of my all time favorite songs ever. Such soul, such depth, such profundity, and so well-performed. Definitely my favorite song on the CD. It calls me to be a better person without the sap of a song like MJ's "The Man in the Mirror", which I'm not necessarily knocking for the record.
10. "Breathe Life Into Me" - We've probably all been there.
11. "Healing Touch" - Seems to me like this song and the previous one are a good way to close a CD of somewhat serious nature like this one.
Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Prime Cuts: "I Still Believe", "Higher", "Living on the Edge of Time", "Down in the Lowlands"
Bottom Line: An authentic CCM pop-rock 80's CD, devoid of the usual cliches.
To me, it seems like one of those CDs where anyone who likes pop-rock music would be able to connect with at least one or two of the songs in some way or another.
I couldn't decide between presenting this CD or his previous one called "Medals" for this week. They're both incredible, though I think this one would definitely be the strongest of the two as it's very focused, etc. I'm sure I'll eventually get to putting up "Medals" on one of my turns for CD of the Week, as it's very good in it's own right.
Jim
----------------------
01. "Shake"
02. "Walk Between the Lines"
03. "Do You Believe in Love?"
04. "Down in the Lowlands"
05. "This Love is Strong"
06. "I Still Believe"
07. "Steal Away"
08. "Living on the Edge of Time"
09. "Higher"
10. "Breathe Life Into Me"
11. "Healing Touch"