"... an indie hit ... catchy pop and rock ... solid craftsmanship"
- Ben Ohmart, Senior Reviewer, musesmuse.com
" ... pop with pizzazz ... makes you want to replay each track."
- Nancy Snipper, The Chronicle - Montreal
"Twelve cuts gracefully shape the album ... "
"... Taylor is a strong songwriter in his own right."
- Josh Kazman - Splendid Ezine
"... a tightly-produced collection of pop and rock music."
- John Walters, The Front Porch NHPR
Others remain, literally, speechless:
" " - Rolling Stone
" " - Vibe Magazine
" " - Billboard
And why not? They've never heard this kind of music. Hey, they didn't even return my phone calls, never mind listen to my music.
ABOUT PRODUCTION: The album was recorded during 2001. The music tracks were recorded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada where there are simply some of the greatest musicians living. Things moved to New York City over the summer to produce the lead vocal tracks and add some additional backup singers. That was going marvelously until September 11th abruptly ended our Manhattan recording sessions. I'll never forget the view from the Brooklyn Bridge that day.
So, back it went to a studio in Montreal to wrap up the details. As if to add to the surrealism of things, CELINE DION was singing in the adjacent studio. Half the time I could hear her voice coming in through the air vents. I bumped into her in the studio lounge and joked that I had tried to use her as a background vocal... but she was in the wrong key. Yes, she's very nice. Of course we'd all be nice with that much money. Well, I mean, I'm already very nice. I'd just be even nicer (if that's possible).
SO, you're dying of curiosity to know what this Native Montrealer now living between Canada and the US sounds like. Or maybe you just need to pee and you really just wanna get the hell out of here.
It has been compared to PETER GABRIEL, JOE COCKER, STING, BONO, BRYNE. Then, there's that 'quirky' Canadian sense of humor. The CORE is pop/rock, Hot Adult, Top-40. Toe tapping stuff that will have you in the shop re-coning your speakers before you know it. Remember: 'Louder is not loud enough.'
Then, there are the "eclectic indulgences": a swinging AMERICANA (country-rock) shuffle, a seductive Latin flavored duet with the almost 'illegally-sensual' Angelique Desjardins singing in Spanish, a Tango ( SHUT UP! ) - can you say Tom Lehrer - about everyone's favorite love to hate it topic: Technology (my favorite line: "My things are beeping... I don't care").
Besides Absolutely Fabulous Moi! (I mean, that should be enough) ... there are the incredible session players like Ron Di Lauro on trumpet (Ron's played with Dizzy Gillespie, Zoot Sims) Kim Richardson on back vocals (she's worked with Barry White, Robert Palmer... to name a few) Pierre Dumont Gauthier on electric guitar (he toured with Celine Dion for years) and other j u s t g r e a t p e o p l e. You can find out more about who's on the album at www.moztaylor.com.
This is T H E C D to take on a long car trip and let it just rip. It's definitely one of the 10 albums I would want to have with me on a desert island. Of course I wrote it and sing it so you might think my opinion is biased. Noooo, just take my word for it... I'm professionally trained in 'objectivity.'
So let's review: It's great!
Thanks to those nice folks at CDBABY, you can just press a button to listen to 8 minutes of the album for free. Hey, now that's a deal. And if you like those 8 minutes enough, you can just record them 5 times in a row and you've got a 40 minute album.
And God knows, for some people, that's probably enough.
But if you wanna get the full, toe-tapping, "I laughed - I cried - I wrote a letter" effect then, by golly, 'slap that plastic down, man!' - 5 fingers, 1 mouse... Let The Dance Begin.
And let me know what you think... email me at moz@moztaylor.com and hey! I'm an interactive songwriter kind of guy. Suggest topics you'd like to hear me sing about, I'm working on my next album... you never know. Of course certain legalities about copyright may require me to deny ever having received such a suggestion from you, but ... my lawyer will call your lawyer. They'll do lunch, we'll pay.
Thanks for visiting... thanks for listening... and call your parents "just to say hi."
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