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"Taylor has become a strong,
sensuous presence on stage,
not by developing a shtick
but by engaging the audience eye
to eye and soul to soul." --- Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Jeffrey Pepper Rogers
I first heard these songs from
two feet away at a song swap
in the round in a small wooden
room near my hometown, and
they knocked me right off my
chair. Louise is singing from a
place about half a mile below
where she stands and drawing
influences from about nine miles
up. Plus they all get channeled
through that voice and those
hands. holy *%#@$ smokes!"
"Taylor brings a new sophistication
and eclecticism to her
music, which reaches beyond
simple folk constructions and
references such diverse musical
idioms as African rhythms, world
music, blues and percussive jazz.
Taylor's guitar work is front and
center on this collection of songs
which represents a unique talent
coming of age in contemporary
music." Some songwriters sit down to write today's version of what they do. Others apparently pick up their guitar and consider "Where do we go from here?"
Louise Taylor is not inclined to
jump through anyone's hoops, and
is not disposed to repeating herself.
She is an unbridled creative
spirit, with a soulful and transcendent
voice, and a rare feel for the
guitar. Her sensual rhythm on her
earlier records and her fingerstyle
approach on her later ones
embody a real connection to her
axe. I've known people with fantastic
chops who still didn't seem
inside their instrument. But Louise
Taylor really owns that thing, she
rides it like a horse, she's driving
it and her voice, it's coming out of
the person, the whole person, not
just the throat or the lungs. You
can hear all she's been and all
she's seen.
"The first time I heard her she
was very good; the second or
third time I heard her here
she stunned me. She has the
ability to take you inside her music
so far you are completely lost in it.
That’s as good as it can get for a
listener."
The album's real difference--
the velvet--shows up on
pieces like the title cut and
"Maps of Venice." The lyrics may
say "singer-songwriter," but the
colorings of the soundscape are
pure jazz with Taylor offering
subtle vocals. Many of the lyrics,
as in "Call My Name," are
impressionistic and spare, and
Taylor relies heavily on vocal
nuance and fresh arrangements to
get her emotional message across.
When Louise Taylor reaches
within herself to express a
song, the world seemingly
comes to a halt. Her music is
inherently sincere, drawing on her
life experience for sustenance and
inspiration. "Taylor seems to have
mastered a unique, sensuous and
deeply personal path with her
music, songwriting and beautiful
voice."
Showcasing her deep, often
sultry, always drenched with
feeling voice and her innovative
guitar tunings, "Velvet Town"
opens with "Something Like This,"
a song reminiscent of vintage Joan
Armatrading… From there, Taylor
airs out her passionate voice on a
dozen-song trip as good as you'll
find. More bluesy from beginning
to end than her previous works, at
times she sounds akin to
Cassandra Wilson other times like
Bonnie Raitt, but always like
classic Louise Taylor.
"Taylor's songs fall together like
interleaved chapters in a book
of life experiences." Discography:
Velvet Town 2003 |