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Taz Taylor Band: Pressure And Time
Taz Taylor Band - Pressure And Time CD Album Review

Taz Taylor Band: Pressure And Time

Melodic Hard Rock/AOR
5.0/5.0

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Escape Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 21.06.2017

While I've never heard of guitarist Taz Taylor, the man's been actively recording his music since 2004 beginning with an instrumental album Caffeine Racer. Two vocal albums followed, Welcome to America with Graham Bonnet on vocals and Straight Up with vocalist Keith Slack (MSG), both recordings released by Escape Music. After this, Taylor returned to more instrumental work with two more albums. For all these recordings, he formed a band and toured in support of them. Apparently the desire for vocal songs resurfaced. Also from Escape Music, Pressure And Time features Chandler Mogul (Outloud, Punky Meadows), one the best rock vocalists in the business and a personal favorite of mine.

Taz Taylor Band Photo

Taz Taylor Band

Needless to say, when I saw that Chandler Mogul was attached to this project, I was enthusiastic and all in. Then I heard Taylor's guitar chops. Wow, like holy shit wow. This guy can play some mean guitar, easily swaying from classic rock and metal lines to blues licks. If you're into guitar-centered albums like I am, you will want this album. Also, Taylor can craft some catchy tunes as well. Besides the sweet harmony and melody coming from his riffs and leads, Taylor easily spins in some slick hooks with the a tight rhythm and groove, swollen vocal arrangements, and tasty refrains. In other words, what you have with Pressure And Time is classic melodic hard rock, with significant and strong guitar work, and wrapped in AOR accessibility.

As for the songs, there's a fine variety, so here's a sampling. Some catchy rockers roll with Something Is Ending, Kissed By Elvis, and Redline Angel. Taylor drops in some blues groove within Ash And Bone, but even more so with Secrets You Got Over Me. Being the guitar wizard he is, Taylor also drops two instrumentals, the shorter Pressure and Time and the longer, more varied, A Moment Of Clarity. Additionally, he adds two cover songs. One is the iconic Prince song, Purple Rain. I'm not a Prince fan, but I can see why a guitarist would cover that song. The other cover is Blackfoot's Highway Song, where Mogul sounds amazing over the acoustic guitar. Similar is the closing song Astral Child, with Mogul's voice lighting over Taylor's gentle acoustic guitar. Suffice to say, and to repeat myself, Taz Taylor's Pressure And Time is a fine and entertaining album of classic melodic hard rock, with a significant and strong guitar presence. Easily recommended.

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The Bottom Line

Taz Taylor's Pressure And Time is a fine and entertaining album of classic melodic hard rock, with a significant and strong guitar presence. Easily recommended.

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