Interesting albums from the folk and roots music history, by Marius Roeting.
Singer-guitarist and composer Allan Taylor makes his debut at a time when folk song is still taken seriously. He produced two albums in about a year, on which a strong development can already be discerned. His debut Sometimes still sounds a bit uncertain at times, strongly referring to the then current idiom of the English folk singer, but apart from a few tracks Taylor plays his own work and no traditionals. Its successor The lady – apart from Iain Matthews’ closing track My lady – only features compositions by the young Taylor himself, a development which continues. Suddenly there is an album with a firmer approach, recorded in America, with American musicians. For two years, Taylor toured with a trio called Cajun Moon, which played a mix of American and British folk and country influences. Back in England, an interim album The Traveller follows before he starts his magnum opus. Roll on the day appears in 1980, at a time when interest in folk music is waning. But the solo performing Taylor knows how to hold his own in a circuit in which the small room gets just as much attention, if not more, than the larger halls. Roll on the Day features some of Taylor’s best songs: the impressive title track, a song that for the first time describes the “breathing struggles” of miners suffering from lung disease, and the haunting The Madman. He set a standard with this album, which he continued to build on conceptually for a long time. After Roll on the Day, he had another period in which he let himself accompany many songs with piano. But his songs with intrinsic, poetic observations are increasingly given a produced and polished touch, a formula with which he is still very successful, especially in Germany.
Allan Taylor – Sometimes – United Artists Records UAS 5529
1. The Pied Piper 3:27
Allan Taylor – The Lady – United Artists Records UAS 29275
2. Still He Sings 2:19
Allan Taylor – The American album – United Artists Records UAG 29468
3. Lead On, I’ll Follow (Belfast ’71) 4:22
Cajun moon – Cajun Moon – Chrysalis CHR 1116
4. Fiddler John 3:08
Allan Taylor – Roll on the day – Rubber Records RUB 040
5. Looking for You 2:28
6. Time 3:26
7. Give a Hand 3:48
8. For an Old Friend 2:41
9. The Madman 3:59
10. Standing at the Door 3:51
11. Driving Down to St. Tropez 2:30
12. Ballad for the Unknown Soldier 3:53
13. Hard to Tell 1:40
14. Taking It One Day at a Time 2:42
15. Roll On the Day 3:13
Allan Taylor – So Long – T.Records T004
16. Joseph 3:21
Allan Taylor – Out of time – T.Records T003
17. Scene from a corner cafe 6.31
All compositions Allan Taylor, except for track 1 (Allan Taylor, Myles Wootton) and track 4 (Taylor, Parker, Holland).
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