Flashback Friday: Return of The Clone Prince

No I didn't spell the title wrong, the word is cloned. No, this isn't a Bob Dylan Post. Don't worry, things will become clearer soon. I could have used Send in The Clones or A Clone Again (Naturally).

Earlier in our Flashback Friday journey we met Randy Stonehill, someone whom, while a great musician, also had a fairly warped sense of humor, and has been the counterbalance to the often over serious CCM Universe. While Uncle Randy may have been Christian Music's Clown Prince, our latest subject excelled not in humor but in biting satire.

Roland Steven Taylor was born December 9, 1957 in Southern California, the son of a Pastor. The family soon up an moved to Denver Colorado. Maybe it was a mis-wiring of the brain, maybe it was the lack of oxygen in Denver. Whatever the reason, it is quite obvious that Steve (aren't you glad he didn't go by Roland) Taylor doesn't think like the typical Christian, and while the Industry may have rued the day he was born, Christian College Students and DJ's loved him.

One of the few Academic Elites of Christian Music (alright, alright, he was a Music Major). He started his adult career as a Youth Minister and Janitor at his father's Church. Musically he says The Clash, specifically London Calling "saved his life". While at Colorado University he recorded a few demo songs, and he went to Southern California after graduation to try to get signed by a mainstream label. He was unsuccessful, but one man, Jim Chaffee, was impressed and got him a job as assistant director of The Continentals.


Anyone who knows of Taylor's music knows he wasn't anything like the continentals. Chaffee got him another job, this time with Chuck Bolte's Jeremiah People, a Musical Comedy Troupe with heavy doses of satire. I remember them back in the 80's. They were great. Of course for pure comedy value Isaac Air Freight was superior.

Chaffee's Cheer leading finally paid off when he convinced Tayor's first boss, Cam Floria, founder of The Continentals, to give Taylor a two song slot at his Christian Artists Conference in Estes Park, Colorado. Maybe it was the home crowd, but the Crowd Acclaim convinced Billy Ray Hearn, President of Sparrow Records, to sign Taylor as he came off the stage.

Clone Wars 

I Want To Be A Clone (1983) was a hit. The Six Song EP sold 85,000 copies, and in an industry dominated at the time by The Imperials, that was quite a showing. Christian Kids everywhere were introduced to attitude. Taylor launched his sarcastic wit directly on the Church, as Clone focused on the Christian Churches penchant for turning out cookie cutter Christians. Churchianity as it is called. Let Taylor tell you in his own way.

 Taylor's Meltdown

Meltdown (1984) was Taylor's full length debut, and anyone worried that he couldn't find enough targets to fill an album needn't have worried. The title cut focused on our celebrity obsession, and was sparked by a trip to Madame Tussuad's Wax Museum. He saw the statues and wondered "What would happen if someone turned up the heat". Kids, remember, he only THOUGHT it. Due to clone's success he decided to form a permanent touring band. He raided the studio musicians from clone to do it, and lest we forget who was the real star, he named them Some Band, as in Steve Taylor and Some Band. Meltdown was Taylor's first Music Video, and it also "starred" Lisa Welchel (The Facts of Life) in a supporting role as a TV Reporter.

Two memorable songs came out of Meltdown. While the title cut focused on our obsession with celebrity, the other song targeted bigotry in the Church, and apartheid as well. This is We Don't Need No Color Code Taylor was on a roll, and he kept up a pace of an album a year. Taylor's fertile mind, 80's Pop Culture, and the budding Televangelism Scandals, provided plenty of material for Taylor's Wit to focus on. For On The Fritz (1985) Taylor, in a most memorable "Fashion" turned his satire on the Public School system and the practice of teaching "Values Clarification". to the young skulls full of mush. For the song "Lifeboat" and its accompanying Music Video, Taylor enlisted the support of Mrs. Aryan "the world's ugliest woman". See if you agree. Even though I went to Public School, I seem to have missed out on the Lifeboat game. That's not saying I had to fight liberal indoctrination. Even though I wasn't tasked with deciding who lives and who dies, I did hear about "situational ethics". You know the drill "In certain situations Lying, Stealing, Cheating, etc is the best thing to do. People's feelings will be hurt or worse if you told them the truth. For the poster boy of the teaching, look no further than our 42nd President, William Jefferson Clinton.

1986 brought Limelight, a filler EP recorded in London during the 1985 Greenbelt Festival. 1987 Gave us "I Predict, 1990, an album which was more controversial than successful. It was attacked for its cover by some who thought that there were images of Tarot Cards on it (there weren't). Jimmy Swaggart included an entire chapter of his book Religious Rock and Roll, A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing on Taylor, and even the NOW gang was outraged when they protested against the song I Blew Up The Clinic Real Good. Considering that Taylor's forte was Satire, that meant that the NOW gang actually was protesting for bombing, since Taylor was saying it was wrong. Tayor Retired soon after I Predict, 1990, but soon resurfaced as frontman of the MCA band Chagall Guevara (don't be ashamed if you can't pronounce it). This is Violent Blue Taylor returned for one more album, Squint in 1993. This is Cash Cow.


Taylor has had a very busy retirement. He has produced 5 Newsboys albums, as well as Guardians Buzz and Bottle Rocket, among others, and his Label Squint Entertainment brought both Sixpence None The Richer and Chevelle to the limelight. That's a nice ending Cash Cow-Hat's off to the bull.

Recently Taylor has turned to the Movies. He is the Director of Blue Like Jazz, which came out this year. Of course his fans wish, even now, that he would make another album. We need his satire more today than ever. After all there is only one Steve Taylor. We can't clone him.
UPDATE 2014: The Clone Prince Is Back. He's still working with Peter Furler and Guardian and the like, but like a true artist, he just cant stay retired. His latest band is called Steve Taylor and The Perfect Foil. The Debut album, and its video is called Goliath. That is it for this week. I Am Awaiting Your Reply.
 

#PlatVnyl3 - Album of The Year

The Album of The Year is given to the album which shone above all others. While all the winners of the Platinum Vinyl Awards contain a certain "wow factor", the Album of the Year, well, does the Big O mean anything to you? Every one of the 10 nominated albums was given a Perfect 5 Emerald Ranking.

• Arise : The Live Worship Experience, William McDowell
• Current , Sarah Macintosh
• Evanescence , Evanescence
• Feel The Power , Blessed By A Broken Heart
• Hats Off To The Bull , Chevelle
• Make It Right , Abel
• Overcome , Lara Landon
• Remembering You , Poema
• True Defiance , Demon Hunter
• Wait for the Siren , Project 86

There was no "first entry bias" as the nominees came from all 4 Quarters in a 3-2-2-3 fashion. Hard Rock had 3 nominees, Rock and Alternative each contributed 2, and Gospel, Pop and Adult Contemporary each contributed a single nominee. Also only three of the entries won their genre. These 10 would be battling to join last years inaugural winner, Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars. That's some big shoes to fill.

The first round of voting knocked out four of the contenders, and two genres. Gone was the sister act Poema and Gospel's McDowell. Hard Rock was reduced to one as both Demon Hunter and the boss's favorite, 80's Hare Metal Band Blessed by a Broken Heart. Did I ever tell you how much I love the 80's?

Destiny would not be with Demon Hunter, but it did wash over the category like a flood. A comeback album, the first release in five years. Songs that touch our darkest moments, vocals which chill spine and soul. The true Revenge of The Fallen. The Winner of This Years Platinum Vinyl Award for Album of The Year is EVANESCENCE.

Music Video Monday: What You Want

Welcome to the Latest Edition of Music Video Monday. Last Monday I mentioned that I had hoped to make a combined post of Hard Rock and Rock. Alas, just when I thought that there weren't enough Videos for a Hard Rock post, I find them. Not to Leave Rock Undone, It got moved back a week, as well as the beginning of the 2nd Quarter Videos.

The Big Names for this weeks videos are Chevelle and Evanescence. We begin with the former. From the album by the same name, this is Hats off to The Bull.

Seventh Day Slumber has always been good for some driving rock with an upbeat and hopeful message. And now they have a Chick bassist too. Talia Haughn. This is Wasted Life.

I think I will create an EvEm Sandwich. An Emery Video between two Amy Lee/Evanescence Gems. I will depart from my pattern of using a Title Teaser to introduce the last video. This is What You Want, the first music video off of Evanescence self titled album.

Now we have Emery looking into The Cheval Glass

And finally we come back to Evanescence and My Heart is Broken. One thing with Amy Lee, she does express sorrow and heartbreak very, very well. You really feel the hurt. It's a good thing Amy only has two videos out from the new album. I could make a post just of her stuff alone. Yes, I'm a big fan.

That concludes this weeks edition of Music Video Monday. Until next week, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Flashback Friday: Everybody Must Get Cloned

No I didn't spell the title wrong, the word is cloned. No, this isn't a Bob Dylan Post. Don't worry, things will become clearer soon. I could have used Send in The Clones or A Clone Again (Naturally).

Earlier in our Flashback Friday journey we met Randy Stonehill, someone whom, while a great musician, also had a fairly warped sense of humor, and has been the counterbalance to the often over serious CCM Universe. While Uncle Randy may have been Christian Music's Clown Prince, our latest subject excelled not in humor but in biting satire.

Roland Steven Taylor was born December 9, 1957 in Southern California, the son of a Pastor. The family soon up an moved to Denver Colorado. Maybe it was a mis-wiring of the brain, maybe it was the lack of oxygen in Denver. Whatever the reason, it is quite obvious that Steve (aren't you glad he didn't go by Roland) Taylor doesn't think like the typical Christian, and while the Industry may have rued the day he was born, Christian College Students and DJ's loved him.

One of the few Academic Elites of Christian Music (alright, alright, he was a Music Major). He started his adult career as a Youth Minister and Janitor at his father's Church. Musically he says The Clash, specifically London Calling "saved his life". While at Colorado University he recorded a few demo songs, and he went to Southern California after graduation to try to get signed by a mainstream label. He was unsuccessful, but one man, Jim Chaffee, was impressed and got him a job as assistant director of The Continentals.


Anyone who knows of Taylor's music knows he wasn't anything like the continentals. Chaffee got him another job, this time with Chuck Bolte's Jeremiah People, a Musical Comedy Troupe with heavy doses of satire. I remember them back in the 80's. They were great. Of course for pure comedy value Isaac Air Freight was superior.

Chaffee's Cheer leading finally paid off when he convinced Tayor's first boss, Cam Floria, founder of The Continentals, to give Taylor a two song slot at his Christian Artists Conference in Estes Park, Colorado. Maybe it was the home crowd, but the Crowd Acclaim convinced Billy Ray Hearn, President of Sparrow Records, to sigh Taylor as he came off the stage.

Clone Wars 

I Want To Be A Clone (1983) was a hit. The Six Song EP sold 85,000 copies, and in an industry dominated at the time by The Imperials, that was quite a showing. Christian Kids everywhere were introduced to attitude. Taylor launched his sarcastic wit directly on the Church, as Clone focused on the Christian Churches penchant for turning out cookie cutter Christians. Churchianity as it is called. Let Taylor tell you in his own way.

 Taylor's Meltdown

Meltdown (1984) was Taylor's full length debut, and anyone worried that he couldn't find enough targets to fill an album needn't have worried. The title cut focused on our celebrity obsession, and was sparked by a trip to Madame Tussuad's Wax Museum. He saw the statues and wondered "What would happen if someone turned up the heat". Kids, remember, he only THOUGHT it. Due to clone's success he decided to form a permanent touring band. He raided the studio musicians from clone to do it, and lest we forget who was the real star, he named them Some Band, as in Steve Taylor and Some Band. Meltdown was Taylor's first Music Video, and it also "starred" Lisa Welchel (The Facts of Life) in a supporting role as a TV Reporter.

Two memorable songs came out of Meltdown. While the title cut focused on our obsession with celebrity, the other song targeted bigotry in the Church, and apartheid as well. This is We Don't Need No Color Code Taylor was on a roll, and he kept up a pace of an album a year. Taylor's fertile mind, 80's Pop Culture, and the budding Televangelism Scandals, provided plenty of material for Taylor's Wit to focus on. For On The Fritz (1985) Taylor, in a most memorable "Fashion" turned his satire on the Public School system and the practice of teaching "Values Clarification". to the young skulls full of mush. For the song "Lifeboat" and its accompanying Music Video, Taylor enlisted the support of Mrs. Aryan "the world's ugliest woman". See if you agree. Even though I went to Public School, I seem to have missed out on the Lifeboat game. That's not saying I had to fight liberal indoctrination. Even though I wasn't tasked with deciding who lives and who dies, I did hear about "situational ethics". You know the drill "In certain situations Lying, Stealing, Cheating, etc is the best thing to do. People's feelings will be hurt or worse if you told them the truth. For the poster boy of the teaching, look no further than our 42nd President, William Jefferson Clinton.

1986 brought Limelight, a filler EP recorded in London during the 1985 Greenbelt Festival. 1987 Gave us "I Predict, 1990, an album which was more controversial than successful. It was attacked for its cover by some who thought that there were images of Tarot Cards on it (there weren't). Jimmy Swaggart included an entire chapter of his book Religious Rock and Roll, A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing on Taylor, and even the NOW gang was outraged when they protested against the song I Blew Up The Clinic Real Good. Considering that Taylor's forte was Satire, that meant that the NOW gang actually was protesting for bombing, since Taylor was saying it was wrong. Tayor Retired soon after I Predict, 1990, but soon resurfaced as frontman of the MCA band Chagall Guevara (don't be ashamed if you can't pronounce it). This is Violent Blue Taylor returned for one more album, Squint in 1993. This is Cash Cow.


Taylor has had a very busy retirement. He has produced 5 Newsboys albums, as well as Guardians Buzz and Bottle Rocket, among others, and his Label Squint Entertainment brought both Sixpence None The Richer and Chevelle to the limelight. That's a nice ending Cash Cow-Hat's off to the bull.

Recently Taylor has turned to the Movies. He is the Director of Blue Like Jazz, which came out this year. Of course his fans wish, even now, that he would make another album. We need his satire more today than ever. After all there is only one Steve Taylor. We can't clone him.

Siberian Summer: 2012 PVA 1st Qtr - Rock

The Final Six. The Rock Genre is always last, and this time, it is also among the elite, as three Perfect 5's are among those six entries.

First up is Thousand Foot Krutch. Welcome to The Masquerade, in addition to being TFK's best album to date, is probably one of the best marketed franchises in Rock. The "Masquerade" Franchise contains three CD's, The Original Welcome to the Masquerade, the Live CD/DVD combo Live at The Masquerade, and their Deluxe CD which is entitled the Fan Edition.

Trevor and company seem to put out consistently superior product. While any fan edition is essentially a best of product, sometimes a bands idea of best of and a fans are polar opposites. In this case, I don't think anyone can disagree that TFK has put their best amplifier forward. The 16 Songs are a 5 Star Rocking Ride. I can hardly wait for The End is Where We Begin, scheduled to drop in March.

Moving on to our Second Perfect Album. Chevelle has come a long way since its debut on Steve Taylor's Squint Entertainment Label back in 1999. It's hard to imagine they've put out Eight albums. This alt-rock bunch has improved. I have the Debut CD, and it's good, though slightly uneven. Like Switchfoot, though, these crossover artists have consistently put out quality work. Ruse is the song that hearkens back to Point #1, but they rock out the hardest on the title track. Hats off to Chevelle, they managed to sneak in a Perfect Album among the rush of Christmas Releases. Sometimes stealth is the best marketing technique of all. (A heads up. The link goes to a non-music post. Scroll to the bottom of the post for my comments on Hats of to The Bull.)

Last, but certainly not least of all is Amy Lee and Company and their eponymous release Evanescence. Their return this fall from a long self-imposed exile showed nary a trace of rust. The band rocks out with a few wry comments on their absence ("Hello, Hello, Remember me" from What You Want) and Amy's Haunting Voice is at its best on Lost in Paradise. Spawning a host of Imitators in their absence (Eowyn among them. Check out Beautiful Ashes and compare), Amy and company prove that there is no replacing an original. We even have a hit in the rare lighthearted pop song Swimming Home. Evanescence on easy listening radio, now there's something to get your mind around. Click the link to be taken to my original review of the album back in October.

Now on to the second tier. At least those that have fallen short of the glory of a perfect 5. We'll announce these in simple list format.

• Emery - Ten Years 4.5 Emeralds
• Seventh Day Slumber - The Anthem of Angels 4.5 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Christian Workout Playlist, Fast Paced 4.25 Emeralds

Maybe it is a cop-out to put a workout CD on the list, but the selection of songs on this CD worked. The Slow and medium paced not so much (Plus they sounded like the same pace). That finishes the fall rollout. Until Next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

P.S. - The Poll results are in and the '60's are the Decade you like best. It's hard to argue with the decade that gave us The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Votes were also cast for the '70's, 80's and 90's. New bands take note, there were no votes for favorites after 1999.

The Night Beat Best Albums of 2011

This isn't a Ten Best List, if only because I came up with thirteen entries. No, I'm not giving up on the Platinum Vinyl Awards. Most of the albums on this list are among the nominees for the PVA's (I say most because the PVA's extend Oct 1, 2010-Sept 30, 2011 and this is straight up Jan 1-December X, 2011 - Yes, I'm cheating a bit, but not as much as the others. I am sure regular readers of The Night Beat will figure out number one before I get to it.

Just Missing the Top 10

• 13 - Stryper - The Covering
• 12 - Thousand Foot Krutch - Welcome to The Masquerade, Fan Edition
• 11 - Chevelle - Hats off to The Bull

The Top 10 Albums of 2011

• 10 - Red - Until We Have Faces - The third release by the Masters of Melodic Metal prove that this band has reached that upper echelon of "Super Group", where you can turn out a Grammy Nominee in your sleep. I had heard a few tunes from their debut, enough to be impressed and want to hear more. Innocence and Instinct knocked my socks off. That was a Career Defining CD, and not many bands can put out two of them in their career. As I said in my review
  

  The album is an almost non stop adrenaline rush. Wisely though there are two rest stops. Red has always been know for awesome ballads and here there are two. Not Alone, which is the string heavy sixth track, could almost be interpreted as a modern worship song, but it doesn't quite fit that mold. It really is a plea from Father God for the Prodigal to return, no matter what he has done, that God still loves them

  
    9 - The Rocket Summer - Bryce Avery: His Instruments, Your Voices - This is the Way Live Albums were meant to be. Audience Participation was excellent, perhaps we even had rabid fans. Though the recording was helped by a small venue, all live recordings, except this one, suffer from "Dead Air" whenever they want you to hear the audience sing along. Sometimes they even drown out Bryce. That is quite an accomplishment.
•   8 - Denver & The Mile High Orchestra - Groovy - On their first Children's Album, Denver and the band simply cut loose. The energy is contagious and you can feel that they are having as much fun as the children who are the target audience of this album. Grab Your Fedora and Swing along with your kids.
•   7 - Jackie Evancho - Dream With Me - One of four Possible CROSS/over artists on the list (The other three being The Civil Wars, Switchfoot and Evanescence). Children's voices aren't supposed to sound this good. I'm not much of a fan of Opera, but this girl puts Sandi Patti To shame.
•   6 - Mandisa - What if We Were Real - The American Idol misses again. Mandisa was one of CCMs Many signings of AI castoffs, and her early work had me scratching my head at their decision. (She was no Chris Sligh, but there was plenty of room for improvement. What if We Were Real is What we were looking for. This is a gospel/dance album that is sure to compete with Beckah Shae for the Platinum Vinyl Award
•   5 - The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow - The first 5 Emerald ratings awarded this year, and it's a folk album. There really isn't much more that can be said from my perspective.
•   4 - Various - Music Inspired by The Story - I can count on one finger the number of times a"Various Artists" album would make a 10 Best List, but that would be before this one came out. Top Notch Artists, Production Par Excellence, and a soundtrack worthy of Cecil B. DeMille himself are brought together in this exquisite package.
•   3 - Switchfoot - Vice Verses - No Dark Horse in this music race. A Show still wins you some good money at the track. A lot of CCM Ten Best lists this year have this album number 1. While we at the night beat are somewhat less impressed, even we have it in the top 3.
•   2 - Beckah Shae - Destiny - Come on Give Us Good Music. If the rest of the industry doesn't want to, Beckah Shae has no problem picking up the slack. For the squeamish CCM fan, be warned. This is UN-apologetically a DANCE Album, however it is combined with the same epic composition and strings, and Beckah's both haunting and soaring vocals. While I had the same feeling listening to Music Inspired By The Story, the fact that this comes from ONE ARTIST and not many is testament enough to its higher rating.

The Number One Album of 2011

• 1 - Evanescence - Evanescence

I say again, was this the worst kept secret. Every regular reader must know by now what a big Amy Lee fan this blogger is, and it's much earned. Most bands, after a six year hiatus would be quite a bit rusty with their return. There was no rust evident here. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Grammy Nominee in the cards for Amy for this album. (Fat Chance on a Dove). In the three albums they have produced (for a moment I am ignoring the Live Album, only going with the studio albums) of course Fallen is far and away Number one, but Evanescence (Self Titled) I consider a strong number two, pushing The Open Door to third place. I have my Top 10 Cross Linked to the original reviews, so check them out as well to get my initial opinions. If you think I snubbed your band, mention it in the comments. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

How many bureaucrat's does it take to change a lightbulb?

Sorry, I don't know the punchline on that one, though I'm sure it's more than one, especially if it's a Curly Fry. You need an entire hazmat team for that one. If you check out my profile on Twitter you will see that I refer to myself as a Lincoln/Reagan Republican. That is a clue that I am no RINO (Try Collins/Snow Republican, or McCain/Graham Republican). As it stands I am convinced that the answer to any problem is Let the Private Sector do it. That includes EVERYTHING.

A case in point. A new project has been underway here in town for about three months. It has oodles of Government Names attached to a sign and is funded by a HUD Grant. It is a parking lot. Before the project it was: A PARKING LOT. All they needed to do was repave and add lights. Three months and counting. Your tax dollars at work.

To a business, and there are several that abut this municipal parking lot, time is money. One of the businesses offered to pay for the lot themselves, but the town, always looking out for the little guy, said, no need, we'll handle it. Did I mention that it's three months and counting? If this was a private lot. It would have been done in a day. Two tops. As I said, time is money.

The previous rant has been brought to you by The Night Beat. And the slowdown in the CCM recording industry. Of course I have been checking out things as I find them. I was quite impressed with Chevelle's latest Hats off to the Bull. I think I can safely give it 5 Emeralds. Thanks for staying with me. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.