Allan Taylor - There Was A Time (2016)

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Allan Taylor - There Was A Time (2016)

For 40 years Allan Taylor, born in Brighton in 1945, has been considered as the consummate performer, a writer of literary gracefulness whose troubadour chronicles encapsulate the realism of otherwise unsung heroes, otherwise uncharted lives.

His songs are written from a lifetime of travelling; always the observer passing through, each song is a vignette of life, like a story told over a drink in a bar. Each has an integrity that tells you it comes from something real; characters come to life like people you know and places become as familiar as if you had been there.

Stockfisch Records again produced a special project including a symphony orchestra: We speak about the 2016 production with the grandseigneur of songwriting, Allan Taylor! The SACD will be titled: "There Was a Time".

Here is the story behind: Allan had played on the FOLKEST festival every two or three years, usually on the stage in the Piazza Castello of Spilimbergo, a delightful small town near the North Italian city of Udine. The plan arose, that Valter Sivilotti, an Italian composer, arranger and conductor, would make arrangements of a selection of Allan's songs and conduct the orchestra for the concert. This concert took place in July, 2013.

When Günter Pauler of Stockfisch Records heard the demo live-recordings he enthusiasticly suggested to produce a SACD: Allan together with a symphony orchestra! Pauler hired the "Göttinger Symphonie Orchester" with their agile conductor Christoph-Mathias Mueller; Valter Sivilotti and Allan Taylor joined the recordings in Göttingen, and a very successful session was performed. Available from May 2016 as Multichannel-SACD-Hybrid!

Allan Taylor writes about this record: "What you hear on this SACD is the product of great technical and artistic expertise on the part of Stockfisch Records. I wrote some of these songs many years ago, but I hope you enjoy the experience of hearing them in an orchestral setting. Certainly, Valter Sivilotti's empathy with my songs has created some wonderful settings, and it was a privilege to work with such a creative and empathetic musician."

On previous albums Allan Taylor sang songs about the road, about all the different countries and all the hotel rooms… The new album goes deeper – into time and ultimately to the recognition: “All is one”. A powerful philosophical statement delivered with virtuoso lightness.

Someone who is approaching 70 and calls his album "All Is One" obviously has something to say. Just recently Allan Taylor faced one of life's tests – a severe shoulder disfunction prevented him from playing guitar – not an easy situation for a musician. In the meantime that is thankfully all healed and forgotten. Not shying away from the strain and frustration involved, he worked his way back to his instrument, his fans and to the recording studio at Stockfisch Records. He could have presented this album as a big comeback, a resurrection, but that is simply not the style of this master of contemplative tones.

Insiders will recognise a stringent continuation of his 2009 album "Leaving At Dawn". Even then it was about leaving, about long journeys, the poetry of movement – subjects even more strongly represented on this album. Instead of driving on asphalt it's about moving through time, and the title song is the best example. He wrote the first lines back in 2004, which kept flickering back to him and could finally now be completed. The lyrics tell of old guitars and of velvet gloves which close doors - but the song is a long way from drowning in sentimental resignation. Those who can read between the lines will discover a clever mixture of dance and march: "One final dance unites us all".

Personel:
Allan Taylor:  vocal and guitar
Göttinger Symphonie Orchester
Christoph-Mathias Mueller, conductor
Lutz Möller: piano
Hans-Jörg Maucksch: fretless bass

Tracklist:
01. Chimes At Midnight (04:59)
02. For Those We Knew (03:53)
03. Down The Years I Travelled... (04:56)
04. For What It's Worth (04:44)
05. The Merlin Cafe 06:04)
06. Provence (04:24)
07. There Was A Time (04:29)
08. Joseph (04:33)
09. Win Or Lose (05:54)
10. Winter (05:14)
11. Red On Green (03:47)
12. The Beggar (04:11)

 

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Cheers,

Bam