Taylor Robert – Brighter Day
This artist is basically a soulful purveyor of optimistic tunes & mixes his regular voice inventively with his falsetto to good effect. But thankfully, not always. “Brighter Day,” is rooted in a ‘60s aesthetic – part Smokey Robinson, part Marvin Gaye with a folky feel of Bruce McPherson (a singer-songwriter like Elton John but also had a tenor).
There are 10 well-lit tunes on Brighter Day (Drops April 18/Independent/38:58) produced by Taylor at Roll N Soul Studios in Maple Grove, MN, with Minneapolis session musicians reliably in tow. There aren’t many artists today who balance their craft the way Taylor Roberts does. The others are either fully entrenched in a faux soulful vocalist that to me is often 20% talent & 80% embellishment.
Taylor unravels “Around Here” & goes a little deeper into the territory of ‘70s R&B/soul singer Angelo Bond (“Bondage” LP) who had similar perimeters. Taylor’s soulfulness gets a little rawer on “Come Around Again” — an excellent change of pace. Impressive because he maintains his expressiveness in a different gear.
Old-fashioned organ strains open “Good Love” with a nice Motown feel & it displays an excellent tone to Taylor’s voice. This song finds Mr. Robert emerging with his sound & style while utilizing old concepts with a wise touch. The majority of today’s male singers have good voices, but many are facsimiles of each other. There aren’t many stand-alone vocalists, the way Elvis was, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Alejandro Escovedo, Jim Morrison & even Neil Young. They had a strong, distinctive persona. On this song, Taylor shows his potential as just that.
Good singers aren’t always necessarily creative or original in presentation. This issue existed throughout contemporary music. You had the classic Johnny Mathis & then you had England’s excellent knock-off in Danny Williams (“Whiter Than White”).
Taylor goes rockier in “Only Love,” where his voice projects with authority. Then he drops back with a somber piano intro & touches gently into it while not abandoning his soulfulness. “What You’re Lookin’ For” is a beauty. Closer to mid-career, Elton John with the aggressiveness of Stevie Wonder. And even more country is “Jeep Truck” – well, he has a sense of humor & diversity for sure.
A minor criticism: song titles. They sound old-hat like so many previous ones. “Long Time Comin’” “Love Light,” “Only Love” – generic. Used countless times. Taylor’s singing & music is compelling, varied & entertaining. Song titles should be bait on the hook. A little more creativity pulls in the disbelievers & curious.
Highlights – “Brighter Day,” “Around Here,” “Life To Live,” “Come Around Again,” “Good Love,” “Only Love,” “What You’re Lookin’ For,” & “Jeep Truck.”
Musicians – Dario Perkins (vocals/“Long Time Comin’”), Dan Neale (guitar), Joe Savage (dobro/harmonica), Kevin Gastonguay & Brian Ziemniak (Hammond B3), Jay Corkran (drums) & Taylor Robert (vocals/acoustic & electric guitars/bass/bgv/Wurlitzer/piano).
B&W image courtesy of Taylor’s Bandcamp. CD @ Amazon & Bandcamp + https://www.taylorrobert.com/