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May 2001 Vol. 5 No. 6
 
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Artist Eric Taylor
Title Scuffletown
Label Eminent Records
Reviewer Richard Proplesch
Rating
No wonder Steve Earle sought Taylor during his youthful exodus to Houston years ago. Taylor's stories are filled with declining heroes, repentant losers and a delicate kindness that are rich in rhyme and reflection. Taylor's choice to cover a pair of Townes Van Zandt's darker tunes here ("Where I Lead Me" and "Nothin'") makes for easier comparisons- while Townes solicited and then won your pity, Taylor makes no judgments in these journals.

Sounding like a Lone Star Leonard Cohen using a patchwork of a few, scattered chords and understated backing, Taylor can bemuse himself with the guilty pleasure of a Charlie Rich song on the radio ("All The Way To Heaven") as well as wrestle with the gravity of spiritual doubt ("Your God"). If you need a quote: "When the boatmen stole the Africans/Did your God ride or row? When they roped them and they shackled them/?Was he with them in the hold?" When the last track ended, I couldn't even think of an album that had moved me as much since John Prine's debut. Serene, lonely, and beautiful.

Eminent Records, 2410 Belmont Blvd., Nashville, TN 37212


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