There is a very good reason why ‘Love Against Death’, Sean Taylor’s fifth album, was voted in the Top 10 Albums of the Year by Guitar and Bass Magazine: it deserves to be there. Those requiring a more detailed commendation, read on…
There comes a time in every musician’s career when they are compared to some other musician. For most, the comparison is delivered by a friendly inebriate at the end of a pub gig, “You sound like that Irish fella.” For the select few, those who make it so far as to have their music reviewed, the comparisons are usually more flattering. In an effort to save myself work, I naturally tried to find as many reviews as I could of Sean Taylor, ‘Love Against Death’, so that I could merrily plagiarise the best bits. Bad move. I’ve known of Sean for some time but have never read any of his reviews. Reading them now just made me cross. Let me be quite clear. Whatever Bob Harris says, and others might suggest, Sean Taylor does not sound like John Martyn. There… I’ve said it. Burn me with the heretics!
So, who does he sound like? Well, he sounds like Sean Taylor. Perhaps his guitar carries shades of Martin Simpson. It is fluid, colourful, precise – but unpretentious. The notes are there for a purpose. They can stab at you, but he isn’t showing off. His lyrics have a depth of narrative that easily matches those of Bruce Cockburn or Jackson Browne. They have an earthy appeal that renders them instantly accessible. He’s not afraid of throwing in literary references, but still he’s unpretentious. The listener can let the lyric flow, admire the device or open Google to check out a reference—there is no imperative either way. Enjoy the man. He truly is an original.
Now to the chase… ‘Love Against Death’ was recorded in Austin, Texas, and was produced by Mark Hallman (Carole King, Ani di Franco, Tom Russell, amongst others). Sean plays guitar, keyboards and harmonica; Warren Hood plays violin; Mark Hallman plays accordion; Sean and Eliza Gilkyson provide the vocals. With a few exceptions, this is an album of songs of political and social comment. Arthur Scargill gets a mention, so does Che Guevara. So does Thatcher. Don’t let that deter you. The songs are powerful, hard-hitting, entirely lacking in self-righteousness but ripping at the conscience. Sean is a man of the working-class London streets, he is dealing in realities. A musician running parallel to Owen Jones’ penmanship.
The first track is ‘Stand Up’ an appeal for protest against the working class poor shouldering the burden of the bankers’ greed. Second is ‘Kilburn’ as passionate a song as I have ever heard celebrating home and multi-cultural diversity. ‘Absinthe Moon’ is a paen to Sean’s other ‘home’, Glastonbury. A gorgeous snipe at neo-liberalism and it’s impact on world politics is ‘Western Intervention’, before ‘Cassady’ takes the listener on a romp with the Beat Generation and the inspiration for Jack Kerouac’s roguish Dean Moriarty. More than a slight touch of Sean wandering off into a fantasy of himself living the life of the merry prankster in the guise of itinerant musician. Back down with a sack of coal – ‘Sixteen Tons’ of it—with a cover of the Merle Travis classic of 1940’s grinding toil and hardship. The lift comes in with the Cajun-feel ‘Ballad of a Happy Man’, which will have you swinging around the kitchen. ‘Raglan Road’ is one of my favourite Irish songs, as it happens from a poem written by Patrick Kavanagh, and is partly Sean’s nod to his Dublin Irish ancestry, but more than that… It is about social boundaries and the young lady in the song was inspired by Hilda Moriarty (I refer you back to ‘Casady’ – I love the twist!). Which leads us to the tragic song of heroin addiction, ‘Heaven’, with its needle sharp guitar? ‘Coal Not Dole’ recalls the 1984-85 Miner’s Strike and furiously demands, ‘which side were you on?’. Fancy a reference to Baudelaire? ‘Les Fleur du Mal’ is another uppy moment tempting you with images of decadence and eroticism. There’s more to life than politics! But we must end with ‘Hymn’, a prayer for the poor and weak.
So, what’s wrong with it? Well, I’d like to hear Sean push his vocals. He can find the full song but does it too little. His vocals are held down to at times a breath. That sits well with the menace against which he is warning, the ignored anger of past generations that he reflects. It contrasts with the optimism with which he hints at the hedonism that he admits. An honest man, so no big deal.
This is a fine album. I commend it to the audience.
‘Love Against Death’ is on Proper Music and can be ordered here: https://www.propermusic.com/product-details/Sean-Taylor-Love-Against-Death-118714
Ian Sedwell, 9 December 2012