THE
TIMES LEADER--August, 1997
LOVE.
That's it, in a nutshell. Or in a compact disc - B. E. Taylor's "Try Love"
disc, to be exact.
Local long-time rocker Taylor truly is a man with a message in this latest
endeavor. Out of the 12 songs on the CD, which was released on his own record
label Chrishae Records this spring, five have the word "love" (or a variation
of it) in the title, one has the word "heart" in the title, and the lyrics
of the other half dozen songs are along the same theme.
His first single off the CD, "This Time," garnered regional attention as well
as received air play in secondary markets in various pockets of the country.
The catchy tune essentially is a ballad with a beat, with hopeful lyrics about
reconciliation between troubled lovers.
"Love You All Over Again" is the next single, which is currently on the local
air waves. Taylor says the sweetly melodic ballad has already caught the ears
of radio station program directors from Toledo, Washington D. C. and Cleveland,
and he and his band will be shooting a video for it this month.
While "Love You All Over Again" and "This Time" are among several brand new
creations by Taylor and his band, "Try Love" is really a compilation of songs
written over the years, some that were released and some that weren't. The
songs go as far back as 1981 with "Never Hold Back." Along with "Vitamin L,"
the 1983 national release that hit No. 66 on Billboard's Top 100, "Never Hold
Back" was one of Taylor's first singles with B. E. Taylor Group.
Another "old" song recorded on the new CD is "Loving," which Taylor wrote
in 1981 and sang when he married Veronica DeBlasis, with whom he has two children,
Tahnee and B. C.
He says he wrote the song before he met his wife as a depiction of the woman
with whom he wanted to spend his life - "You give your love so freely/Ask
nothin in return."
"I said whenever I get married this is the song I'm going to use. It was almost
like this is the perfect situation I would like to be in - someone this perfect,
this caring, this loving. Then I met my wife and said this is the one!"
"I was more nervous about singing the song at the church than I was about
getting married!" Taylor laughs. Working as closely as ever with Taylor on
"Try Love" is former B. E. Taylor Group guitar player Rick Witkowski of Weirton.
Witkowski, owner of Studio L., co-produced the CD with Taylor and did the
engineering of it at his studio. Witkowski, who co-wrote "Vitamin L" with
his wife, Deb, also plays guitar and percussion on the new CD.
If the lyrics to B. E. Taylor's songs have a common theme of love, the music
is a delightful potpourri of sounds similar to the fiercely popular and eclectic
B. E. Taylor Christmas album, which featured many of the same artists singing
original and popular Christmas songs.
"Be There," about unconditional love, has a Middle Eastern sound to it created
by Tim Fair on the bouzouki and Witkowski's percussion. "Without Love," a
song originally recorded to benefit Toys for Tots, has a funky guitar and
drum beat accented by bursts of horns played by Steve Graham, Fred Lewis and
Pete Loria.
The versatile Jamie Peck plays organ, keyboards, piano, horns and saxophone
throughout the CD, Rick Dickerson plays drums and Tom Bellin is on bass.
Background vocals are an essential element to most of the "Try Love" songs
- providing soulful, gospel sounds on "You Gotta Learn to Love" and "My Heart
Remembers" - and are provided by Hermie Granati, Denise Graves, Toni Turner,
Jennifer Lee and Joy Wilson, as well as Witkowski and Taylor himself.
While sales of the CD are going slower than hoped, Taylor remains upbeat.
"Our main goal right now is to get the "Try Love" CD into as many radio stations
and record stores and eventually into people's homes," he says. The endeavor
keeps him busy, as he still travels the country for concert dates with Kathy
Troccoli, has a record company to run, the annual Capitol Music Hall Christmas
concert to prepare for (as well as trying to schedule more Christmas concerts
in the region), and his kids' little league games to coach.
All told, the "Try Love" CD is a joy to listen to - it's feel good music at
its artistic best. I would be neglectful, however, if I didn't insist that
nothing compares to hearing B. E. Taylor and his musical entourage in concert.
If you missed their crowd-pleasing show opener for Chicago last week at Coca-Cola
Star Lake Amphitheatre, you can catch them for free at the Steubenville Bicentennial
celebration on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 8 p.m.
"Try Love" and "B. E. Taylor Christmas" are available at NRM stores, Musicland
and Sam Goody, Hills and several local merchants.
