Year : 2023
Style : Melodic Rock , AOR
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 107 mb
Bio:
Andrew Arthur Taylor (born 16 February 1961) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer, best known as a former member of both Duran Duran and the Power Station.He has also recorded and performed as a solo artist, and served as a guitarist, songwriter and record producer for the likes of Robert Palmer, Rod Stewart, the Almighty, Thunder, Love and Money, Mark Shaw, Then Jerico, C. C. Catch, Paul Rodgers (with The Law), Belinda Carlisle, Gun and many more.Duran Duran began their rise to fame at a Birmingham club named the "Rum Runner". The club was owned by their managers and mentors, brothers Paul and Michael Berrow. It was centred on the music and ostentatious fashion of the era, particularly house & disco music, which had fused with punk and electronic to create the sound and look adopted by various "New Romantic" acts of the time. The band was heavily influenced by the 12 inch cuts of the day. Taylor says... "Anybody who is familiar with early DD (Duran Duran) will be aware of the Night Versions concept… the underlying influence of the 12" mix – Edwards & Rodgers – Giorgio Moroder ... It was all part of the matrix – we tested our first hits on the dance-floor before going anywhere near the radio – it was the way you defined your style and who you were, through the club you were associated with – where you hung-out ... I'm a rock fan, but the girls hung-out at the disco – I recommend a large portion of both."The band signed to EMI Records in December 1980, only seven months after completing the line-up. Their debut single "Planet Earth" was released shortly after that, with their self-titled debut album, Duran Duran, released in June 1981. By 1983, the band was a global success story.While Duran Duran were on hiatus in 1985, Andy Taylor and bassist John Taylor joined renowned session drummer and former Chic member Tony Thompson and Robert Palmer to form the band Power Station. Their eponymous album, recorded mostly at the New York studio after which the band was named, reached the top 20 in the UK and the top 10 in the US, and spawned two hit singles with "Some Like It Hot" (UK No. 14, US No. 6) and a cover of the T. Rex song "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" (UK No. 22, US No. 9). Palmer performed live with the band only once that year, on Saturday Night Live. The band toured, and even played Live Aid with singer Michael Des Barres after Palmer bowed out at the last moment to go back into the studio to further his newly revitalized solo career. Taylor also performed with Duran Duran at the Live Aid event.Palmer recorded the album Riptide in 1985, recruiting Thompson and Andy Taylor to play on some tracks and Power Station producer Bernard Edwards, who worked with Thompson in the group Chic, to helm the production. Robert recruited Wally Badarou, another Compass Point Star who had laid synthesizer tracks on the Power Station album, plus his long-term drummer, Dony Wynn, for this production as well.Taylor said: "I don't think any of us could have known at the time that this little venture would lead to the breakup of DD [v1.0] But it did or at least it exposed the cracks in the pavement. I think we were all surprised at the amount of success the project achieved, particularly Robert, whose career was reignited in the USA. It was an extraordinary time, everything we were associated with just flew off the shelves. As well as being the opportunity to express a major musical statement, I guess it was also as much of a statement against the label demands."After six years of being a member of Duran Duran, Taylor had realised both he and the band were in free fall. He and the other bandmembers rarely spoke to one another and the band were now living on three different continents. Taylor himself was now based in Los Angeles where he met with ex-Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and they began collaborating for Taylor's forthcoming solo album.In the meantime, he recorded the hit single "Take It Easy" (US No. 24), which was recorded as the theme song to the movie American Anthem. Ex-Missing Persons members Terry Bozzio and Patrick O'Hearn performed drums and bass, respectively, on the song and video. Two other songs by Taylor/Jones also appeared on the album: "Wings of Love" and the instrumental "Angel Eyes". Taylor also contributed to the Miami Vice II soundtrack with the song "When The Rain Comes Down" (US No. 43). This was followed by his first solo album, Thunder (1987). O'Hearn again played bass for him on the album and during the following tour. Also on the Thunder world tour were guitarist Paul Hanson (guitarist) and drummer John Valen. Hanson, Valen & O'Hearn also appeared with Taylor in the music video for the second single from the Thunder album, "Don't Let Me Die Young". Despite moderate success in the US, Taylor's solo material failed to catch on in his native UK.Throughout 1987 and 1988, Taylor co-wrote and co-produced Rod Stewart's multi-Platinum album Out of Order along with Chic members Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson (the latter of whom had also performed with him in Power Station), spawning the Billboard hits, "Lost in You", "Forever Young", and "My Heart Can't Tell You No".Taylor also contributed a cover of "Dead on the Money" to the Tequila Sunrise soundtrack in 1988 (Taylor's former band Duran Duran would also allow one of their own songs, "Do You Believe in Shame?", to be included on the album). A second solo album, this one consisting of entirely cover versions, entitled Dangerous, was released in 1990.Taylor then moved on to producing full-time, working with several successful UK bands throughout the 1990s. He produced the debut album Back Street Symphony by London rockers Thunder and their follow up Laughing on Judgement Day. This was followed by the Almighty album Soul Destruction, and then Mark Shaw's album Almost. Taylor based himself in his now refurbished Trident Studios in London with then manager and partner Rob Hallett, until 1994 when he returned to Los Angeles in order to write and produce tracks for a second Power Station album and the 1995 Rod Stewart album A Spanner in the Works.
Album:
After achieving international success with Duran Duran, guitarist ANDY TAYLOR started a solo career in the mid-’80s releasing two very good albums which not only appealed the pop-rock crowd but also melodic rock / AOR aficionados.Now Taylor is releasing his first solo album in decades titled “Man’s A Wolf To Man“, a record with almost ten years in the making that had numerous iterations, but after experiencing a global pandemic and his own cancer diagnosis, is among the most worldly material of his career.
The heavy and almost grievous title track opens the album complimenting the overall theme of man being his own worst enemy. A shorter keyboard loaded “reprise” of the song bookends the record. Acoustic and electric guitars unite for “Influential Blondes”, ranking as one of the best tracks. A worthy repeated listen.Same goes for the more upbeat pop on “Did It For You” which gets a little repetitive until Taylor works in his guitar magic halfway through. Then drops in the harmonica for the final minute taking this one in an entirely different direction.An Andy Taylor / Tina Arena duet in “Try To Get Even” is a sweet polished ballad, then “Reachin’ Out to You” sounds like Duran Duran. The only track that resembles Taylor’s former band and a good one too. Very dancy, maybe some inspiration from Duran Duran’s long time collaborator Nile Rodgers.A quick fun rock number drop in “Getting It Home”, followed by midtempo “The Last Straw” sporting a British sound of yesteryear.There’s a lot of guitars on the rocking “Gotta Give”, featuring singer Gary Stringer from Reef, an English band Taylor has toured with since 2019. Finally, “Big Trigger” drifts between acoustic to electric with a Nineties feeling that puts a resounding seal of approval on Man’s A Wolf to Man.By the way, while still fighting the disease, Taylor reunites with his old bandmates for Duran Duran’s 16th album Dance Macabre, a collection of covers, new songs and “reimagined” classics out in October.
Line Up:
Andy Taylor – lead vocals, guitars - See also: ex-Duran Duran , ex-The Power Station
Tom Fletcher - guitar
Paul Turner - bass
David Green, Arya Goggin - drums
Gary Barnacle - saxophone
Mark Broughton, Rami & Tomas Ghandy, Sam Tanner - keyboards
Tracklist:
01. Man’s A Wolf To Man
02. Influential Blondes
03. Did It For You
04. Try To Get Even (feat. Tina Arena)
05. Reachin’ Out To You
06. Getting It Home
07. The Last Straw
08. This Will Be Ours
09. Gotta Give (feat. Gary Stringer)
10. Big Trigger
11. Man’s A Wolf To Man (Reprise)
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
