The fourth solo album from Azure Ray's Maria Taylor finds her flirting briefly with an experimental sound but she ultimately opts for the relative safety of well crafted but fairly predictable songs.
Lester Nuby III engineered the album and makes the most significant instrumental contribution through his striking free drumming on the first two tracks - Masterplan and Matador. The latter also features what the sleeve notes describe as "awesome crazy guitar solos" of Browan Lollar.
The originality and spontaneity of these arrangements raises such high expectations that the conventionality of the remaining seven tracks comes as a bit of a let down.
You can forgive the stripped back charm of the tender ballad, Happenstance, but when the full band return it's as if they've lost the nerve to continue down a less orthodox path.
Maria Taylor assumes the drumming duties and the other musicianship is as tastefully understated as the sleeve art. Lollar, on pedal steel and guitar, is significantly more restrained.
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The old-time shuffle of Bad Idea? is the quirkiest track - "What if I turn 49 with no husband in mind?" Taylor asks rhetorically.
Her soothing vocals on songs Idle Mind and This Could Take A Lifetime express the desire for new direction so it's a pity that these sentiments are not carried through into the music.
There are hints of an emotional depth but she and her band settle for the soft option of a more mainstream, easy listening sound.
A nice record but the sense of what might have been lingers.
Maria Taylor's Website
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