Daniel Amos Message Board | Print: Terry Scott Taylor - John Wayne

Posted by colorblind on 11-28-2008 at09:40:

Terry Scott Taylor - John Wayne

This album is essential Terry Scott Taylor listening. Musically, it would be hard to find a clear distinction between John Wayne and Daniel Amos records. That is to say that his solo album doesn't drown in singer/songwriter introspection, yet it's not afraid to go there.
There are more than an album's worth of Terry-isms here too...humorous, insightful, and dare I say convicting.
John Wayne ranks among the top of Taylor's best work, and it sounds as vital today (10 years later) as it did when it was first released!

Posted by jiminy on 11-28-2008 at23:14:

yup Cool

Posted by George on 11-29-2008 at14:45:

Cool

yup, yup

Posted by MarkyMark77 on 11-29-2008 at15:22:

I'm going to dissent here and say it's my least played TST disc. Never really could totally embrace the arranging of the songs. Great lyrics, though, to be sure.

It's what caused me to wait so long before buying "Avocado Faultline", which is now a favorite.

Posted by John Foxe on 11-29-2008 at18:05:

Good, but not really my fav

There are a few awesome tunes on JW (Writer's Block, title cut, and You Lay Down), but the rest is always fly-by country for me.

My fav TST grew to be BftA. Cohesive, heart-felt, moving on all levels, and Greg Flesh had his fingerprints all over it.
Cool

Posted by larryl on 11-29-2008 at18:52:

i'll take this, and acocado, over any DA release, any day.

my favorite terry is terry solo... or terry with the dogs.....

Posted by Audiori J on 11-29-2008 at19:19:

I always felt like Terry's solo stuff comes straight from him, like its a better glimpse into his world. Usually about personal experiences, and I think probably the styles fit his tastes better. The DA music I think is his opportunity to stretch and experiment creativley and the Eddies stuff is usually the guys having fun. I like them all for very different reasons.

A lot of his solo stuff, I sort of have this weird feeling when I listen to it like it was music written by Terry mainly for his family to hear, but we get to hear it too. Like musical letters.

Posted by George on 11-30-2008 at16:11:

quote:

A lot of his solo stuff, I sort of have this weird feeling when I listen to it like it was music written by Terry mainly for his family to hear, but we get to hear it too. Like musical letters.

Yes. In general, DA ignites my brain cells, The Swirling Eddies tickle my funny bone, but the solo stuff rips my heart out.

Posted by sondance on 11-30-2008 at22:38:

quote:

Originally posted by Audiori J
I always felt like Terry's solo stuff comes straight from him, like its a better glimpse into his world. Usually about personal experiences, and I think probably the styles fit his tastes better. The DA music I think is his opportunity to stretch and experiment creativley and the Eddies stuff is usually the guys having fun. I like them all for very different reasons.

A lot of his solo stuff, I sort of have this weird feeling when I listen to it like it was music written by Terry mainly for his family to hear, but we get to hear it too. Like musical letters.

So what do you say we get Terry a gig at Branson... you guys are in the neighborhood right? Could be the next PBS special.

Posted by servantsteve on 12-01-2008 at12:23:

You Lay Down is worth the price of the album. The so-called "country sound" on the rest of the album is, in a word, spectacular.

Posted by Ritchie_az on 12-01-2008 at13:17:

I love all of Terry's solo work, but John Wayne is the one I like the least (but just by a hair). It's got some outstanding songs (Writers Block, Hey John Wayne and You Lay Down come to mind), and a lot of good-but-not-great songs. There are no bad songs, but I could probabaly do without Ten Gallon Hat. I see John Wayne as a transitional album (whether intentional or not) from A Briefing for the Ascent to Avocado Faultline, much in the same way Horrendous Disc was a transitional album from Shotgun Angel to Alarma, but I guess in the opposite way (from new wave/alternative to folk/country instead of country to new wave).
A good album, though. If I gave stars, I'd give it 3 and 1/2 (out of 5). But since I don't give stars, that was pointless. Oh, well....

Posted by dennis on 01-23-2016 at06:34:

RE: Terry Scott Taylor - John Wayne

quote:

Originally posted by colorblind
This album is essential Terry Scott Taylor listening. Musically, it would be hard to find a clear distinction between John Wayne and Daniel Amos records. That is to say that his solo album doesn't drown in singer/songwriter introspection, yet it's not afraid to go there.
There are more than an album's worth of Terry-isms here too...humorous, insightful, and dare I say convicting.
John Wayne ranks among the top of Taylor's best work, and it sounds as vital today (10 years later) as it did when it was first released!

It's true, Ed and Tim are on that one so it's DA's rhythm section, so it rocks and the lyrics are great plus it has oddball songs thrown "ten gallon hat" sort of like "Props" on"Alarma" for example.

When I bought the CD back in 1998 it played a huge part of me getting into DA's music.

Posted by dennis on 01-23-2016 at06:36:

quote:

Originally posted by Audiori J
A lot of his solo stuff, I sort of have this weird feeling when I listen to it like it was music written by Terry mainly for his family to hear, but we get to hear it too. Like musical letters.

I had never thought of it that way before, but that is spot on.

Posted by lobo1023 on 01-23-2016 at13:00:

RE: Terry Scott Taylor - John Wayne

All four of my grandchildren were rocked to sleep with me singing Ten Gallon Hat. Never thought of trying Props. My first grand-kid from my son due in March. I'll have to give it a try.

Posted by ftg3plus4 on 01-27-2016 at11:50:

RE: Terry Scott Taylor - John Wayne

Random thoughts:

"Mr. Flutter" would be improved by using only the first half of the chorus the first time. Having the whole, long chorus so many times drags the song down.

A few songs (including "Boomtown" and "John Wayne," at the very least) sound to me like DA songs in every possible way.

"Big Shot & Miniature Girl" isn't a favorite but the middle section is really cool.

"Ten Gallon Hat" makes me wonder: when exactly did they make music that actually sounded this way authentically?

It's hard for me to pick a favorite, but "Chicken Crosses the Road" and "Too Many Angels" are probably my top picks, by a narrow margin.

Posted by WoaaahJelly! on 04-12-2016 at17:15:

Had to quickly peruse my music collection. I do remember JW and I remember it was in my rotation years ago when I went jogging and took it on my MiniDisc player (ask your Grandpa and the insane people at Sony what that is!)

It did seem odd and very personal, but everything he ever did seems that way.

"Mr Flutter" strikes home, baby. I don't have precisely those problems, but we have all those knots "in the middle of my gut" for different reasons. It sounds like the insecurities are getting married and having more baby insecurities!

"Too Many Angels" is uptempo and evocative of the many, many ways angels have been portrayed over the ages. I can see the angels buzzing about (like Tinkerbell) when I hear that one. Also serene porcelain cherubs, and death-dealing winged monsters. This one makes my imagination tingle and that's why I like it.

Frankly I don't understand many of the themes, and those are probably the personal songs someone mentioned.

"You Lay Down" is tender and slow.

"You Told Them Exactly What I Didn't Say" is cryptic and (almost) bothersome. I think I listened to it for sake of completeness.

"Chicken Crosses The Road" induces a perfectly silly vision in my head of, guess what! a chicken crossing the road. This imaginary chicken lacks the grace and dignity of your usual chicken (har). The theme (If I have that right?) is touching- everyone making it to Christ, or to Heaven one at a time and each in his own way.

What exactly is "Big Shot & Miniature Girl" about? He and his wife? Throw a brother a bone here.

Speaking of "Ten Gallon Hat" I fixate on the bass line. It sounds like the excellent work of Berger, except he is an imaginary person, as far as I can tell. Is this The Debil singing? That's what I always imagined.

I think "Writer's Block" is the opening track (I think. I MP3 ripped this CD 15 years ago sans track numbers GGHJJKKJHHIIIkkkKKK i could really go for a Windex cocktail about now. ) I just like the song and how it evokes a sort of dark, foreboding mood. I've never written professionally so I don't experience that. The voices and spirits speak to me day and night, so I never struggle for things to write down.

I tend not to take music with me as much as I used to (I am currently mired in "Atlas Shrugged") and since 1998 my (our) listening options have just exploded so I haven't listened end-to-end for years.

I even like the cover and the hippies (what are they exactly?) and the lady is cute in a Mediterranean sort of way.

Posted by ftg3plus4 on 09-13-2022 at09:50:

I recently listened to this album, so I'm digging up this old thread...

An observation on "You Told Them Exactly What I Didn't Say": In the printed lyrics, the second line is "exactly how I didn't say it," which is consistent with the rest of the words. But Terry actually sings, "exactly how I haven't said it." This kind of disrupts the overall flow of the lyrics, so Terry must have had a definite reason for saying it that way. (BTW, Terry thanks Flannery O'Connor in the credits for inspiring this song. Does anyone know anything about this?)

Thoughts in response to the previous post:

<< What exactly is "Big Shot & Miniature Girl" about? He and his wife? Throw a brother a bone here. >>
To me this sounds like it's about a marriage (or a frequently seen marital situation) that Terry had observed and wasn't impressed with. It paints a definite picture of the "Big Shot" -- wealthy and outwardly high-class, but arrogant, dominant and controlling towards his wife. The middle section (which makes me think, "Why isn't there more music that's this interesting?") confuses me, but I've concluded that it may represent the unspoken thoughts of the "miniature girl" herself.

<< Speaking of "Ten Gallon Hat"... Is this The Debil singing? That's what I always imagined. >>
This is an odd and difficult one, but here's how I hear it: The "narrator" is a fallen human like everyone else, but finds himself pressured by his position in life to appear godly and near-perfect. He looks forward to when the perfection will be real (in heaven) and there's no more need to keep up appearances.

<< I even like the cover and the hippies (what are they exactly?) >>
Random Californians?