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Gig review: Ben Taylor @ Manchester Academy - Feb 1 2007
review
There was always going to be an air of expectation surrounding Ben Taylor’s first output in a few years, would he follow his earlier experiments in what he called “neo-psychodelic folk funk”, or was he going to follow more closely in his fathers footsteps with that unmistakeable family voice? Well, luckily for us, he chose to do neither, instead settling somewhere neatly between the two. With ‘Another Run Around the Sun’ Ben has managed to produce music that resembles the acoustic folkiness of his father while still retaining his own sense of self, and this seemed to be done from the outset through his use of incredibly open songs about his own life that could have been copied from nowhere except his own thoughts.
Ben Taylor’s set was however a predictably laid back affair, fully unplugged with no added thrills. His vocal range was much in the same manner of his father’s, the soft acoustic balladeer James Taylor. On stage in this unlikely venue, was just him, his backing singer and a percussionist (instrument ignorance warning) using only what looked to be a small box to provide the backing beats which created a surprisingly loud snare drum sound despite the instruments diminutive size.
The crowd remained quiet and respectful during the unplugged set, merely nodding their heads to the soothing, soulful songs. The highlight of the show was most definitely his new single, ‘Nothing I Can Do’, which is a beautifully hopeless sounding devoted love song. This was followed by a fantastic stripped down version of Portishead’s ‘Glory Box’ supported more than ably by the softly voiced Meredith Sheldon, which makes up the ‘Nothing I Can Do’ B-Side.
Named after a letter he received from a friend of Ben’s for his birthday which was headed, ‘another lap around the sun’, which was written from a prison cell where his friend spends his time, Ben’s new album, ‘Another Run Around the Sun’ was dedicated to him and as such seems to take on dual meanings; that of his friend spending time in a jail cell for another year and from Ben’s perspective, being another year older and perhaps wiser from the experience. The song is appropriately downbeat and introspective and is clearly played with emotion and sincerity, as seems to be the hallmark of his performance tonight. Each song is about a Ben’s own personal experiences and unashamedly bares his own psyche to the public. This is in the main what makes the live show so captivating and watchable, especially due to the stripped down nature of the whole show and the helped along by the crowds hushed reverence for the bulk of the tracks being played out.
The only gripe about the gig was that it was played without an encore, but for the opportunity to feel in such close proximity to such a genuine talent this was a small price to pay.
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