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Album Review
by SashaS
12-8-2002
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| The James Taylor Quartet's disc art |
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The James Taylor Quartet: 'Room At The Top'
(Sanctuary)
JTQ inspire the light-fantastic steps
“You can have a hangover from other things than alcohol,” remarked Philip Marlowe in ‘The Big Sleep’; his more-than-intoxicating beef was – women. Without wishing to contradict the fictitious dick, we find the current state of music to be even more debilitating… but then, one comes across (again) The James Taylor Quartet and its infectious, vital, can’t-stop-bopping disc ‘Room At The Top’.
This is how dance music used to be, full-blooded, organic, sense-awakening, engaging and irresistible. Harking back to the 1960’s Motown and 1970’s Stax time, it is not just a recycle job because it mixes plethora of genres to inspire you doing things few other records manage to nowadays. This album might just be the best workout you could ever have, for exercises vertical and quite a few horizontal.
Kicking in with a funk-out instrumental, ‘Mr Bridger Said So’ (yeah, that’s Noel Coward’s character in the ‘Italian Job’), it gets you reaching for your dancing sneakers with ‘Stop!’. It then slows the mood down with ‘Daydream No.9’, ‘Show Me All Your Colours’ and ‘Black Tuesday’ but these are only an interlude for more serious rhythms to gladden your life. This album has such a wealth of gems – it flirts with jazz on ‘Batten Down The Hatches’, toys with soundtrack atmos on ‘South Of Perpignon’ – that is extraordinary at the time when a couple of good songs are backed with a number of fillers by less genuine musos.
This is JTQ’s first album in five years and has a quite a few guests, from Roy Ayers and Ian Anderson to Ry Cooder and Michael Brecker of saxophone. But, it is the core of the band that is responsible for this travel into the future-past. Comparable to the way Prince and, before him, James Brown, Sly & the Family Stone, to name a trio, used to do it. My partner asked me the other day, as I was funkying on a ceiling to this, if I had been a soul-person in any of my previous lives. Well, considering that it all began in Africa, aren’t we all spiritually, erm – tanned?
Oh, the sweet sound of soulful music! Although entitled ‘Room At The Top’, this album actually works the best on the lower region otherwise known as the passion engine.
Have a cigar but be careful with that ash, Eugene…
8/10
SashaS
12-8-2002
The James Taylor Quartet’s album is available now on Sanctuary
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