Description
Steps of the Mission is the tenth solo album by the American singer and songwriter Terry Talbot of Mason Proffit and the Talbot Brothers fame, self-released in 2002. (Credited to Terry Talbot and Luna Negra on the 2006 re-issue of the album, which also features new cover artwork.) The album was recorded at Cerro Negro Studio in Fresno and at Signature Studios in San Diego, California.
Featuring Terry Talbot on vocals and acoustic guitar, backed by Frank Giordano and Dusty Bough on flamenco guitars, and a rhythm section consisting of Ric Seaburg on bass and John Martin III on percussion, with Alicia Previn sitting in on violin on a few tracks.
Terry Talbot has been around for a long time. He started with Mason Proffit, the best group that never made it really big. So be it. Talbot has produced outstanding music over the years, in partnership with his brother John Michael Talbot, Barry McGuire, and others (reads like a whos who of Christian music). Additionally, he has been a session guitarist for others (Glen Campbell and others). He has consistently produced outstanding music.
His latest CD, Steps of the Mission, could be described as a Christian, Celtic, sevillana CLASS ACT. The entire CD is filled with superior vocals, musicianship, and production. For this review, I want to address the first three cuts on the cd:
«Love One Another» – I have heard this before, years ago. It never sounded like his. The cut starts out with some first rate percussion (flamenco/sevillana, with an almost tabla sound). It then weaves the first guitar run all around itself, resolving again and again. Take the time to sit down and LISTEN to this thing, a couple of times. Terry knows how to draw his listener into the song, to play with the listener, and then resolve the music into a perfect finale.
«Murphys Law» – As a guitarist, the artistry in this cut just makes me sick. I hope that he has at least triple tracked this thing. The thought that he could play this in less than three or four separate tracks overlaid on each other is just more than I can take. I just cant figure out whether he should have been the lead performer on ‘Oh Brother Where Art Thou’, or on Dan Crarys ‘Men of Steel’. SUPERIOR guitar playing. Terry, you should cut instructional guitar lessons so that most of the rest of us can at least give it a shot.
«Li Li Li» – Now this one starts right out of Seville, Spain. I have seen Sevilliana/Flamenco dancers that would DIE for this sort of accompaniment. I have no idea where Terry found these people. The song includes some searing guitar work, great vocals, and again, superior production. At the risk of sounding redundant, LISTEN to this cut a couple of times. At about the fourth trip through it, I began to get a real appreciation for the artistry here.
Most of Terrys recorded works are unavailable, which is a real shame. Breaking out of the usual Christian music genre is what Terry has done best over the years. This is his best work. [Joe Toher, The Phantom Tollbooth, 8/20/2006]
CD tracklist:
01. Love One Another – 4:00
02. Murphy’s Law – 3:26
03. Li Li – 5:01
04. Breathless – 5:17
05. Stuff – 2:53
06. Firewind – 3:27
07. For Beautiful – 7:11
08. God Like The Wind – 4:48
09. I Surrender – 3:30
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.