Description
A Briefing for the Ascent, sub-titled A Tale of a Man’s Passing from “Here” to “There”, is the sophomore solo album by American singer, songwriter, and producer Terry Scott Taylor of Daniel Amos, The Swirling Eddies and the Lost Dogs fame, released on Frontline Records in April 1987, distributed by the Benson Company. The album was recorded by Dave Hackbarth at 3-D Studios in Costa Mesa, California; with Terry Taylor and Greg Flesch producing for Rebel Base Productions. Mixed by Doug Doyle, Greg Flesch, and Terry Taylor. The death of Taylor’s grandmother the previous year would be the primary source of inspiration for the album. (This album is dedicated to my Grandma Borthick who at last left the “Wildwood” and entered the Glory on Oct. 3rd, 1986.)
Fun facts: The heavy “drum” heard througout the song “Changeless” is actually a plastic water bottle sampled from the Beach Boys’ classic, “Caroline No”. Also featuring a cover of “Long, Long, Long”, a song written by George Harrison and originally featured on The Beatles’ self-titled double album, a.k.a. The White Album.
This work was conceived in the anguish of impending loss. As my grandmother lay dying, I wrote and wept and prayed and wrote some more. At her bedside I sang these songs to her, expressing as best I knew how all that her life had meant to me. Though it was difficult for her to do, she smiled when I sang “…you will wash in the river, you will shine in the Son…”. She smiled because she believed it to be utterly and completely true. Her last words to me where “I will be there”. And so she is.
Now I see that death is another page turned in the “briefing”. It is with great reluctance I read on – but not without hope, “for the best is perhaps what we understand least.”
With love to all who have lost,
Terry Taylor
[Note on the LP inlay]
“I die a little every day I live,” sings Terry Taylor in his second solo album, A Briefing for the Ascent. Like last year’s Knowledge & Innocence, Taylor’s attention is turned to subjects deeply personal and conceptual, and again the music is subdued when compared to his band DA. Addressing essentially the same concerns that spawned 1 Thessalonians 4:13ff that some “have fallen asleep” – a Christian’s response to death – A Briefing for the Ascent finds Taylor passing through a picture gallery on the edge of the wildwood, a reference point in Knowledge & Innocence where each picture moves viewers toward the acceptance of their mortality.
While songs like the title track, «The Wood Between the Worlds», «My Love, My Love», and «Capture Me» stand out, they are inextricably tied to the whole of the piece, encapsulating the album’s strengths and weaknesses. The problem with any concept album, especially one about the reality of death and coping with the loss of loved ones, is that it’s not always what you want to listen to even though certain songs are quite appealing. This is a limiting factor that fans of Taylor ought to be used to.
Taylor has shaken the Lennon-isms that have often overridden his own creative urges and here evokes the balladeer stance, taking one step closer to the Beach Boys than to Bryan Ferry. At times, the other-worldly sounds of synths and lilting guitars are just too much and you wish for a syncopated measure to hang your interest on, but essentially it is the deeply personal and reflective nature of the material that will make or break it for listeners. While hard-core DA fans may weather the quiet of low tide, it will take more from the often enigmatic and entertaining Taylor to draw in new appreciators. [Brian Quincy Newcomb, CCM, May 1987]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/a-briefing-for-the-ascent/389884208)
LP tracklist:
A Tale of a Man’s Passing from “Here” to “There”
Side One
Part I: “The Briefing”
A1. “A Briefing For The Ascent” – 4:34
A2. “Somewhere To Elsewhere” (Instrumental) – 2:02
Part II: “The Preparation”
A3. “Beyond The Wall Of Sleep” – 3:13
A4. “The Wood Between The Worlds” – 3:49
A5. “Changeless” – 4:02
Side Two
B1. “My Love, My Love” – 5:15
Part III: “The Battle”
B2. “Wars Of The Heart” (Instrumental) – 0:53
B3. “Capture Me” – 4:30
B4. “Where Dreams Come True” – 3:20
B5. “Long, Long, Long” – 4:05
Part IV: “The Ascent”
Prelude (Spoken Word and Instrumental)
B6. “Going Home” – 5:15
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and 12-inch vinyl LP by Frontline Records. Frontline as well released a two-sided 7-inch vinyl single featuring the album tracks “Changeless” and “The Wood Between The Worlds” (b/w). A remastered version of the album was re-issued on CD by Frontline Records in 1993 (though most of the spoken word parts were left off for some reason). Remastered and re-issued on Stunt Records in 2024 as a Limited Edition 2CD featuring both Knowledge & Innocence and A Briefing for the Ascent. (2CD Liner Notes: I gained my first real understanding of grief after the agonizing loss of my maternal grandparents (the Borthicks) so close together in 1983 and 1986. These records sprang from that grief. It was also my first sobering encounter with my own mortality. One of the benefits of growing older is that the older we get as believers, the more we become conformed to the image of our Lord who, among other characteristics, was “a man acquainted with grief.” Obviously, since the release of both albums, I’ve lost a number of family members and dear friends, among them my dear friend Doug Doyle, the brilliant engineer of both records. It is to them, as well as those who continue to find solace in these songs, that this re-issue is dedicated.)
CREDITS. Produced by Terry Taylor and Greg Flesch. Conceived and directed by Terry Taylor. Orchestrations constructed and arranged by Taylor and Flesch. Engineered by Dave Hackbarth. Mixed by Terry Taylor and Doug Doyle with Greg Flesch. Recorded at 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa, CA. Mastered by John Matousek at Hitsville, L.A., CA. Album Cover Concept by Terry Taylor and Ed McTaggart. Art Direction by Ed McTaggart. Photography by Bob Rowe. Photographics by Ken Baley.
Musicians: Terry Taylor (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards and Synthesizers, Synth Treatments, Drum Programs), Greg Flesch (Guitars, Keyboards and Synthesizers, Synth Treatments, Percussion, Drum Programs), Tim Chandler (Bass), Steve Hindalong (Drums), Ed McTaggart (Drums), Alex MacDougall (Percussion), Dave Hackbarth (Drum Programs). Background Vocals: Terry Taylor, Jerry Chamberlain, Tom Howard, Rob Watson, Crystal Lewis, Montebello First Baptist Church Choir.
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