A good blues musician?

A good blues musician?Jul 14, 2006 6:57 AM PST
**transferred from AI profile
I just sat and listened to Taylor's version of Georgia. I mean, I SAT and LISTENED. Conc
entrated. And you know what? His musicality is so integral, so all-consuming, that it doesn't seem like he's even thinking about it. He lets it have free reign, and it just flows out of him. Effortlessly. It gave me chills, because lately, I haven't been really really hearing what Taylor has to offer. It's what grabbed my attention at his audition, and what kept me constant throughout the competition. So many things have been bombarding us, distracting from his music. All the other stuff - thighs and onions and negative publicity and good publicity ... and hardly a mention of the music that brought us to him (so many people have it the other way around). And that's what it's all about, after all. Taylor's musicality has got to be our lodestar right now. We need to remember that. His music - it's the ONLY thing that has remained constant throughout the competition, and through everything that has happened since. It's so easy to forget this is a musician who possesses that elusive and rare quality: artistic integrity. This is why I am still a fan, with all the crap that surrounds the AI machine. This is why I believe, down deep in my soul where truth lives, that I am going to be a fan of his music all my life. A good blues player? The man has all the qualities necessary to become a legend! I pray every day that the AI people will loosen their grip enough to allow it to happen. Because I don't think they quite understand exactly what it is they have uncovered. A star who has depth, feeling and staying power. Who people will look upon in the coming years with a mixture of respect and awe. Who will uphold his standards in the face of criticism and who will come out on the other side intact, and maybe even stronger, as a musician and a human being. This is Taylor Hicks: the past, the present and the future of music.

needed a safe place to keep this quote - it means a lot today ... and every day: A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away." ~Arabian Proverb