(Palo Duro Records) TC Taylor grew up in Temple, Texas where his father played in a band and his grandfather ran a dance hall. He played in a garage band in high school and joined a real one after graduation before trying his luck in Nashville from 1991 to 1997. He then decided his heart was in Texas, and returned, settling in San Antonio.

On Dancehall Revival, TC wrote 6 of the disc's 10 cuts that include traditional based songs as well as a few contemporary songs by Nashville tunesmiths. Backing up TC is his Family Cow Band: Doug Baum (drums, accordion, vocals), Kyle Mathis (guitars, mandolin, vocals) and John 'Slam' Koehler (bass) and are joined by Cindy Cashdollar (steel guitar, dobro), Jason Roberts (fiddle) and Tejano star David Lee Garza (accordion).

Dancehall Revival opens with "I Will Wait," a contemporary ballad that has a strikingly haunting melody that picks up in intensity as TC's vocals soar. "Tequila" is a hard rocking border romp. The shuffling, Tex-Mex tinged "She's In The Bedroom Crying," is a mid-tempo ballad about the break-up of a relationship. "Go Tell Papa" is a rocking honky tonker about dragging an overprotected girl away from her disapproving daddy for a night on the town. The Tex-Mex by way of Bakersfield "Mexican Radio" tells another border tale of a hapless couple. Days gone by are sadly reflected in the swaying title track, "Dancehall Revivial." Memories of a lost love are reflected in the contemporary ballad "Spilled Perfume." TC provides the disc's most soulful vocals in the ballad "I Can't." "Cowboy Hat" is a strong western outlaw style cowboy tale of a night of passion, while the disc closes on a note of heartache with "Trail Of Tears."

Dancehall Revival has a different sound to it than most Texas fare in that the disc seems to draw heavily on the influences of early 90s mainstream country music. That is not a bad thing at all, as the influences that can be heard are those of some of the best: Dwight Yoakam, George Strait, Radney Foster, Rodney Crowell and even Chris LeDoux. TC Taylor is a very gifted singer with a lot of range, and Dancehall Revival is a good effort. However on this one, more of his influences and less of TC comes through on the disc. TC shows a lot of promise, and with his next effort, hopefully he'll let more of his own style and personality take center stage.      

www.tctaylor.com

AnnMarie Harrington TakeCountryBack October 2003