TAYLOR MESPLE – Elusive (2015)

*

Many of you AOR fans & collectors know well singer / songwriter TAYLOR MESPLE and his fantastic debut Victory Land from 2002, one of the best records from the genre during the last decade. Well, Mesple has not been quiet since, releasing another couple of albums, playing live with talents such as Eric Johnson and Bruce Hornsby, and composing for many renowned artists.
Now arrives Taylor Mesple’s new solo album “Elusive“, appeared last year but now available on physical CD.

Mesple has resided in beautiful Colorado for most of his life. He definitely won’t complain about having the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop to inspire. He has a deep connection to the ocean as well, having spent many years near the Atlantic in coastal Maine.
So his songs have the same exquisite shadings as a western sunset and the urgency of a Pacific surf. All this to say, that in order to experience the beauty of this or any other place, one must truly awaken one’s senses.

But Taylor Mesple’s art does not recognize frontiers: in Japan they call his musical style AOR, in Europe, ‘Westcoast Pop’, but in the end, this is just ‘music’. Beautiful music I’d say.
Many, varied influences can be heard during these 12 tracks, all crafted with magical emotion and stupendous musicianship. All tunes are really good combining melodic accessibility with the all out blowing of ‘heavy’ instrumental chops from every player on each track.
And we have some ‘cats’ here. Just to name a couple; awesome LA session man Tim Pierce (Robin Beck, Rick Springfield, Mark Spiro) provides luxury guitars, or the skilled Abraham Laboriel Jr. behind the drum skins.

Just after the first 3 tracks including opener “Turn Away” featuring a great guitar work by guest Tim Hill, the excellent ballad “Glory” where Taylor smooth vocals come from the heart accompanied by Pierce’s elegance, and the atmospheric “When You Love Somebody”, you can tell this is a delicious album plenty of quality.

Things get even better with “Answer Your Own Question”, a more straight rocker again with a class guitar work by Tim Pierce. A very ‘American’ cut with an AOR feel inspired by classic acts.
“Leaving The Shore” is pure West Coast with rich instrumentation adorned by Alex Nekrasov’s saxophone, pretty much in the vein of early Chicago. Still West Coast but with a slightly jazzy feel is “Slow Motion”, featuring Taylor’s wife Rebecca Mesple on lead vocals, a tune pretty late seventies but modern in sound.

Mesple also does a couple of covers here, and both are really good.
One is the ethereal, piano-based (Mesple is mainy keyboardist) version of Sting / The Police “I Burn For You”, the other “Bristol Shore”, an Eric Johnson’s original done in a classic rock vein and with talented Dave Beegle on guitar (longtime Mesple collaborator and friend).

Taylor Mesple delivers on “Elusive” an expansive palette of his varied talents. This is the work of a complete artist; exquisite songwriter & arranger, smooth vocalist and sensitive performer.
The array of top notch session musicians he brougth into the studio have perfectly nailed the essence of these songs; emotive, delicate, melodious music in its purest form.
Forget specific genres, delight in the beauty of these songs; let the sound wash over you.
My favorite artists have always been able to shape their stories from their surroundings and engage and inspire us to view life through the lens of their unique perspective. In this stunning and multifaceted recording, Taylor Mesple demonstrates he belongs among that exclusive group of artists.
Delicious.

01 – Turn Away [feat Tim Hill]
02 – When You Love Somebody
03 – Glory (Remix) [feat Tim Pierce]
04 – Elusive
05 – Answer Your Own Question V2 [feat Tim Pierce]
06 – Darkness and Light (A Piano Improvisation)
07 – Victory Land [feat Proxy]
08 – I Burn for You [feat Ike Sturm]
09 – Leaving the Shore [feat Alex Nekrasov]
10 – Slow Motion [feat Rebecca Mesple, Alex Nekrasov]
11 – All the While (Acoustic Version)
12 – Bristol Shore [feat Dave Beegle]

Taylor Mesple – vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass
Tim Pierce, Dave Beegle, Joe Gamble – guitar
Abe Laboriel Jr., Christian Toelle, Matt Hendersson – drums
Mel Brown, Jeff Taylor – bass
Alex Nekrasov – sax on 9, 10
Rebecca Mesple – harmony vocals on 10
Ike Sturm – acoustic bass on 8

BUY IT !
taylormesple.com/promotion/buy-album-elusive-2/
.