I’ve never made a secret of my preference for live music. Â One of the things that attracts me to a live performance is that you learn a little more about the performer. Â They don’t just bare their sole with their music, but generally give you some of the story behind the story. Â What’s great about the latest Chip Taylor album, Yonkers, NY, is he combines the aural quality of a studio recording with the stories that inspired them in the first place. Â (Note: there are two versions of the album out, one with the stories and one without.)
Take Bastard Brothers for instance. Â Chip takes a break in the middle of the song and tells about how his brothers convinced his parents to take his fiddle away when he was 7 because of the screeching when Chip practiced. Â Or Barry Go On, about how his dad was a golf pro but told his boys he was secretly an FBI agent. Â They’re the kind of stories that every family has, and it’s great to hear them put to song in an interpretive manner that shows why Chip is such a successful songwriter.
Overall the album is less a country effort than I was expecting.  It’s more in the vein of a singer-songwriter like John Prine or Kris Kristofferson.  And like recordings from those artists, it’s an album packed with songs that sound good when Chip sings them, but you just know others will record them and put their own spin on the story.  One of my favorites is Gin Rummy Rules about how Chip learned math as a kid.  Without Horses is something I can easily see others covering, about charting your own way through life.  And finally, the title track, about growing up in middle class America.
Overall, Yonkers, NY, is a solid effort. Â It may not be something you play again and again, but like a good book it’s a comforting diversion for a cold winter day.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.