Steve Taylor: Keep An Eye On Him
The Denver Post
May 13th, 1984
© 1984 The Denver Post
Thanks to Rob Marshall
Contemporary Christian music has branched out in recent years, with new groups offering hard rock and new wave to complement the more traditional gospel and folk-oriented acts. But Steve Taylor is one of the few Christian artists redefining lyrical boundaries, too.
Taylor, a Northglenn native, returned to the Rainbow Music Hall on Saturday night to present songs from his new "Meltdown" album. The title track, a clever ditty concerning a temperature increase at Madame Tussaud's wax museum, opened the set in video form. The clip was as well-produced as any of the fodder seen on MTV (and, indeed, the video might be aired there eventually), but the whole melting concept also served as Taylor's witty metaphor for eternal life.
When Taylor took the stage with his five-piece band, his unique brand of Christian word-crafting became even more impressive. "I Wanna Be A Clone" was no overwrought look at the abortion issue -- indeed, Taylor even pimped Stephen Sondheim by casually tossing in the line "Send in the clones!" "Am I In Sync?" used a techno-rock framework to poke fun at the concept of immortality through the media.
Taylor takes grief from some Christians who think he's too radical, but the fact remains that he's got the talent to cross over and compete with more popular secular artists. His best tunes are still in him, too -- keep an eye on this guy.
