After achieving international success with Duran Duran, guitarist ANDY TAYLOR started a solo career in the mid-’80s releasing two very good albums which not only appealed the pop-rock crowd but also melodic rock / AOR aficionados.
Now Taylor is releasing his first solo album in decades titled “Man’s A Wolf To Man“, a record with almost ten years in the making that had numerous iterations, but after experiencing a global pandemic and his own cancer diagnosis, is among the most worldly material of his career.
The heavy and almost grievous title track opens the album complimenting the overall theme of man being his own worst enemy. A shorter keyboard loaded “reprise” of the song bookends the record. Acoustic and electric guitars unite for “Influential Blondes”, ranking as one of the best tracks. A worthy repeated listen.
Same goes for the more upbeat pop on “Did It For You” which gets a little repetitive until Taylor works in his guitar magic halfway through. Then drops in the harmonica for the final minute taking this one in an entirely different direction.
An Andy Taylor / Tina Arena duet in “Try To Get Even” is a sweet polished ballad, then “Reachin’ Out to You” sounds like Duran Duran. The only track that resembles Taylor’s former band and a good one too. Very dancy, maybe some inspiration from Duran Duran’s long time collaborator Nile Rodgers.
A quick fun rock number drop in “Getting It Home”, followed by midtempo “The Last Straw” sporting a British sound of yesteryear.
There’s a lot of guitars on the rocking “Gotta Give”, featuring singer Gary Stringer from Reef, an English band Taylor has toured with since 2019. Finally, “Big Trigger” drifts between acoustic to electric with a Nineties feeling that puts a resounding seal of approval on Man’s A Wolf to Man.
By the way, while still fighting the disease, Taylor reunites with his old bandmates for Duran Duran’s 16th album Dance Macabre, a collection of covers, new songs and “reimagined” classics out in October.
Highly Recommended
1. Man’s a Wolf to Man
2. Influential Blondes
3. Did It for You
4. Try to Get Even (Featuring Tina Arena)
5. Reachin’ Out to You
6. Getting It Home
7. The Last Straw
8. This Will Be Ours
9. Gotta Give (Featuring Gary Stringer)
10. Big Trigger
11. Man’s a Wolf to Man (reprise)
Andy Taylor – Man’s A Wolf To Man 2023
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