CHIP TAYLOR & CARRIE RODRIGUEZ
''LET'S LEAVE THIS TOWN''
SEPTEMBER 3 2002
43:27
1 - Sweet Tequila Blues/3:12
2 - Him Who Saved Me/4:34
3 - Extra/2:47
4 - There's A Hole In The Midnight/4:15
5 - Let's Leave This Town/3:20
6 - Storybook Children/3:14
7 - Do Your Part/4:50
8 - His Eyes/4:33
9 - Say Little Darlin'/2:48
10 - Midnight On The Water/2:17
11 - You Are Danger/3:37
12 - Was That For Me/3:23
Rushad Eggleston /Cello, String Section
Seth Farber /Organ
Ricardo Herz /String Section, Violin
Amelia Holländer /String Section, Viola
Dave Mattacks /Drums, Guest Artist, Percussion
John McCann /Guitar (Acoustic), Mandolin
John McGann /Guest Artist, Guitar (Acoustic), Mandolin
John Platania /Guitar (Electric)
Carrie Rodriguez /Arranger, Fiddle, String Section, Violin
Malcolm Stitt /Arranger
Chip Taylor /Arranger, Guitar (Acoustic)
Javier Vercher /Saxophone
Keiko Watanabe /String Section, Violin
Jim Whitney /Bass (Upright)
REVIEW
By Bob Gottlieb
This release by this legendary Texas songwriter is a far piece from the Troggs' Wild Thing, but it is still the same person who has worked his way around the music business. This is his teaming with up-and-coming fiddler/singer Carrie Rodriguez to bring a slew of new songs to the public, some of which are destined to become hits in the country & western music scene. He wrote, or co-wrote, ten of the 12 tunes here, and there isn't a wormy one in the package. Before the focus turns too much to this legend, take a listen to the stellar and sensitive fiddling this budding new singer is capable of producing. "There's a Hole in the Midnight" has a feel to it that calls back the best of sad country songs without being disgustingly maudlin; oh, it's a weeper all right -- however, that line of gush is not crossed. There is a good mix in the tempos of the tunes and this disc never gets stuck in any rut. They have a remarkable group of musicians playing with them that go a long way to bring out the best in his music, including former Van Morrison stalwart John Platinia on electric guitar and Fairport Convention's Dave Mattacks handling the drums. However, this is their disc and it is they who make it dazzle as a bright star in that lonesome Texas prairie night.
BIOGRAPHY
by William Ruhlmann
Chip Taylor will probably always be known as the songwriter who wrote "Wild Thing" and "Angel of the Morning." Born John Wesley Voight (the actor Jon Voight is his older brother), Taylor began playing country music while still in high school in Yonkers, New York. After finishing high school, he briefly took up his father's occupation, becoming a professional golfer. But he suffered a wrist injury and turned back to music. In 1962, he signed to Warner Bros., and his single "Here I Am" bubbled just under the Billboard Hot 100 in November. He became more successful, however, as a songwriter, scoring his first hit with "I Can't Let Go" (co-written with Al Gorgoni), which was recorded by the Hollies for a chart entry in March 1966. (Linda Ronstadt revived the song for a Top 40 hit in 1980.) Then came the simplistic but unforgettable "Wild Thing," recorded by another British group, the Troggs, who topped the charts with it in July, creating a much-covered standard. A parody by "Senator Bobby" (comedian Bill Minkin) hit the Top 40 in January 1967, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience performed the song at the Monterey Pop Festival in June. Meanwhile, Taylor continued to write hits: "Make Me Belong to You" (co-written with Billy Vera) hit the Top 40 for Barbara Lewis in August 1966; "I Can Make It with You" was cut by both the Pozo-Seco Singers and by Jackie DeShannon, with the Pozo-Seco Singers' version winning out and hitting the Top 40 in October 1966; the American Breed recorded "Step Out of Your Mind" for a Top 40 hit in July 1967; and Billy Vera & Judy Clay hit the Top 40 with "Country Girl City Man" (co-written with Ted Daryll) in March 1968. But Taylor's second standard was "Angel of the Morning," a ballad about premarital sex that pushed the boundaries of acceptable subject matter in pop music. Merrilee Rush & the Turnabouts recorded the song, and it reached the Top Ten in June 1968; Juice Newton revived it in 1981 for a second Top Ten hit and a gold record. With Gorgoni, Taylor wrote "I'll Hold Out My Hand," recorded by the Clique for a Top 40 hit in December 1969. Also in 1969, Janis Joplin recorded Taylor and Jerry Ragavoy's "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" and released it as the lead-off track on her debut solo album, I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!
Taylor had not given up his ambition to be a recording artist himself. He and Gorgoni recorded together under the name Just Us, then Taylor cut a series of solo albums in the 1970s, including This Side of the Big River, which reached the country charts in 1975, as did five Taylor singles between 1975 and 1977. His songwriting efforts also found favor in Nashville, with "Sweet Dream Woman" (co-written with Gorgoni) reaching the country Top Ten for Waylon Jennings in 1972 and Anne Murray's recording of "Son of a Rotten Gambler" in the country Top Ten in 1974. Nevertheless, Taylor gave up the music business and became a professional gambler, not returning to music until 1993 when he joined a national songwriters' tour. He released a new album, The Living Room Tapes, in 1997, followed by Seven Days in May in 1998, The London Sessions Bootleg in 2000, Black and Blue America in 2001, and a collaboration with Carrie Rodriguez, Let's Leave This Town, in 2002. A sampler mini-album drawing tracks from several ongoing recording projects, New Songs of Freedom appeared in 2008. Also appearing in 2008 was the ornately packaged Songs from a Dutch Tour, which featured both an autobiographically themed trade paperback book and a new CD of recorded material. The autobiographical tenet followed with the release of Taylor's 2009 album, Yonkers, NY, an earthy collection of new songs and stories about his hometown and family. In 2011, Taylor resurfaced with Rock and Roll Joe: A Tribute to the Unsung Heroes of Rock n' Roll, a collection of covers with John Platania and Kendel Carson. Taylor has always been mercurial, and he shifted gears yet again in 2011. Via Smithsonian Folkways, he released his first children's album, Golden Kids Rules, accompanied by his three grandaughters.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Birchmeier
Reared in Austin, TX, and schooled at Boston's Berklee College of Music, the fiddle-playing singer/songwriter Carrie Rodriguez made her recording debut in 2002 by contributing to Chip Taylor's Let's Leave This Town. Taylor had first heard Rodriguez at the 2001 South by Southwest conference and subsequently invited her to tour alongside him, which she did for several years. The duo also released several collaborative albums, which allowed Rodriguez to showcase her fiddle expertise while slowly sharpening her songwriting prowess. She then released her solo debut, Seven Angels on a Bicycle, in 2006. She Ain't Me followed two years later, featuring an increased emphasis on Rodriguez's vocals. Live in Louisville, recorded during her 2007 tour with Lucinda Williams, appeared in 2009. Love and Circumstance, an album of covers of classic love songs, arrived in 2010. That same year, Rodriguez released the compilation album The New Bye & Bye featuring four new songs with Taylor. We Still Love Our Country, an album with Ben Kyle, appeared in 2011, followed by her fifth solo outing, Give Me All You Got, early in 2013.
''LET'S LEAVE THIS TOWN''
SEPTEMBER 3 2002
43:27
1 - Sweet Tequila Blues/3:12
2 - Him Who Saved Me/4:34
3 - Extra/2:47
4 - There's A Hole In The Midnight/4:15
5 - Let's Leave This Town/3:20
6 - Storybook Children/3:14
7 - Do Your Part/4:50
8 - His Eyes/4:33
9 - Say Little Darlin'/2:48
10 - Midnight On The Water/2:17
11 - You Are Danger/3:37
12 - Was That For Me/3:23
Rushad Eggleston /Cello, String Section
Seth Farber /Organ
Ricardo Herz /String Section, Violin
Amelia Holländer /String Section, Viola
Dave Mattacks /Drums, Guest Artist, Percussion
John McCann /Guitar (Acoustic), Mandolin
John McGann /Guest Artist, Guitar (Acoustic), Mandolin
John Platania /Guitar (Electric)
Carrie Rodriguez /Arranger, Fiddle, String Section, Violin
Malcolm Stitt /Arranger
Chip Taylor /Arranger, Guitar (Acoustic)
Javier Vercher /Saxophone
Keiko Watanabe /String Section, Violin
Jim Whitney /Bass (Upright)
REVIEW
By Bob Gottlieb
This release by this legendary Texas songwriter is a far piece from the Troggs' Wild Thing, but it is still the same person who has worked his way around the music business. This is his teaming with up-and-coming fiddler/singer Carrie Rodriguez to bring a slew of new songs to the public, some of which are destined to become hits in the country & western music scene. He wrote, or co-wrote, ten of the 12 tunes here, and there isn't a wormy one in the package. Before the focus turns too much to this legend, take a listen to the stellar and sensitive fiddling this budding new singer is capable of producing. "There's a Hole in the Midnight" has a feel to it that calls back the best of sad country songs without being disgustingly maudlin; oh, it's a weeper all right -- however, that line of gush is not crossed. There is a good mix in the tempos of the tunes and this disc never gets stuck in any rut. They have a remarkable group of musicians playing with them that go a long way to bring out the best in his music, including former Van Morrison stalwart John Platinia on electric guitar and Fairport Convention's Dave Mattacks handling the drums. However, this is their disc and it is they who make it dazzle as a bright star in that lonesome Texas prairie night.
BIOGRAPHY
by William Ruhlmann
Chip Taylor will probably always be known as the songwriter who wrote "Wild Thing" and "Angel of the Morning." Born John Wesley Voight (the actor Jon Voight is his older brother), Taylor began playing country music while still in high school in Yonkers, New York. After finishing high school, he briefly took up his father's occupation, becoming a professional golfer. But he suffered a wrist injury and turned back to music. In 1962, he signed to Warner Bros., and his single "Here I Am" bubbled just under the Billboard Hot 100 in November. He became more successful, however, as a songwriter, scoring his first hit with "I Can't Let Go" (co-written with Al Gorgoni), which was recorded by the Hollies for a chart entry in March 1966. (Linda Ronstadt revived the song for a Top 40 hit in 1980.) Then came the simplistic but unforgettable "Wild Thing," recorded by another British group, the Troggs, who topped the charts with it in July, creating a much-covered standard. A parody by "Senator Bobby" (comedian Bill Minkin) hit the Top 40 in January 1967, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience performed the song at the Monterey Pop Festival in June. Meanwhile, Taylor continued to write hits: "Make Me Belong to You" (co-written with Billy Vera) hit the Top 40 for Barbara Lewis in August 1966; "I Can Make It with You" was cut by both the Pozo-Seco Singers and by Jackie DeShannon, with the Pozo-Seco Singers' version winning out and hitting the Top 40 in October 1966; the American Breed recorded "Step Out of Your Mind" for a Top 40 hit in July 1967; and Billy Vera & Judy Clay hit the Top 40 with "Country Girl City Man" (co-written with Ted Daryll) in March 1968. But Taylor's second standard was "Angel of the Morning," a ballad about premarital sex that pushed the boundaries of acceptable subject matter in pop music. Merrilee Rush & the Turnabouts recorded the song, and it reached the Top Ten in June 1968; Juice Newton revived it in 1981 for a second Top Ten hit and a gold record. With Gorgoni, Taylor wrote "I'll Hold Out My Hand," recorded by the Clique for a Top 40 hit in December 1969. Also in 1969, Janis Joplin recorded Taylor and Jerry Ragavoy's "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" and released it as the lead-off track on her debut solo album, I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!
Taylor had not given up his ambition to be a recording artist himself. He and Gorgoni recorded together under the name Just Us, then Taylor cut a series of solo albums in the 1970s, including This Side of the Big River, which reached the country charts in 1975, as did five Taylor singles between 1975 and 1977. His songwriting efforts also found favor in Nashville, with "Sweet Dream Woman" (co-written with Gorgoni) reaching the country Top Ten for Waylon Jennings in 1972 and Anne Murray's recording of "Son of a Rotten Gambler" in the country Top Ten in 1974. Nevertheless, Taylor gave up the music business and became a professional gambler, not returning to music until 1993 when he joined a national songwriters' tour. He released a new album, The Living Room Tapes, in 1997, followed by Seven Days in May in 1998, The London Sessions Bootleg in 2000, Black and Blue America in 2001, and a collaboration with Carrie Rodriguez, Let's Leave This Town, in 2002. A sampler mini-album drawing tracks from several ongoing recording projects, New Songs of Freedom appeared in 2008. Also appearing in 2008 was the ornately packaged Songs from a Dutch Tour, which featured both an autobiographically themed trade paperback book and a new CD of recorded material. The autobiographical tenet followed with the release of Taylor's 2009 album, Yonkers, NY, an earthy collection of new songs and stories about his hometown and family. In 2011, Taylor resurfaced with Rock and Roll Joe: A Tribute to the Unsung Heroes of Rock n' Roll, a collection of covers with John Platania and Kendel Carson. Taylor has always been mercurial, and he shifted gears yet again in 2011. Via Smithsonian Folkways, he released his first children's album, Golden Kids Rules, accompanied by his three grandaughters.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Birchmeier
Reared in Austin, TX, and schooled at Boston's Berklee College of Music, the fiddle-playing singer/songwriter Carrie Rodriguez made her recording debut in 2002 by contributing to Chip Taylor's Let's Leave This Town. Taylor had first heard Rodriguez at the 2001 South by Southwest conference and subsequently invited her to tour alongside him, which she did for several years. The duo also released several collaborative albums, which allowed Rodriguez to showcase her fiddle expertise while slowly sharpening her songwriting prowess. She then released her solo debut, Seven Angels on a Bicycle, in 2006. She Ain't Me followed two years later, featuring an increased emphasis on Rodriguez's vocals. Live in Louisville, recorded during her 2007 tour with Lucinda Williams, appeared in 2009. Love and Circumstance, an album of covers of classic love songs, arrived in 2010. That same year, Rodriguez released the compilation album The New Bye & Bye featuring four new songs with Taylor. We Still Love Our Country, an album with Ben Kyle, appeared in 2011, followed by her fifth solo outing, Give Me All You Got, early in 2013.
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