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Early Works by Taylor Hicks

Early Works

Release Date: 10/28/2008

Recording Date: 8/2008

Tracks: 12

Label: Modern Whomp Records

Type: CD

Genre/Styles:
Soul, Contemporary Pop/Rock, United States of America, Blue-Eyed Soul, R&B

Album Tracks (12)

Song Title
Length
1.
Soul Thing
03:57
2.
The Fall
04:40
3.
Hold on to Your Love
02:52
4.
The Deal
03:35
5.
Heart and Soul
02:45
6.
In Your Time
04:59
7.
West Texas Sky
03:30
8.
Somehow
04:14
9.
Tighten Up
07:00
10.
Son of a Carpenter
04:54
11.
My Friend
03:21
12.
Georgia
07:11

What the Critics Say

Officially released on CD late in 2008, long after his American Idol spotlight dimmed so dark he lost his major-label contract, Early Works reveals that Taylor Hicks was always a working musician, a no-fuss journeyman that cranked out soulful rock & roll, the kind that always sounds pretty good in a beer ad. That isn't much of a surprise: his Idol performances and post-Idolalbum suggested that he could always crank songs like "Soul Thing" and the softer "The Deal," a Bob Seger-styled midtempo number that surfaced on his major-label effort and is here in an early incarnation that isn't that much different. What's surprising about Early Works is its strain of sweet, folky singer/songwriter pop, halfway between Van Morrison and Stephen Stills. Most of the record is in this vein - possibly because it's a sound that's easier to market than the soul-rock that made his name - and while it's just as classic rock in its own way as the barroom blues boogie that brought him fame, it does suggest a depth not quite heard in his Idol-era performances. It's still journeyman stuff - music marked by its dogged devotion not divine spark - but it's well-done, heartfelt and endearing, sounding like the work of a local boy made good. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

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