STEVE TAYLOR

Squint

Ahhh; Steve Taylor, quite possibly one of the most random and yet sharp tongued of all late 80's/ early 90's Christendom. When I first heard this album (released in 1993), I was far too young to get what all the lyrics were on about but I liked it because it sounded cool and when you're immature that's pretty much all that counts. He'd previously caused a stir in Christian circles for songs like "Blew up the clinic" (a song against those who stand for abortion by being violent), "I want to be a clone" (about assimilating all the things other Christians do instead of having a real relationship with God) and then there was the real winner, "We don't need no colour code", a song aimed at a Christian university who refused to allow black students entry. Were they really so shocking? Perhaps, but not as shocking as the targets of the jibes.

So, having made a few friends and more than a few non-friends, Steve released this little gem to the public and once again ruffled some feathers. The album started out with "The lament of Desmond R. G. Underwood Frederick IV" and the song behind that woefully long title tells the story of a man who's done all the new age fads and now finds that he's on the way out. It's a funny list of all the psycho-babble of the time trends (including getting in touch with ones' feminine side or inner child) but still makes a point about how none of those things are going to help when it's your time to go. "Bannerman" is oddly enough free of any sarcasm and I've seen an interview with Steve himself as he describes the simple joy of seeing some guy unashamedly raising banners with scriptures on as the camera focuses on him at football games. A nice message about not really caring what the world thinks and it has a great upbeat tune to go with it. On "Smug", Steve has the sharp pointy things out for those in positions of power, who smugly think they are in the right and everyone else is an idiot. It was written after watching politicians on both sides but has reference in our lives as Christians and how we treat others around us. One of the more contentious songs came next in "Jesus is for losers", which takes the whole message of the world, that Christians are weak minded losers, and turns it around by embracing the fact that yes, we are losers for to lose our lives is to gain Christ. It doesn't sound like much now, but some found it offensive anyhow, perhaps because they didn't "get" the song. The steadily building "The finish line" is the fifth song and tells a story of our journey of faith and how we start out ready to take on the world but often end up losing our way between the start and finish. The urging here is towards pressing on to the end and the grand prize in Christ's arms and not just giving up, despite having a few bruises.

The second half of the album kicks off with "Moshing floor", certainly not heavy by today's standards, but still a good rocker complete with a bit of background screaming by Steve. The main point of the song only appears later when the way Jesus is mixed into everything and sold as a product is likened to being in a moshing pit, with everything all being tossed together so you can't tell head from heel. "Easy listening" is laid back reggae type song written from the future, where an "old" Steve tells the new young radicals that he much preferred the music and preaching of the "good old days" where "the sermons were affirmin', cause the Lord liked us better then". It is quite a hard knock, even today, when you realise that a lot of what we hear is merely tickling our ears and not challenging us to be more like Christ, and I love the way Steve took such a serious message and wrapped it in a catchy tune so you don't actually realise until it's stuck in your head that the message is a grave one. "Curses" is less happy and this time the target is relationships and broken families before "Sock heaven" again shows up the new age religious philosophies of the time. The final chapter of the album comes in a three part "opera" with "Cash Cow". The intro is a simple refrain to "moooove in closer" before the main second part of the song kicks in. It's the story of the cash cow's from its birth as the golden calf of the Israelites to it's modern day rampages through every house and heart. The music builds to a crescendo and the mix of voices and noises becomes maniacal as the horror of being under money's control is revealed. The album finishes with the instrumental third part, obviously meant to give us time to soak in all that's gone before.

You might listen to this album and simply write it off as being old or even weird but the fact is that spending a bit of time listening to it one realises just how well constructed it is. Steve's lyrics have always been brilliant and on "Squint" they really were top shelf. He had it down to a fine art as you laugh at some of the words and images only to realise that the songs contents are hitting a little too close to home. He never questioned God's sovereignty or His love for humanity but rather held a mirror to some areas were we were being more Pharisaical and less Christlike. This was the last full album he made but his influence lives on through the work he did for other artists. Newsboys owe him a huge debt of gratitude for all his help in song writing and helping shape them to become one of the biggest bands in the industry. He also brought the careers of Sixpence none the richer, LA Symphony and a little group called Burlap to Cashmere to our attention through his "Squint Entertainment" record label and hopefully next month we'll take a look at one of the albums from this short lived, but influential piece of Christian music history.