Dudley Taft – The Speed of Life
12 Tracks – 46 minutes
Dudley Taft was born in Washington DC and grew up in the American Midwest before settling into Cincinnati with his family in 2013. His career started in high school when he founded the band Space Antelope with his friend Trey Anastacio of Phish. He was a band member and one of the songwriters for the Seattle band Sweet Water. He performed with several other bands before forming the first band using his name in 2007. The band released their first album, Left for Dead in 2010. The present album is the tenth for the Dudley Taft Band.
Dudley handles the guitar and vocals with drummer Nick Owsianka, Dave Marks on bass, keyboards, and percussion, Bennett Holland on keyboards with Ashley Charmae, his daughter, and Gina McCann on backing vocals. Twelve original songs were all written by Dudley.
“Wanted Man” starts the album with a bit of funk amid Dudley’s usual interesting guitar as he sings “I’ve Got eyes in the back of my head cuz I’m a wanted man”. He has “Miles and Miles to Go” addressing his time on the road as he says “Turn up the Radio. Play the songs I know. Play the ones I heard when I was young. Let’s save my soul with rock ‘n’ roll”. He goes into full rock mode as he says we can “Work It Out” perhaps in an expression of a musician’s life noting “I hate the Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Gotta be a better way to spend those days”.
“Burn It Down” moves into ZZ Top territory perhaps with a touch of Gun and Roses. He asks “After all these years are you still out there sweating it? Chasing the same old dream? Ya Gotta take stock. Cut your losses, make a plan. Execute it, and quick on your feet”. He continues the all-out rock attack as he tells her “I love looking. You know that I love the touching. You “Set Me on Fire“. Liner notes establish that “Pretty Little Thing” is dedicated to his wife and daughter. He tells them “You’re the wings on my aeroplane. You’re the wheels on my car. You’re the angel of my dreams. You’re the strings on my guitar”.
He exclaims that “our paradise is in plain sight” on “Topaz Blue”, a rocking love ballad. He goes full bore rock on the repentant “Same Mistakes” as he declares “I need to show you I’m in love with you”. On “No Yesterdays” he says, “The good life was shown to us on the TV but in real life it would make our credit card bleed”. But he concludes “Don’t tear it down when you can build it higher” in a statement of optimism.
“The Traveler” surprises as he pulls out an acoustic guitar in a warm ballad as he weaves a love note ” Let the sunlight warm your skin. Let the sound of silence in. Here it’s only me and you with nothing we have to do.” “Into The Blue”, another love song, maintains the more leisurely pace as he reminiscences on time at home with her declaring “And when I’m at home with you, starlight spills down on us two. Stick to me like glue”. “No Time Left” questions the current world climate with an explosive guitar finale and expresses fears “Brown Haze fills the sky, things are different now. Every year temperatures rise. Will it cool back down? Now we’re running on the edge of the cliff, here we all go, and we can’t see anything that lies below”.
Dudley’s guitar work is always dynamic and interesting with vocals well-suited to his hard rocking style taking us on a journey through his travels and a return to his home and his family.
