Lynn Taylor And The Barflies – Where The Heart Is
Self-Release – 2025
11 tracks; 46 minutes
Nashville-based songwriter Lynn Taylor lost his wife in 2016 and had to put his musical career on hold to raise his young children. Now able to resume his musical career, this is his first release for seven years and finds him exploring themes that are mainly personal, drawn from passions and experience. Lynn wrote all the material, with assistance from band members on four, sings and plays guitar and banjo; other members of The Barflies are Dave Coleman on guitar and organ, Larry O’Brien on piano and banjo, Tom Mason on slide guitar and trombone, Jennifer Halenar on fiddle, Parker Hawkins on bass and Reid Cummings on drums; most of the band add B/V’s, assisted by Graham Gray on two songs and by Lynn’s daughters Piper Daly-Taylor and Bella Daly-Taylor on one.
As one might guess from the instrumentation there is a healthy dose of country in the music here, fiddle and banjos at the heart of many songs. However, the use of slide on opener “Carnival In Hell” gives the tune a blues element as Lynn sings about one of his favourite cities, New Orleans, the lyrics inspired by a book he read that explored the seedier side of Southern culture. The title track follows, a song about what actually constitutes love, the sentimental lyrics underlined by the fiddle,with a fast-paced solo towards the end. Lynn’s raspy voice asks “Who Says No To Love” on a slower tune with plenty of fiddle and banjo while “Donna Lee” comes from a suggestion by Larry that they should write a song about the lady who gave her name to one of Charlie Parker’s most famous tunes. However, Lynn did not know about the Parker connection and drafted a song inspired by a place he was working on (he is a landscaper by trade), resulting in a murder ballad that is something of an outlier on this record, alongside the longest track, “The Twilight Years Of Florence And Ebenezer” which has some heavier guitar work behind the saga.
“When I Think About You” is more like a 60’s pop record, the chorus bringing The Everly Brothers to mind, Lynn reflecting on someone he loves but who is far away. In similar vein lyrically “Feel Love Again” celebrates the fact that one can find love again, even after tragedy, a quiet and reflective song, and “648 Miles” explores a similar theme, a song about a long distance relationship with a definite country feel. Larry and Lynn had been working on “Country Song” for years but had never managed to finish it to their satisfaction until Lynn’s daughter Bella helped him complete it. The result is a semi-acoustic tune with good harmonies, the fiddle adding a mournful feel.
“Muse” is the first time that Lynn and fiddle player Jennifer have written a song together: “Gonna dance with my muse this evening, even let her take the lead; I love her so much, even when she’s laughing at me.” Lynn states in the notes that he feels that the song reminds him of Dylan’s Desire and there is some truth in that. The last track here is “Time To Change” which returns to New Orleans with the trombone in the background.
It is sometimes said that the blues is a broad church, but this is an album that fits best into the Americana category and the actual blues content is quite low.
