TAYLOR'S UNIVERSE

Experimental Health (Taylor's Universe '98)

Probably the saxiest album in the world!

Enter saxophonist extraordinaire Karsten Vogel of Burnin Red Ivanhoe and Secret Oyster fame: Robin C Taylor is back in strong form as the sole songwriter with a bunch of King Crimson'esque tracks that Vogel's saxes lend great support in the vein of the early sax based period of King Crimson. Yet, 'Experimental Health' also encompasses the later (80's) Crimson and points towards a more Canterbury'ish style, perhaps best exemplified - to these ears - by the Andrew Latimer (Camel anyone?) guitar-led 'Inner Space' (others would probably recollect some Mike Oldfield or even David Gilmour influences).

Whatever, Taylor's Universe are back with the trio form consisting of Karsten Vogel, Robin C Taylor and Rasmus Grosell (drums, percussion) at the core relegating Marsfeldt on keys to a sideman. Grosell excellently adds heavier and punchier drums to the proceedings which combines with the heavier guitar work mainly done by Taylor himself but also by the returning sideman Henning Plannthin on two tracks to end up with a rockier album. Kim Menzer (also of Burnin Red Ivanhoe fame) enhances two of the tracks with his flute, trombone and tenor sax to provide a more eclectic mix than previously.

While the debut combined sax and trumpet and the followup concentrated on trumpet, the third release by Taylor's Universe 'Experimental Health' seems to take the logic step to only employ sax - and to great effect

ALMOST PERFECTED is the last musical offering of Mr Robin Taylor from Denmark,a very respected and prolific musician rooted in prog music for years!This album is basically a reworked album of some older compositions and this is something good because the new versions seem to be a lot more inspired than the original ones!Definitelly,Mr Taylor wasn't satisfied with the original results ans he tried to give this tracks something new,another image and another touch of his strong musical personality !And he brilliantly managed to do it ,with this new versions,which are excellent!All the beauty of prog music is here,with many intelligent and catchy arrangements,trully different from the original ones,with a better sound and improved musical visions!The length of the tracks are not at all something that diminishes the atractivity of the compositions,no way!The production is stellar,absolutelly stunning close to perfection!The nice presentation of the cd is great too,definitelly it's a weird cover,but in a good sense of the term!So,long distance TAYLOR'S UNIVERSE fans will be very pleased with this new...and old album,and they have what to dig for a long period of time!4 strong stars for me and sincere congratulations for a very respected musician,with a respectable musical integrity and true devotion and faith for great prog music with a twist!

Looking at my CD shelves I can see nearly thirty albums recorded by Robin Taylor in one of his projects, and after a break of a couple of years, he is back with the latest from Taylor's Universe. The concept behind this was quite simple, take some old tunes and then re- arrange them with the current line-up in mind, and re-record them. Given that some of the current musicians had never heard the originals they were bound to give them a different interpretation, and the result is an album quite unlike many of Robin's other works. Robin tends to often approach music from a jazz viewpoint, taking it to more extremes with Taylor's Free Universe, but what strikes the listener with this album is just how melodic and progressive sounding it is. Yes, there are jazz elements here and there, as well as RIO, but this is fluid, melodic and complex yet always retaining a simplicity within its structure.

There are only four songs on the album, with a total length of forty-six minutes, but one is never sure exactly what is going to happen on the musical journey. "Mean Attack" starts with gentle percussion, held-down chords and a quiet gentility, which is smashed to pieces at about one minute twenty before it resumes again. Jakob Mygind again provides a sterling performance on various saxophones, while the guitars of John Sund and Robin cut through dynamically. For sheer listening pleasure this has to be one of my favourite albums from the Danish master, it's great to have him back!

Danish project TAYLOR'S UNIVERSE was formed in 1993, and since 1994 it has been a going concern that so far have released 16 studio albums, some on labels while others have been self-released through Taylor's own etiquette Marvel of Beauty Records. "Almost Perfected" is the most recent of this, and among the CDs that have been issued on Taylor's own label.

Taylor's Universe have been creating and providing progressive rock fans with high quality and mainly instrumental progressive rock for close to a generation at this point. Just about any of the albums merits a check by those fond of innovative, instrumental progressive rock, and this latest one may well be the one that has the broadest general appeal among them. An artist well worth investigating, and this particular album comes across as a very good place to start exploring the vast catalogue of this Danish band.

This is one of two releases by Taylor's Universe in 2015, but in many ways, this is the direct follow-on from 2013's 'Evidence' in that the main core of the band stayed the same, with Karsten Vogel (sax, clarinet), Claus Bøhling (guitars), Thomas Thor Viderø Ulstrup (MiniMoog), Robin Taylor (guitars, keyboards, bass, flute, percussion) and Klaus Thrane (drums). There were also some guests involved this time, including saxophonist Jakob Mygind (who appeared on the other TU release of 2015, 'Across The Universe') and long-time collaborator Carsten Sindvald (also sax). There isn't much in the way of guitar from Robin himself on this album, rather he defers to others while ensuring that the music is going exactly the way he wants it to.

Robin brings in the right people for the right job, so a song may just feature him and Claus, while another has Karsten on bass clarinet, Jakob on soprano sax and Carsten on baritone and well as Finn, Thomas, Robin and Klaus to provide a meaty complex sound. The use of a MiniMoog as the main keyboards provides a distinct style to the overall sound, which as always is complex and constructed in such a way that the tangents always make complete musical sense. Three different singers provide the wordless vocals, but many of the songs are completely instrumental, and when the voices are used it is always for an effect ? never the main driving part of the piece. It is relaxing, it is interesting, it is melodic and can be challenging, yet as with all of Robin's releases one is all the richer for having heard it. Yet another great release to add to his canon.

Robin is one of the most prolific artists I have come across, normally working under one of three different guises, and for this release he has put together a special line-up of the band. The album itself contains a selection of highlights from the later repertoire of Taylor's Universe ? here in altered 2015 versions: rearranged, partly re-recorded, remixed and remastered. No room for Karsten Vogel or Carsten Sindvald, both of whom have been important members in the past, but he has instead again relied on Jakob Mygrind to provide dynamic saxophone and has brought in two more guitarists to add weight to the sound, in the form of famed Danish musician John Sund and Frank Carvalho (from Etcetera), neither of whom have recorded with him in the past. Thomas Thor Viderø Ulstrup is again providing synths, while Klaus Thrane is still here on drums, and Louise Nipper and Jan Fischer provide some wordless vocals.

Robin, as always, is at the very centre, providing whatever musical textures and nuances that are required, working as the conductor and organiser to ensure that everything is focussed and finessed to perfection. With as much in common with jazz thinking as it does with progressive rock, Robin continues to operate at a very high level indeed, creating music that is thought provoking and intense while staying accessible and dynamic. As with all his releases, this won't be for everyone, but those who appreciate this type of music will find a great deal here to enjoy.

'Artificial Joy' was the second album from Taylor's Universe in 2009, and while the line-up is similar to the one that appeared on 'Return To Whatever' of course there are some changes. Although the comment appears in the booklet 'For maximum effect, play it loud!', and Michael Denner is again on hand this isn't nearly as rocky as one may imagine from that comment. There are elements, especially in Michael's tortured solo in "Atmosfear", where progressive elements stand out but for each of these there are also the more restrained layerings I have come to expect. Robin's keyboards are at the heart and in many ways this is the perfect follow-on to the previous album although with not quite as much edge and excitement.

It is an extremely cohesive album, with some wonderful clarinet solos and great interaction with the sax. One of the huge strengths of Taylor is that he brings together musicians and instruments in a way that totally makes sense. The previous album to this one featured violin as a foil against the sax, here it is a clarinet. Denner played on six out of seven tracks on the previous album yet here has a much smaller role allowing Taylor the opportunity to play some guitar of his own. Robin is very much a composer, a bandleader and arranger, who has a vision for each album and yet again this is one that is well worth discovering.

Robin's first release of 2009 saw a new version of Taylor's Universe, with no sign of Karsten Vogel and the use of many of the participants of his Art Cinema project including the return of Michael Denner (King Diamond/ Mercyful Fate). The other musicians on this project are Flemming Muus Tranberg (basses), Carsten Sindvald (saxophones), Klaus Thrane (drums), Louise Nipper (voice), Pierre Tassone (violin) and Tine Lilholt (flute, harp) Also, this CD has been released on the Russian Mals label instead of Robin's own, and is a superb digipak. But what of the music? This is easily one of Robin's finest moments, directing the musicians around him to bring together controlled chaos, melody and dischord, note density and space ? often in the same few bars of a song.

This is music for the music lover, whether it be jazz or progressive, with elements of Metal and avante-garde so that the whole is a discovery, a journey if you will. There are times when the brass just soars, at others it is more restrained, while at the heart of it all Robin provides simple yet poignant keyboards. Essential.

Well, there can be no doubt who Taylor's 18th album was a tribute for, namely Secret Oyster whose leader Karsten Vogel is again credited. This album sees Robin stating when the songs were originally written and just the first and last are from 2005, while the others go back as far as three numbers from 1976. But strangely enough it is probably one of the most forward sounding albums of his canon. Here Robin is striking a strong balance between jazz and symphonic progressive rock, adding to both styles without diluting from either so that fans of both genres are able to fully take this album on board. It is incredibly open and inviting, melodic and layered while also containing the space and casual structure so often the important aspects of his work.

It is instrumental music that is never boring, always intriguing, yet not as challenging as some. It could never be considered middle of the road but here Robin has produced an album that will get far more attention just because it is so easy to listen to, packed full of enjoyable melodic stories and interludes. It is polished yet still contains the spontaneity of his more experimental albums. Overall if one is looking for a place to start investigating the vast amount of work Robin has produced then this could well be the place to start.

'Once Again' was Robin's 15th album, released in 2004, and again is credited to Taylor's Universe with Karsten Vogel. Alongside Robin and Karsten, this time we saw Kim Menzer (didjeridoo), Pierre Tassone (violin), Louise Nipper (voice), Mads Hansen (drums), Rasmus Grosell (drums) and Kalle Mathiesen (drums). This was the first time that Mads had recorded with Robin since 1996's 'Pork', and he was of course also involved with the very first Taylor's Universe album ten years prior to 'Once Again'. The album starts with some didjeridoo before again working on expanding the listener's musical boundaries. This is quite different music to that from Taylor's Free Universe, not nearly so challenging, yet mixing jazz and prog in a way that is always guaranteed to ensure that one has to actually think and pay attention.

There are a few minimalist pieces here that are just superb, with sections of "Way Back in '85" reminding of me of some of Roger Eno's best works with simple repeated piano lines, but this piece in particular moves and melds with sax and fuzzed guitars to give it new life. Overall this is a very enjoyable album, and while not as essential as some of Robin's other albums is certainly worthy of further investigation.