Taylor, Terry Scott - "A Briefing For the Ascent"

Taylor, Terry Scott - A Briefing For the Ascent
1987, Frontline

1. A Briefing For the Ascent
2. Somewhere to Elsewhere
3. Beyond the Wall of Sleep
4. The Wood Between the Worlds
5. Changeless
6. My Love, My Love
7. Wars of the Heart
8. Capture Me
9. Where Dreams Come True
10. Long, Long, Long
11. Prelude
12. Going Home

I missed this one the first time around - mostly because I was too young. I'm not sure what motivated me to check it out other than I love Terry Scott Taylor and I hadn't heard this one before. A Briefing For the Ascent is a meditation on death and the afterlife - something Taylor tends to revisit again and again. The music matches the theme being equal parts fifties dream-pop and Enya. It's kind of weird to hear this type of music coming from him. Even though Daniel Amos worked in lush synth soundscapes on the Alarma! Chronicles it seems different here. Very ethereal - again, much like Enya (who in '87 was just getting started with "Orinoco Flow," I think). Now I can't say this is one of my favorite platters from Taylor, but it's definitely unique.

Useless Fact: I'm told this album was inspired by the passing of Taylor's grandfather.