Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

By definition, a musician will slowly reveal their most intimate selves the more they shed others around them.

It is understandable that the group of friends who grew up together, rehearsed, argued, loved, made their statements of their youth and observations, should slowly drift apart and their worlds take on different meanings. As night follows day, the longer the musician stays in touch with the public, the more likely they are to have a solo career that outshines, at least critically, their former life within the structure of the band.

For Sean Taylor the opposite seems positively, gloriously, true. A talented and fruitful solo artist, he instead has taken on the responsibility of the band approach, albeit one in his own name, and alongside Mike Seal and Paulina Szczepaniak, gives the audience a sense of the supreme involvement of the Sean Taylor Band in their live and debut recording.

From the solo spotlight to sharing the stage, few make that journey, even less make a success on their first attempt, you have to be in the same company as a luminary of Neil Young stature to do so.

This may appear high praise, but as tracks such as the openers Number 49 and This Is England sparkle and sizzle, the beginning of something generously different can be felt stirring, the listener at home can feel a new dynamic form as of it was taking pace before them, and it is welcomed with a hue sense of appreciation.

With tracks such as Texas Boogie, Perfect Candlelight, The Heart Of The Ocean, and the hurt and pain, the truth of Grenfell comes to light, the Sean Taylor Band reflects an energy joined by a cohesion, a union of simple pleasures bound by trust. That one spirit to all which entertainers and artists abide by, trust, and each song shows this off with form, grit, and positive notes of internal belief.

There is a lot to be said for taking a chance, the opportunity to spread the wings of harmony in a direction formally unexplored, as Sean Taylor Band Live shows so elegantly and with force, it can be a revelation.

Ian D. Hall