The Legend Of Kung Folk Part 1 (The Killing Bite)

by

Ben Taylor

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I'm not sure if any artist has had their first three LP's be as different as Ben Taylor's. Perhaps this is why they have come out under three different artist names (The Ben Taylor Band, Ben Taylor, and Benjamin Taylor). The first, "Famous Among the Barns", was an interesting though not particularly earth shattering folk-rock-funk mix. The second, "Another Run Around the Sun", shifted gears to an acoustic folk sound, and yielded a wonderful and all around solid album. Unfortunately, his most recent album, "The Legend of Kung Folk Part 1: the Killing Bite" is as disappointing as the title is long. Taylor abandoned the simple yet timeless sound of "Another Run" for an eclectic mess which really leaves the album without a purpose or direction. The songs seem to have no real connection to each other and lack much of the depth of Taylor's previous efforts. In addition to lack of any unifying aspect of the album, the songs aren't terribly inventive and really don't generate anything that hasn't been heard before from other artists. For these reasons the album simply does not hold up as a whole. That said, some of the songs are decent when taken on their own (which is what saved this album from getting 1 star). The eclectic nature of the album means that most people will find a couple songs they like. If you liked "Famous among the Barns" you'll probably like "Wrong" and "Wilderness", while if you liked "Another Run" the you'll probably like the last three tracks as they seem to capture some of the spirit of that album. So my recommendation is to stay away from the album as a whole and rather pick out specific tracks that match your musical tastes. If you're going to own one Ben Taylor album, it should not be this one, but rather the much stronger "Another Run Around the Sun".