Melvin Taylor "Beyond the Burning Guitar" "Taylor Made"

(melvintaylormusic.com) There's smooth and there's smooth, and the smooth jazz and blues of Taylor is smooth as freshly ironed satin sheets; smooth as Silk brand soy milk; smooth as soft serve ice cream; smooth as a black velvet painting of a baby's bottom. And his smooth Beethoven's 5th on "Beyond the Burning Guitar" makes Walter Murphy's disco version seem positively jagged! His more recent "Taylor Made" camouflages the smooth-osity by opening with a "Damn it's bluesy in here" number that roughs up the smooth, but by the time his blissful "Beneath the Sunset" kicks in, and his silkikication of a formally funked-up Isaac Hayes tune wrap you in satin, you'll be declaring, "Damn, it's smoothie in here," while drinking this sonic smoothie.