Steve Taylor, better known at birth as Roland Stephen
Taylor, was born on December 9, 1957.
His Dad was a Baptist minister.
Steve graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1980 with
a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and theater.
He was signed to a recording contract by Billy Ray Hearn, president of
Sparrow Records, and in 1983 released his debut ep I WANT TO BE A CLONE. It was produced and engineered by Jonathan
David Brown who would work with the likes of Petra, Glen Campbell, and Daniel
Amos. Taylor performs vocals and
keyboards and Brian Tankersley plays bass.
‘Steeplechase’ starts things off. It has a quirky sound and is a statement
about approaching church with a consumer mentality and reminds us our main
concern should not be what a church can do for us: “A change of habit/Used to
go bar hopping/You started church shopping, did ya?/It’s been a problem finding
one to fit ya/You didn’t feel good, did ya?/It’s a steeplechase/Blame your
failures on/Churches where you’ve gone/Steeplechase/Ice cold Christian
fakes/Turn to frosted flakes.” Next up
is one of my favourite Christian rock songs of all time, the title track ‘I
Want to Be a Clone.’ Musically, it sounds
like you’re on a pogo stick-in other words it has lots of bounce to it! Lyrically, it calls out the church for trying
to force people into uniformity of belief: “They told me that I’d fall
away/Unless I followed what the say/Who needs the Bible anyway?/I want to be a
clone/Their language it was new to me/But Christianese got through to me/Now I
can speak it fluently/I want to be a clone.../So now I see the whole design/The
church is an assembly line/The parts are there/I’m feeling fine/I want to be a
clone/I’ve learned enough to stay afloat/But not so much I rock the boat/I’m
glad they shoved it down my throat/I want to be a clone.” Uniformity is a far cry from unity! Taylor even does a Bob Dylan impression at
the end of the song.
‘Whatever Happened to Sin?’ uses sax and is a fast number
that would be fun to dance to. It would
also be a good song to work out to. The
song is a call for Christians to wake up from their slumber, apathy, and
complacency. It specifically targets
abortion, homosexuality, and less than noble politicians: “When the closets are
empty/And the clinics are full/When your eyes have been blinded/By society’s
wool/When the streets erupt/In your own backyard/You’ll be on your
knees/Praying for the national guard/If you don’t care now/How the problems get
solved/You can shake your head later/That you never got involved/Cause the call
came ringing/From the throne of gold/But you never got the message/Cause your
mind’s on hold.” I could hear Sting
singing the next song, ‘Written Guarantee’ for some reason. It is about the benefits of surrendering all
to the Father: “Full of feelings that I couldn’t afford/Till I up and threw my
heart overboard/Take it all cause I remember when/I lost my life so You could
find it again/It’s a written guarantee/When I give it up to You/You give it
back to me/Who is gonna disagree?/When I give it up to You/You give it back to
me.”
Steve Taylor tries out his rap skills, possibly
tongue-in-cheek on ‘Bad Rap (Who you Tryin’ to Kid, Kid?)’ and does a decent
job. The lyrics address skeptics of the
Christian faith bluntly and with gusto: “Convictions make your skin to
crawl/You act like you’re above it all/You say faith is a crutch for a mind
that’s closed/You guzzle your crutch and shove it up your nose.../Can’t
understand those Christians/So you type us all in stereo/They’re hypocrites/They’re
such a bore/Well, come on in/There’s room for one more.” ‘Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Number’s Up?’
brings the funk musically. Harry
Bruckner is on bass for this one. It
sounds like a song a fundamentalist would write to a liberal: “You say humanist
philosophy/Is what it’s all about/You’re so open minded/That your brain leaked
out/Whatcha gonna do when your number’s up?/Time to lay diplomas down/Whatcha
gonna do when your number’s up/And you’re buried six feet underground?” My caution would be that education and
learning should not be seen as enemies of the Christian faith. We need Christian intellects who know what
they believe and why. Ravi Zacharias
comes to mind.
I WANT TO BE A CLONE is a strong debut ep from Mr.
Taylor. Each song makes a statement and
is not afraid to challenge both individual Christians and the church as an
institution. Fans of new wave and pop music should check this one out. Though it runs less than twenty minutes, it
says a lot. I am rating it 87%.