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Ted Taylor recorded for several labels other than OKeh in his long career, so this 25-song compilation is a survey of just one part of his work in particular, and not a best-of. Even though his biggest commercial successes came later, however, this period did see some of his finest work, and most of his OKeh output is contained on this worthy anthology, Ever Wonderful: Okeh Uptown Soul 1962-1966. Taylor's 1962-1966 sides occupy an idiosyncratic niche in early soul music, as his sound wasn't quite as modern as the most innovative soul being made in the era, but was certainly more modern than the '50s R&B and gospel to which it owed obvious debts. Certainly he was one of the more skilled high-voiced male soul singers, and some of this sounds rather like the Miracles' early work. It's not as good as early Smokey Robinson, or some other major soul singers to whom he has some similarities, such as Jackie Wilson. It's a little like very early Motown, though with more pretensions toward slick "uptown" production values. Too, it seesaws between some quite earthy, bluesy selections and others that border on orchestrated pop. But that doesn't take away from the basic enjoyability of this collection, with about half the material written by Taylor himself.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
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T. Taylor, Composer - T. Taylor, Lyricist - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1962. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
T. Taylor, Composer - T. Taylor, Lyricist - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1962. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
R. Riley, Composer - R. Riley, Lyricist - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1962. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
L. Kirkland, Lyricist - L. Kirkland, Composer - F. Johnson, Lyricist - F. Johnson, Composer - Ted Taylor, Performer - P. Woods, Lyricist - P. Woods, Composer
Originally released 1962. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
Yount, Lyricist - Yount, Composer - T. Taylor, Composer - T. Taylor, Lyricist - Ted Taylor, Performer - D. Williams, Composer - D. Williams, Lyricist - E. Miller, Composer - E. Miller, Lyricist
Originally released 1965. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
T. Taylor, Composer - T. Taylor, Lyricist - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1965. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
J. Matyka, Composer - J. Matyka, Lyricist - D. Malone, Composer - D. Malone, Lyricist - Ted Taylor, Performer - J. Scott, Lyricist - J. Scott, Composer
Originally released 1965. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
T. Taylor, Composer - T. Taylor, Lyricist - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1962. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
Ted Taylor, Composer - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1963 Sony Music Entertainment
R. Riley, Composer - R. Riley, Lyricist - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1962. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
T. Taylor, Composer - T. Taylor, Lyricist - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1962. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
L. Kirkland, Lyricist - L. Kirkland, Composer - F. Johnson, Lyricist - F. Johnson, Composer - Ted Taylor, Performer - P. Woods, Lyricist - P. Woods, Composer
Originally released 1965. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
T. Taylor, Composer - T. Taylor, Lyricist - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1964. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
T. Taylor, Composer - T. Taylor, Lyricist - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1964. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
Producer not documented on available sources, Producer - Ted Taylor, Vocal - Ted Taylor, Performer - J. Byers, Composer - J. Byers, Lyricist
(P) Originally released 1964. All rights reserved by Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
R. Riley, Composer - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1964 Sony Music Entertainment
Ted Taylor, Composer - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1964 Sony Music Entertainment
Ted Taylor, Performer - C. Willis, Composer - C. Willis, Lyricist
Originally released 1964. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
H. Glover, Composer - H. Glover, Lyricist - Ted Taylor, Performer - S. Nix, Lyricist - S. Nix, Composer
Originally released 1965. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
T. Jarrett, Composer - Ted Taylor, Composer - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1965 Sony Music Entertainment
O. Wilson, Lyricist - O. Wilson, Composer - Ted Taylor, Performer - F. Burch, Lyricist - F. Burch, Composer - M. Wilkin, Composer - M. Wilkin, Lyricist
Originally released 1965. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
Ted Taylor, Performer - R. Pennington, Lyricist - R. Pennington, Composer
Originally released 1965. All rights reserved by Sony Music Entertainment
Ted Taylor, Composer - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1965 Sony Music Entertainment
Ted Taylor, Composer - Ted Taylor, Performer
Originally released 1966 Sony Music Entertainment
Ted Taylor, Performer - R. Pennington, Composer
Originally released 1966 Sony Music Entertainment
Album review
Ted Taylor recorded for several labels other than OKeh in his long career, so this 25-song compilation is a survey of just one part of his work in particular, and not a best-of. Even though his biggest commercial successes came later, however, this period did see some of his finest work, and most of his OKeh output is contained on this worthy anthology, Ever Wonderful: Okeh Uptown Soul 1962-1966. Taylor's 1962-1966 sides occupy an idiosyncratic niche in early soul music, as his sound wasn't quite as modern as the most innovative soul being made in the era, but was certainly more modern than the '50s R&B and gospel to which it owed obvious debts. Certainly he was one of the more skilled high-voiced male soul singers, and some of this sounds rather like the Miracles' early work. It's not as good as early Smokey Robinson, or some other major soul singers to whom he has some similarities, such as Jackie Wilson. It's a little like very early Motown, though with more pretensions toward slick "uptown" production values. Too, it seesaws between some quite earthy, bluesy selections and others that border on orchestrated pop. But that doesn't take away from the basic enjoyability of this collection, with about half the material written by Taylor himself.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 25 track(s)
- Total length: 01:02:13
- Main artists: Ted Taylor
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Legacy Recordings
- Genre: Soul/Funk/R&B R&B
This Compilation (P) 2010 Sony Music Entertainment
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