Squint was the 1993 critically acclaimed return of Steve Taylor as a solo artist after his stint as the lead singer of Chagall Guevara. Highlights of the album include "The Lament of Desmond RG Underwood Frederick IV," "Smug," "Jesus is for Losers," "The Finish Line," "The Moshing Floor," and "Curses."
Steve says, "My pastor probably had more to do with ultimately making the decision to do this record than probably anyone else. He was a fan of the band and liked what we were doing and liked the idea behind it, but I think he used the word, 'I plead with you to go and do this.' So that was good to hear. Fellow Christian friends were also very helpful in giving their perspective on the decision as far as what they felt. I doubt that it would have happened without the experience of the band (Chagall Guevara), in that I saw a very hard contrast. There was something to it, in that doing a gospel album seems like a privilege now. I think there's a freedom as well in being a solo artist. I don't talk about this a lot, but one of the reasons I never considered becoming a pastor was because my dad is a pastor and I couldn't understand how he could take all those committee meetings. I was in a band and every decision we made had to be made by a committee and it was really draining. It was great to make decisions quickly and see the whole thing come together instead of laboring over every decision...After the band experience, the idea of some, possibly goofy, guy, standing up at football games holding up a banner with 'John 3:16,' in many ways totally artless and very naive by contemporary standards--that idea really appealed to me. It made me remember that much of the reason I'm a Christian today is not because of cool artist guys who were Christians who really made me want to become like they are, but because of people preaching the Word, pointing people to the Bible, sort of the basics of the faith. I think there's a good place for that. In making this album, I think I was originally going to call it The Kitchen Sink. If there was an idea that I had, I wanted to try it, I didn't want to decide if it was an alternative sound or not. The record just kind of came out the way it came out. I also wanted to make sure that people didn't need an encyclopedia to figure out what the songs were about. I tried to make sure that these songs weren't so obscure that nobody would have a clue."
REVIEWS:
Billboard Magazien says: (review 1/8/94):
CRITICS CHOICE - Contemporary Christian music's manic lyric genius returns after a foray in Chagall Guevara with a bristling collection of sardonic, hummable tunes. 'Squint' finds Taylor in the top of his game, mixing wry, witty observations with beat-heavy music. 'Bannerman' -- with its incredible video -- sounds like a crossover smash, especially on alternative and college stations, but every track is a winner.
The All Music Guide says:
The cutting-edge CCM artist returns with a vengeance on this, his only solo release of new material in the '90s. Targeting the Christian market more than the critically acclaimed Chagall Guevara eponymous release, Taylor has a few surprises for his fans. Most notable is a tribute to (not a satirization of) the guy at all the football games with the "John 3:16" sign on "Bannerman." Apparently he is satirizing listeners for being so cynical. The energy is high and the production is well done. The opener, "The Lament of Desmond R. G. Underwood IV," is a hard rocker with an uncompromising Christian message of the need for salvation and "Easy Listening," a reggae/ska-influenced number, satirizes the milk-toast nonactivist types who lack the courage of conviction. A fun album from beginning to end " an end which features a dramatic "rock opera in three small acts" entitled "Cash Cow." Yes, Taylor has a knack for releasing one album every few years too many, but when they come, they deliver
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01.
The Lament Of Desmond R.G. Underwood-Frederick IV
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