Published on Sep 28, 1999
Remember the old television game show
Name That Tune? Contestants would compete for cash prizes by
naming a song in as few notes as possible. Well, in that
vein…
“Hello! My name is Brett Schott and I am your host for
Write That Review, the zany new music review column on “The
Daily Vault”. Our first contestant today is Mike Ehret, and he’s
bidding to review the new Russ Taff album,
Right Here, Right Now, on Benson Records. Mike — what’s
your bid?”
“Thanks Brett! Glad to be here! I can write that review in four
words!”
(Gasps of surprise from the studio audience. Applause.)
“Well, Mike, that seems pretty ambitious considering this is
Taff’s first project in the Christian market since 1991 — but,
Mike, write-that-review!”
OK, so maybe I’ve stayed a little too long at the fair. Maybe
I’m a couple sandwiches shy of a good picnic. Maybe I only have
half of my ducks in a row — but, you know, I really think I could.
Let’s give it a try.
“Russ Taff is back!”
Yep, that should pretty much do it for anyone at all familiar
with Taff and his music. That should tell you all you need to know
and should send you scurrying to your local music store or online
outlet.
Taff, who’s career began long, long ago as a lead singer with
the gospel quartet The Imperials, has recorded in many different
musical styles: pop, R&B, country, rock, gospel. On
Right Here, Right Now he borrows from all of these genres to
create perhaps the most seamless recording of his career.
Of course, there is a unifying theme for this record: the death
of his father, Rev. Joe Taff, last year, and the subsequent healing
Taff received from God. Rev. Taff was a fire and brimstone
Pentecostal preacher who indulged in hidden sins: alcoholism and
abuse. His father died before Taff could reconcile with him — and
the pain created by that broken relationship bleeds all over this
collection of songs.
However, in the song “Long Hard Road,” which closes out a
trilogy of songs that deal with this issue, Taff comes to terms
with the combative relationship he shared with his father.
We loved each other so much/But not so very well /
And now that we’ve run out of time / I guess time will never tell /
So I’ll just picture you surrounded / By all the love and grace /
That I watched you run from / All your livin’ days / And I
surrender you to a higher Plan / Till we can talk it over / Man to
man
That’s powerful —
naked — songwriting. But it’s cathartic — for the listener
as well as Taff. The fact that it follows the songs “Things Will Be
Different” and “Cry For Mercy” allows the listener to get a handle
on how to deal with the people who’ve wronged us — even when they
cannot be confronted.
In “Things Will Be Different,” penned by longtime Taff
collaborator James Hollihan, Jr., Taff provides a snapshot of the
pain and suffering his family endured because of “Dad’s little
problem.” Of course, things never did change during his growing up
years and that’s why, as an adult, Taff sings “Cry For Mercy” as a
broken man.
I can’t do this any longer / I can’t go through this
again / Guess this is what it feels like / To finally reach the end
/ So I’m standing in the ruins / And I’m reaching out to You / I’m
sifting through these ashes / All I know to do . . . is cry for
mercy.
But everything on
Right Here, Right Now is not so dark. The album opens with
the rockin’ “Somebody’s Comin’.” Even this song, with its optimism
and promise of the coming return of Jesus Christ, taps into the
discs’ theme of healing from despair:
Somebody’s comin’ / Who won’t let you down / Who’ll
turn everything you thought was right, around / Somebody’s comin’
who’s gonna change everything.
Other highlights include the title track, “Lazarus,” and the
achingly personal plea of “Make Me Whole”:
Lord, I will say what You want me to say / I will
pray what You want me to pray / . . . just please / Make me
whole.
This album brings it all home with the closing song in three
movements, “The Shadow Of The Cross.” Opening with spoken lines
from the Nicene Creed, Taff shares not only the reality of his
faith but, in his estimation, the overarching reach of the cross of
Jesus Christ. The shadow of the cross covers the entire world:
Looking up at the scars on His hands and feet / In
the shadow of the cross / Knowing it was for me, tears filled my
eyes / In the shadow of the cross / Now I will die, yet I will live
/ In the shadow of the cross.
Clearly Taff has made his peace with both his earthly father and
his Heavenly Father.
Right Here, Right Now is his testimony to that peace.