Album Review: Meltdown
Christian Herald
September 1984 Volume 107 Issue 8
© 1984
Page 73
Meltdown
Steve Taylor
LIKE HIS critically acclaimed 1982 mini-LP I Want to be a Clone, Steve Taylor's Meltdown wittily exposes sin in the world as well as deflates certain hypocritical attitudes plaguing the church. Yet it is much more fully developed than Clone, with a powerful message that is at once topical and timeless.
Taylor's songs are like arrows of truth tinged with satire that attack such diverse problems as infanticide ("Baby Doe"), worldy attempts at immorality ("Am I in Sync?"), the transience of fame ("Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's") and racism in the Church ("We Don't Need No Colour Code").
Other songs deal with the condescending coverage of religion in the media ("Meat the Press"), the wages of sin ("Sin for a Season"), and the murder of a Polish Christian youth by government officials ("Over My Dead Body").
Backed by his group Some Band, Taylor effectively uses a new wave sound to accentuate his "no-fluff" lyrics. Each line is packed with meaning and verbal punch, creating music that's heavy on the Gospel but written in a language non-believers will relate to.
Meltdown is a very mature and compelling Work that stimulates the mind, the emotions, and the spirit. It is easily one of the ten best Christian albums of 1984. (Meltdown, SPR1083, Sparrow Records, 8025 Deering Avenue, Canoga Park, Calif. 91304.)
