"Take It Easy" by Andy Taylor

Song#:  2742
Date:  05/31/1986
Debut:  85
Peak:  24
Weeks:  17
Genre:  Rock, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  Taylor initially found fame as the guitarist for Duran Duran. He then had success as part of the splinter group The Power Station. Even though that band would break up, Taylor remained alongside producer Bernard Edwards and helped out on the hugely successful album by Power Station lead singer Robert Palmer. Taylor was on a roll and even though he was supposed to return to Duran Duran after their hiatus, he began moving towards a solo career. His first effort out on his own was co-writing and performing three songs for the soundtrack to the 1986 film American Anthem. One track was an instrumental while the other two were vocal tracks including this one, which would end up being the first single released from the soundtrack. The song did fairly well cracking the Pop Top 30. While it wasn't a major hit, it did boost Taylor's confidence in having a solo career and soon he was out of Duran Duran.

ReduxReview:  This song blatantly rips off two things. First, there is little doubt that the opening of this song and its guitar riff are nearly the same as that of "Get It On (Bang a Gong)," the T. Rex classic that just happened to have been remaded by Taylor's former band The Power Station. Second, the production is a spot-on imitation of what Bernard Edwards did with Power Station. In fact, all you had to do was have Robert Palmer do the vocal on this and it would have been a hit for Power Station. Although you can't get sued for copying a production style (at least not yet), I'm surprised no one called out Taylor for the T. Rex...homage, shall we say? Yet even though Taylor recycles a couple of things he'd learned from Power Station, I have to say that the song's chorus is stupidly catchy (even though it nearly sounds like The Bellamy Brothers' "Let Your Love Flow"). It's a fun rock anthem that probably should have done much better on the chart. It's almost good enough to make me forget about Taylor's Xerox-ing here...almost...

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  The 1984 US men's Olympic gymnastic team would be the first, and as of this posting date, only U.S. men's team to win the gold medal in the team event. It was a major victory and it made celebrities out of the team members. The team was led by Mitch Gaylord who became the first American to ever score a perfect ten in an Olympic gymnastic event. It certainly helped the team to the win. Gaylord would then go on to win a silver and two bronzes in the individual events. The medal haul made Gaylord the standout star from the Olympics and of course that brought along many opportunities. One offer that came his way was to star in a film. The movie would be about a gymnast (obviously) who dropped out of competing, but is then later convinced to start again by a female gymnast he begins to date (Janet Jones). The film was not liked by critics and it was not a box office hit. Gaylord would receive a Razzie nomination for Worst New Star. Although he'd make occasional appearances on TV and a few other films, Gaylord mainly supported men's gymnastics as an NBC commentator.

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