"When the Rain Comes Down" by Andy Taylor

Song#:  2903
Date:  10/25/1986
Debut:  94
Peak:  73
Weeks:  6
Genre:  Rock, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  After leaving Duran Duran and following the breakup of Power Station, guitarist Andy Taylor set out on a solo career. Among his first efforts were three songs that were featured on the soundtrack to the film American Anthem, including the #24 Pop hit "Take It Easy." That led to Taylor supplying a song for use in the hit TV show Miami Vice. This tune would be featured in the show while also being the first single from the second soundtrack released from the show. The first Miami Vice soundtrack reached #1 thanks to a couple of major hits including Jan Hammer's #1 "Miami Vice Theme." The second album in the series would not do that well. Taylor's song couldn't make any waves on the chart and disappeared after a few weeks. Another single, Gladys Knight & the Pips' "Send It to Me," got to #14 at R&B, but failed to reach the Pop chart. Without much to support it, the album stopped at a low #82. However, the soundtrack label, MCA, signed Taylor and in '87 he would issue out a debut album titled Thunder. It would peak at #46 thanks to two tracks that made the Rock chart. Neither reached the Pop chart. Taylor would return in 1990 with a covers album titled Dangerous, but it came and went to little notice. After that, Taylor mainly concentrated on production work. Over the years he would help revive Power Station and also rejoin Duran Duran.

ReduxReview:  This wasn't a bad tune, but it certainly wasn't in the same league as "Take It Easy." That song had a big ol' sing-a-long hook that drew folks in. This one by comparison isn't as memorable. It apparently was written specifically for Miami Vice and it probably worked well in the context of the show and as a track on the album, but it wasn't single-worthy. The Miami Vice music fad quickly came to an end after this one tanked on the chart.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  In 1989, Andy Taylor was working with a new UK rock band on some demos. They didn't have a name yet, but ended up settling on calling themselves Thunder. The band's name came about because their guitarist, Luke Morley, had written a song titled "Distant Thunder," and Thunder was the title of Andy Taylor's debut solo album. The band would get signed to EMI and Taylor would produce their debut album, 1990's Backstreet Symphony. The album didn't make much of a splash in the US, but it did generate the #10 Rock/#55 Pop track "Dirty Love." At home, the band was more successful. Along with amassing 17 Top 40 entries, the band's albums did well resulting in five Top 10 entries. Taylor co-produced the band's second album, 1992's Laughing on Judgement Day, which still to-date is their highest peaking on the UK chart (#2). Except for their debut LP, the band has been largely ignored in the US.

_________________________________________________________________________________