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Pretty much every week at least one CD will come my way that's explicitly person-centered...that is, it's made by one person, and the cover art includes several photographs of that person. "Singer-songwriter music", is, I guess, the proper way to describe it. It can get hard to distinguish them, and sometimes easy to substitute one for the other before listening.

Hayley Taylor's six-song CD Waking is one of these at first glance, there's nothing about the cover that would slap you in the face and say "listen to me!" But listening even once reveals more talent and heart than your average singer-songwriter, one-person-and-a-guitar type of music. And look again at that cover, look inside: there's a collage of family photos that should point you to the fact that this isn't self-focused music, it's human music, about the feelings and experiences of us all. Taylor's songs quietly probe the human condition, From the opening plea for understanding about where a relationship stands ("Orange Tree") to the closing realization song "What Matters Most," the search for connection, for love, is the focus, but it's always handled in a straightforward, heartfelt way, free of clichés. And the songs themselves are gently melodic, never over-dramatic or showy, but all quite involving and compelling, with a lost-in-your-thoughts mood softly accented by pedal steel, cello, and Wurlitzer. - Dave Heaton

http://www.erasingclouds.com/wk1306reviews.html#hayley