Steve Taylor - Squint

Steve Taylor had been called out by Jimmy Swaggart, come into and left Christian music, and done a secular major label album by the time I finally found him in 1993 doing this album. Having written, produced and even snuck onto a track on the Newsboys' breakthrough Not Ashamed, Steve cranked out what must be considered one of Christian music's most important albums, Squint.

This album is right at the top of the list of albums that, should my house ever catch on fire and I only have time to get out two albums, I would risk life and limb to make sure I got. (I know, I could buy another one... but just allow me the drama.) It's a cornerstone that not only contains a perfectly eclectic blend of styles, but also finds genius in lyric. We can't expect any less from Steve Taylor.

As the clown prince of sarcasm in Christian music, some tongue-in-cheek stuff is of course to be expected. Steve-O gets that out of the way up front, turning up the guitars for the hard-rockin' "Lament of Desmond R.G. Underwood-Fredrick IV." It's to-be-expected humor from Steve, saying that "the news of [his] impending death came at a really bad time." If you've followed or even just heard about the history of Steve's career, you fully understand where that comes from. This is the guy who once wrote a song called "I Blew Up the Clinic Real Good" (one of the most misunderstood songs in history, in my opinion) and found himself out of the industry for a while. Yeah, he earned the right to poke fun at that fact. It's what he does best.

Past that point, Steve gets on with life (and the rest of the album) with a new sound and lyrics as revolutionary to his sound as they were to the industry at the time. We are given the tender chords of "Jesus is for Losers" so that we don't miss the message: He is. We all are. "Easy Listening" could be understood as a thrown gauntlet to Christian musicians who would choose fame and notoriety over a heart focused on ministry and message. "The Finish Line" (my favorite Steve song EVER) is an enigma... Steve at his lyrical best, for sure, but requiring several listens before you walk away with the knowledge that, oh my gosh, Steve Taylor is painting a picture of a Christian struggling, barely making it, sometimes fighting a losing battle, but living each of those moments with the assurance that their Savior waits at the end. Possibly the most meaningful song to my experience.

Every single song offers something different. The tastes are different, often hard to swallow, but the result is unbelievable. You may not be ready for the message on this disc. I certainly wasn't, not for years after having bought it. If you take the time to listen, though... really listen to what Steve has to say, you'll probably find something (or many somethings) that you never knew. I still do, and I've just practically memorized all the songs.

Do I get pushy very often? No, I do not. So I'm telling you, and this is for your own good: get this one. If it doesn't rock your world, pass it on to someone else on the condition that you get it back later.