Dudley Taft — “Fire Horse” — Self-release
According to the Chinese zodiac, 2026 is the year of the fire horse, which only occurs every 60 years. The veteran Cincinnati-based blues-rocker Dudley Taft just happens to have been born during the last fire horse year – 1966.
After learning about his fire horse origins last year, he decided to celebrate that fact with his next musical conception. So this year, another Fire Horse, his eleventh album, was born.
Fire horse the year is seen as a time filled with hope and positive energy, a year of action and movement. Fire Horse the album comes alive with the positive energy of Taft’s fiery guitar work, evocative songwriting and expressive vocals.
Taft’s co-conspirators in this inspired session of 11 original songs include Nick Owsianka on drums, Bennett Holland on keyboards, Dave Marks on bass, additional keys and percussion, and Ashley Charmae on backup vocals. Co-producers are Taft and Dave Marks.
Fire Horse races out of the gate with the playfully pulsating Warmup Song, developed from a guitar riff played at a soundcheck. It sets the mood for what follows: “Me and the boys, we’ve been working hard to play the best we can for you.”
The Fire Inside is alight with the spirit of the fire horse with its thunderous rhythm and expressive lyrics: “Keep the fire burning / Keep that young man alive / When the drive is strong, let him ride free to be the man he needs to be.” In the hard-driving Wasted Land, Taft searches for his place in a life between what one thinks is heaven and what is hell: “For you and me, chasing our dreams / Find a place in between.
”The topical Sleeping at the Wheel passionately laments a political climate endangered by apathy: “We’ve been sleeping at the wheel / Lost our way between the champagne and streaming.” She Loves Me rides its gentle, uplifting chord progression into a lyrically gorgeous love song “She is the dream and I’m sleepwalking And she loves me, she loves me.” With its fiery guitar intro, I Raise a Glass to the Brave is Taft’s stirring salute to those he appreciates as fire horses; those who left their comfort zone to explore the world: “I raise a glass to the brave, / Keep fighting on into the wind / You’ll fly under a flag of your own.”
The elegant rocker, One by One,is a tribute to Taft’s fallen musical heroes, whose music lives on: “Dead not gone / And the music lives on / In our ears, minds and in our hearts.” It Speaks to Me is the inner voice, the experience that serves as a mystical guide to decisions, pierced by a stinging guitar solo: “All the things you solved, did it feed your brain? Then you know what I mean when I say: It speaks to me!” So Empty decries the danger of letting things happen that we should not allow. His ethereal vocal holds a worldly message: “Everything you want is out of reach / Nothing you do is what they preach / Get it while you can.”
Taft’s nearly whispered vocals grace the eloquent yearning of the lovely Stolen Days: “So few times a year we get to disappear / Won’t you disappear with me?” The closer, Duel in the Desert, is Taft’s first instrumental, created to flash his dueling guitar chops, a battle between what he calls “the slinky fuzz monster and the classic ’70s rocker.”
Fire Horse blends Dudley Taft’s cool blues-rock swagger with the warmth of his perceptive lyricism, capturing the hope and positive energy of its mythical namesake. Climb on and enjoy a ride on the real deal!
Here’s a track from a previous Dudley Taft Album:
Tracklist:
Warmup Song — 03:05
The Fire Inside — 04:27
Wasted Land — 04:12
Sleeping at the Wheel — 04:25
She Loves Me — 04:01
I Raise a Glass to the Brave — 05:24
One by One — 03:11
It Speaks to Me — 03:50
So Empty — 03:24
Stolen Days — 03:37
Duel in the Desert — 05:59