The other day I woke up at 4 in the morning thinking about what an awesome song this is:
I was barely awake, thinking, “This song is so good!”
And I woke up a little more and was like, “No, that was 1987 and I was just a kid. Healing Touch can’t really be as great as I remember it.”
And then I played literally the whole thing through in my head, every part, and it all was still awesome. Yes, it WILL float.
When I finally actually listened to the song later that day, I realized I had forgotten one thing in my mental replay—the bass line! It really slaps, as the kids (used to) say.
The whole album (self-titled, Russ Taff) is so good. I remember a rare foray into defiance as an eight-year-old, inviting a friend over to my house, playing the opening track Shake and jumping on my bed as if it was the most metal thing ever.
The guitar work of Dann Huff, he of Amy Grant’s Lead Me On fame and actual metal guitarist, is as good as any I’ve ever heard. Tasteful, textured, and technically astounding.
Speaking of Lead Me On–consensus pick for #1 CCM album of all-time. Hard to argue with that. Same era as Russ Taff self-titled. 1987–1988 was a good time for Christian Contemporary!
After pondering my half-awake sonic replay, after listening to Russ Taff a few times, and after enjoying my friend Andrew Gill’s co-hosted podcast episode featuring Russ and Steve Taylor, I started wondering… where is this 1987 masterpiece on CCM magazine’s Top 100 list? Gotta be top 5 or 10, at least.
To my dismay, despite Taff’s The Way Home listed at #11 (!) and his Medals listed at #36, Russ Taff’s Russ Taff (1987) is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND ON THE TOP 100 LIST. I mean, even Steve Camp’s Fire and Ice is there!
Therefore, I hereby declare, Russ Taff’s self-titled 1987 gem is the most underrated CCM album of all time.
Words on the Word 