Review: John Taglieri “The Very Best Of John Taglieri: The Songs That Should Have Made Me Rich”

Rock

John Taglieri, a name that is synonymous with “unsung hero of rock”, has been featured numerous times here at Now This ROCKS! both as a solo artist and with his band, TAG (click here). Now one of New Jersey’s most underrated songwriters has condensed nothing but the best of his prolific career into one retrospective CD entitled, “The Very Best Of John Taglieri…The Songs That Should Have Made Me Rich!!!” As the title suggests, John himself seems a bit amazed and befuddled that his talents haven’t been more lucrative. And while this greatest non-hits package isn’t going to radically change his financial status, it does offer the uninitiated a terrific one-stop shop to become acquainted with Taglieri’s work.

To date, Taglieri has released nine records beginning with 1999’s masterful AOR debut, “Leap Of Faith”. His retrospective (marking his 10th record in 12 years) contains two songs from each of his first nine releases and two brand new tracks. It is hard to pick out highlights from a best of collection, but try these on for size: “Leap Of Faith”, “Reason To Believe”, “How Will I Know”, “After Farewell”, and “Make Me Believe”. If you can imagine a mix of Springsteen and Bon Jovi, with a touch of Sister Hazel, be sure to check these out.

Perhaps more important than fame and fortune, Taglieri has been able to sustain his music career on his own terms. He’s traveled the world playing his songs his way, toured with Rik Emmett, Sister Hazel, Edwin McCain, Butch Walker and many others, and got many pats on the back along the way. It may be just as well that he’s never struck it rich – all too often the monetary success kills the independent artist and in that context, we all would have lost.

John Taglieri – Official site.