Exclusive: Up Close with Taylor Dayne Women in Music: Part Seven of Eight Article Date: 11/09/2007 By Bryan Ochalla Just like most gay men of a certain age have fond memories of witnessing Judy Garland or Barbra Streisand in their prime, I have fond memories of witnessing Taylor Dayne in her prime. Whether I was shaking my ass to "Tell It to My Heart" or belting along with "Love Will Lead You Back," I, like any good gay in the '80s, grooved to whatever the woman born Leslie Wunderman threw my way. After a trio of hit albums (and around a dozen hit singles), though, Dayne all but disappeared from the music scene. Sure, a greatest hits package was released in 1995 and spawned a pair of club hits, but that's all fans got between 1993 and 1998, when she released her fourth studio album, Naked Without You. If that first lull was difficult for Dayne fans, the latest one—lasting nearly a decade—must seem unbearable. Thankfully, the 45-year-old New York native is getting ready for another run at the charts with her fifth album, Satisfied, set to be released in early February. First single, "Beautiful," suggests the singer is back in both sound and spirit—something Dayne seconded when she sat down with GayWired.com recently. GayWired.com: So, it's been 20 years since your first big hit. Do you ever look back at that time in your life, and if so what do you think about it? Taylor Dayne: Oh, God. No. Sometimes I look at photos from that time and all I can think is, "Damn!" It's where it all began, though, so I shouldn't be too hard on myself. I'm currently re-recording all of those hits—including "Tell It to My Heart," which is going to be the b-side of "Beautiful"—but I'm re-recording all of my other hits, too. I just did "Love Will Lead You Back" the other day and it was like, "Damn! This is hard!" GW: What is that like, to go back into the studio and sing all of those songs again? TD: Well, I perform them all the time on tour, but I've kind of taken them to a different level over the years. The arrangements are different, my vocals are different—they just sound a lot different when I do them live. But when I'm in the studio right now I'm trying to do them note for note. I'm not reinterpreting them; I'm really trying to do them exactly as they were done 20 years ago. It's wild! GW: Do you feel any pressure to make them live up to what they were in the past? TD: Well, it's my pressure. It's my record. The pressure isn't to live up to anything—the pressure is to recreate them note for note! GW: Are you looking to release these as some sort of greatest hits album after Satisfied? TD: I'm looking to keep them as part of my estate. I'll probably release them eventually as part of some greatest hits package, though, or wherever else I can. GW: What prompted you to do that—re-record your old hits? TD: Ownership. Ownership. GW: Oh, because the previously recorded versions are owned by your former record company? TD: Of course. I'm certainly entitled to re-record my masters. It's business, baby! GW: Speaking of your former label, what happened there? You put out three hit albums and then seemingly jumped ship. Why did you do that? TD: I would just say that creatively I came to a place where we'd had an incredible run but had to part ways. There were a lot of changes going on within the company at that time, so it's not as simple as saying I jumped ship. Things changed, as they always do in this industry. Arista really doesn't even exist anymore. It eventually became part of Sony BMG. I actually got a deal with BMG in Europe in 2003 and lost it a year later after spending a year on and almost completing another record. I'd been through it before, though. After I left Arista, I got signed to A&M—and then they dropped me! I thought, 'I've sold millions of records and they're dropping me? I need to put this record out!' GW: Was that album Naked Without You? TD: Yeah. GW: That was such a great album. It kills me to think about how little attention it received, though. TD: Well, that was due to the fact that the label I was working with at the time ended up going bankrupt! You never really hear anyone talk about that stuff… It's all about the product, really. The product has to get out there! All an artist needs is the product and a vehicle to get it out there. The public will do the rest, right? But they can't do that if they don't know anything's out there. GW: Is that what has kept you from putting out another album in the past decade? TD: Yeah, pretty much. In 1999 I was doing (the Showtime series) Rude Awakening and a lot of film work, in 2001 I was doing Broadway, and in 2003 I was in Europe recording again. I was so excited about that. I spent a year going back and forth between Vienna and Sweden (producing that album). Two of the songs from those sessions are on this record: "Beautiful" and "Love Chain." So, some good came out of it, at least. There's been a lot of stuff that's kept me from releasing an album. It hasn't been from a lack of interest on my part, though. This is what I do. GW: What about the other tracks you worked on for that 2003 album? Are they in the vaults now? TD: Well, you know, they're kind of sitting there and collecting dust. I co-wrote a lot of them, though, so I'll probably give them another look in the future. GW: Getting back to your upcoming album, what made you go in the direction you did? A lot of the songs seem to be about love, for instance. Is that something you're dealing with right now? TD: Well, it might seem like they're all about love, but then again most music tends to lean in that direction, doesn't it? The name of the album is Satisfied. I just talked to the person writing the bio for the album, and he asked me, "Are you satisfied?" I replied, "That's the question." There should be a question mark after the title, really. Lewis Taylor wrote that song, and the main lyrics are: "Satisfied/Are you happy now?" It's a question, you know? It's definitely not satisfied with a period at the end, I'm telling you that. When you really dig into the record you can see that. It's not black and white. It's not, boom, I'm in love! There's a journey you have to go through before you get there. And it ain't over yet, I can assure you. GW: Going back to your older hits. Do you look back on any of them with particular fondness? TD: I like that "Tell It to My Heart" always makes people feel great. Same with "Can't Get Enough of Your Love." "Love Will Lead You Back" and "I'll Always Love You" are great because they take people back to a defining moment in their lives, whether it's a wedding or when they fell in love. I hear about it over and over and over. "I'll Be Your Shelter" is probably the most fun for me to perform. GW: What about your more current songs? TD: I loved doing "Naked Without You." I love "Whatever You Want," too. I'm so proud I wrote that song. GW: Who do you like to listen to when you're not making your own music? TD: It varies. Lewis Taylor is someone I've been listening to a lot. Maxwell, too, and Jill Scott. I spent a lot of time looking around at other artists when I began working on this record. The entire last year was all about listening and seeking and finding. I was looking for songs that touched me. GW: Were you looking for content or were you looking for an overall sound for the album? TD: Content, definitely. It always comes back to the songs. They have to say something melodically and lyrically. I had to be very clear with the lyrics this time. I had to make sure they could hold up. Songs like "Kissing You" or "Satisfied" or "Under the Bridge" are not small things to take on. At the same time, I had to make them my own. GW: Although you're usually called a dance artist, you've definitely displayed a wide range of styles over the years. Is that label something you've strived to overcome? TD: Well, I'm not so sure I'm considered a dance artist. I might have started that way, but I've done a lot of different styles since then. They're not all dance. I'd say I'm a pop artist. Or better yet, a great singer. That's what I want to be known as.

©2007 Taylor Dayne. All Rights Reserved.