''I Predict 1990'' is the title of the fourth release and third full-length album by singer-songwriter

Steve Taylor Roland Stephen Taylor (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, music executive, film maker, assistant professor, and actor. A figure in what has come to be known as Christian alternative rock, Taylor enjoyed ...

. Lyrically, the album explores actions that exploit others to various ends from multiple perspectives. ''CCM'' magazine found that the overall theme is that the ends never justify the means. It was released as a one-off on Myrrh Records instead of Sparrow. Taylor has said that the album's title was meant as a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its su ...

of a

Lester Sumrall Lester Frank Sumrall (February 15, 1913 – April 28, 1996) was an American Pentecostal pastor and evangelist. He founded the Lester Sumrall Evangelistic Association (LeSEA) and its humanitarian arm LeSEA Global Feed the Hungry, World Harvest Radio ...

TV program and book, ''I Predict 1986''.

Background

The cover was designed and painted by Taylor's wife, Debi. It was intended to resemble early 20th-century French poster art; however some Christians felt that it resembled a

tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...

card, which sparked controversy. Additionally, one televangelist claimed that the image was of Taylor saluting Satan, and that it additionally contained

secret messages ''Secret Messages'' is the tenth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1983 on Jet Records. It was the last ELO album with bass guitarist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and a full orchestra, and the last ELO album ...

and links to

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

philosophy. These accusations caused some Christian book stores to pull the album. Per the album's credits, all songs were written by Steve Taylor, except "Babylon" by Taylor and Dave Perkins. The ending theme to "Jim Morrison's Grave" was "borrowed" from

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

; and the introduction to "Harder to Believe" was "stolen" from

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

. The song "I Blew Up the Clinic Real Good" proved controversial; The song's lyrics - a scathing critique of

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respo ...

activists who in turn blow up abortion clinics or kill doctors - resulted in Christian bookstores pulling the album, either because the song's critique of the

movement offended store owners and customers, or because these same individuals missed the song's satirical point, and believed Taylor advocated such violence. Taylor himself would occasionally call these stores to personally explain the song to them.''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music''; Powell; p931; Hendrickson Publishers; paperback edition (August 2002) Taylor's tour of Australia was canceled due to the controversy around "I Blew Up The Clinic Real Good", largely due to misunderstanding of its satire. Disillusioned with the Christian music scene following these and other controversies during the course of his career, Taylor formed the secular alternative rock band

Chagall Guevara Chagall Guevara is an American rock band formed in 1989 by solo artist Steve Taylor, guitarists Dave Perkins and Lynn Nichols (from the 1970s Phil Keaggy band), bassist Wade Jaynes, and drummer Mike Mead. The band was named after Communist revo ...

shortly after the release of the album.

Track listing

# "I Blew Up the Clinic Real Good" - 4:12 # "What Is the Measure of Your Success?" - 4:39 # "Since I Gave Up Hope I Feel a Lot Better" - 3:29 # "Babylon" - 4:51 # "Jim Morrison's Grave" - 4:29 # "Svengali" - 4:30 # "

Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, phil ...

and the Restless" - 4:32 # "Innocence Lost" - 5:03 # "A Principled Man" - 3:27 # "Harder to Believe Than Not To" - 4:32

Personnel

Some Band : Steve Taylor – vocals and backup percussion : Dave Thrush – saxophones : Jeff Stone – guitar : Glen Holmen – bass : Jack Kelly – drums : Steve Goomas – keyboards : Gym Nicholson – guitar Additional musicians : Dave Perkins – additional guitar on all songs except "Jim Morrison's Grave" and "Harder to Believe" : Greg Husted – assorted keyboard tracks and accordion :

Papa John Creach John Henry Creach (May 28, 1917 – February 22, 1994), better known as Papa John Creach, was an American blues violinist who also played classical, jazz, R&B, pop and acid rock music. Early in his career, he performed as a journeyman musician w ...

– fiddle :

Ashley Cleveland Ashley Cleveland (born February 2, 1957) is an American singer/songwriter best known as a background vocalist and gospel singer. Ashley Cleveland was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. She has been married to Kenny Greenberg since April 27, 1991, and ...

– vocal stylings on "Jim Morrison's Grave", "Svengali" and "Babylon" : Annie McCaig – backing vocals on "Success" and "A Principled Man" :

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts deg ...

- bass on "Clinic" : Gary Lunn – bass on "Hope" : Lisa Cates – percussion : Mike Mead – more percussion : Mary Bates – operatic vocal on "Harder to Believe" :

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for ...

– tenor saxophone on "Clinic" : Ross Holmen – French horn : John Andrew Schreiner – synth bass on "Svengali" : Janet Croninger – "Jung" woman :

Fred Travalena Frederick Albert Travalena III (October 6, 1942 – June 28, 2009) was a U.S. entertainer, specializing in comedy and impressions. Early life Bronx, New York-born and Long Island-raised, Travalena moved to Los Angeles and developed a mult ...

– "Jung" doctor :

Del Newman Derrick Martin "Del" Newman (5 October 1930 – 10 August 2020) was a British conductor, orchestral arranger and music producer. His orchestral arrangements appeared on songs by many rock and pop artists from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Ca ...

– orchestration on "Harder to Believe Than Not To" Production notes : The Beaufort Twins (Dave Perkins and Steve Taylor) - producers and engineers : Dave Perkins - producer, engineer, mixing : Steve Taylor - producer, mixing : David Schober - engineer : Malcolm Harper - engineer : Robert Wartinbee - assistant engineer : Michael Ross - engineer on "Harder To Believe" : Music Grinder,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, California - recording location : Reelsound Bus,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

- recording location : Wayne Cook Studios, Los Angeles, California - recording location :

CBS Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

, London - recording location : Reelsound truck,

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

(48 track) - mixing location : Bob Ludwig - mastering :

Masterdisk Masterdisk is an American multimedia company in New York (state), New York, located at 8 John Walsh Boulevard in Peekskill, New York, Peekskill. They provide production services such as Mastering (audio), audio mastering, LP record, vinyl cuttin ...

, New York, New York - mastering location * Dave Perkins and Steve Taylor are listed as producers as "The Beaufort Twins." A likely satire of the

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

production/songwriting partnership billed as

The Glimmer Twins ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

References

{{Authority control 1987 albums Steve Taylor albums