James Taylor

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James Taylor

James Taylor

Jame's Taylor's 1969 debut album was one of the first albums released on the Beatles' Apple label. Though nearly capsized by heavy-handed orchestration, it was an eye-opening collection of songs whose highlights- "Knocking 'Round the Zoo," "Something in the Way She Moves" and "Carolina in My Mind" (the latter two rerecorded for the 1976 Greatest Hits)- point toward the path he'd pursue in the next decade. Sweet Baby James, Taylor's landmark second release, heralds the arrival of pop music's sensitive phase. "Fire and Rain" epitomizes singer/songwriter stance: acoustic-based autobiography, where the arresting musical sparseness casts Taylor's gently melodies and warm, unassuming vocals in full relief. On "Steamroller," he effectively mocks the straining pomposity of then-current white bluesmen- though Taylor became entrapped by his own laid-back image soon enough.

It's easy to hear Taylor's reflective bent as self-satisfaction; he's never really pushed himself musically. The fact that Taylor actually improves in the role of a crooner is the saving grace of his recording career. Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon cemented Taylor's superstar status. But the hit reading of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend" drops some strong hints about the inherent flaccidity of this mellow troubadour approach that the rest of the album doesn't heed (save for "Long Ago and Far Away," with Joni Mitchell's backing vocals). Taylor spend the next few years casting around for a broader-based sound; One Man Dog is so wispy it nearly evaporates, while Walking Man sums up the confusion of this period with its near-stationary title track. (The less said about James and Carly Simon's hit version of "Mockingbird," the better.) Gorilla is where Taylor regains his balance. "Mexico" introduces a welcome strain of humor, the title track is a natural children's song, and "You Make It Easy" positions Sweet Baby James as a posthippie torch singer. Taylor handles the hit remake of "How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved By You)" with such breezy vocal ease that even Marvine Gaye expressed admiration. Apart from the sturdy "Shower the People", In the Pocket misses the mark. Greatest Hits marked a record-label move, but at a fortuitous juncture when such a summing-up would include nothing but gems.

As so often happens with first efforts for new labels, JT ranks right up there with his best. Taylor reaches back for another upbeat pop classic to tenderize, and nails down "Handy Man" with his most insinuating vocal performance ever. A slight rock influence sparks the rest of JT, though the goofy blues-rap "Traffic Jam" and the relaxed pace of "Your Smiling Face" feel as familiar as faded denim. Flag turned out to be a verb rather than a noun, but Dad Loves His Work finds JT back on the beam. It was led by the gently incisive divorce song "Her Town Too," among the finest pieces of writing and his last hit single. Late-'80s albums That's Why I'm Here and Never Die Young offer little beyond pleasantry. Instead of fading into the sunset though, Taylor reemerged in 1991 with New Moon Shine, his most focused and tuneful release in more than 10 years; the reflective "Copperline" and the frisky "(I've Got to) Stop Thinkin' 'Bout That" would stand out on any of his albums. In "Slap Leather" and "Native Son" he provides affecting and still-relevant takes on the human cost of the first Persian Gulf war.

Taylor has settled comfortable into his 1990s and 2000s role as an elder statesman of song. (Live) ably commemorates the warmth of his relationship with his audiences, though ultimately it can't escape souvenir status. 2010's Live at the Troubadour, a collaboration with Carole King, is the live album to get. Both Hourglass and October Road are brimming with the acceptance and grace that Taylor's younger self- frequently referenced here lyrically and melodically- often had trouble locating. "I had to have my way/Which was bleak and gray,' he admits in "Mean Old Man," a song about how much life can lie on the other side of these feelings. Greatest Hits Vol. 2 may lack the chart firepower of its predecessor, but strongly rebuts the notion that there are no second acts in American creative life. The 20-song The Best of James Taylor is the first career-spanning domestic collection, but in his quiet, easygoing way, James Tabor has amased too great a legacy to be adequately represented by a single disc. An album featuring a dozen cover versions of various songs, simply and appropriately called Covers was released in 2007 with a sequel, Other Covers, released in 2009. Since then, Taylor has released two albums: 2015's Before This World and 2020's American Standard.

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James Taylor

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