James Taylor

In 1970 James Taylor released an album that was to define his career. That album Sweet Baby James became a classic piece of work that blended elements of country, folk, blues and gospel. As a teenager I'd never heard of this legendary man until I watched a River Phoenix film wherein one song was used on the sound track. I was immediately drawn in by it's beautiful melody and painful lyrics, leading me to seek out more from the artist. The song I heard, entitled 'Fire and Rain' was studied by fans who came up with the story, which we now know to be untrue, that the song was about the tragic loss of an girlfriend in a plane crash. The story prevailed for years and perhaps added to the mystique in pre-internet days.

Since that day James Taylor has been a huge part of my life, providing a sound track to many aspects not least to my love of travel and the bitter sweet homesickness it evokes, evidently a huge part of Taylor's life.



Stepping across the stage there was an immediate feeling of warmth and loyalty from the audience who revere this man and the feeling seemed genuinely reciprocal in his appreciation for his fans. He chatted in relaxed fashion without pretence about his life and songs seemingly genuinely humble and likeable. His songs too seem to lack the ego which drives modern music but whilst fashion fades style is classic and Taylor emanated style in himself and music.

Backed by supremely talented musicians, who all have careers in their own right it was simply a masterclass of composure and delivery. As a true troubadour Taylor had no support act as he always plays for several hours telling the story of many of the songs and cracking jokes throughout, one at least was about the poor lyrical content of one of his songs. "You can listen to them if you want but we really love playing this song because of the funky groove" he quipped. Another song 'Carolina in My Mind' he told the story of recording his album in England at the same studio as the Beatles (who had signed him to their record label) but despite all the exciting things going on around him, including "the holy host of others" which in the song is referring to the Beatles, he still felt desperately homesick.

With three new songs in his set Taylor shows no sign of hanging up his guitar and his themes are still much the same which he makes no apologies for. "It's that kind of hippy crap of loving nature." he laughs. Even his new song captures his story succinctly, "I'd like to thank the man that built this road and missing my home is one of the things I love the most." This bitter sweet yearning to travel combined with the sense of lonesomeness it can create sums up Taylor's character, his creative driving force and what resonates deeply with his fans.



During the 20 minute intermission the band left the stage and Taylor, loyal to his fans, remained at the front to chat on a more personal level and sign autographs saying that otherwise he'd just be standing behind the curtain looking at his watch. When the band returned they began playing for several minutes before on of the backing singers had to drag him away to do his job.

Almost every song the audience would have wanted to hear and many more were played. Some cover versions too. After 2 full sets and an encore Taylor checked with the stage manager if there was time for another song, there was, bonus. But after that he checked again and got to play yet another. I came away, emotional from seeing a legend up close and being delighted by how fantastic he was as a performer and human being which doesn't happen to often.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.