ALBUMS: James Taylor (1967); Greatest Hits (1976)
MVC Rating: James Taylor 4.0/$$$$; Greatest 4.0/$$$$
I grew into James Taylor. Mainly through my future wife, Catherine, who was a huge fan. While I had all my rock and roll mixtapes, she consistently pined for JT, Carol King, Carly Simon — the holy triumvirate of soft folk rock in the 1970s. (The Carpenters were a favorite but were more pop than folk.) So, of course I made mixtapes with these songs for her.
I remember she talked me into buying concert tickets when they went on sale at Auburn University, which Cat and I attended (and graduated). This was was one of these all day in line things, complete with folding chairs to snag tickets before they were sold out.
We got tickets and I proceeded to have about as enjoyable a concert as I have had in my 21-year-old life. He played all the classics ‘Fire and Rain,’ You’ve got a Friend,’ Carolina on My Mind,’ ‘Shower the People,’ and How Sweet It Is.’ But he also rocked out in the encores, playing some Chuck Berry I believe and others that have slipped through the memory of time. I just remember marveling at the concerts’ quality from songs to musicianship, coupled with a laid back easy personality that is his trademark.
The Greatest Hits may be all you need if you are just coming into JT. But all of his albums I know are good. I have his self-entitled debut which had ‘Carolina on My Mind’ with Paul McCartney on bass. Many of the other songs on this first album are unfamiliar these days but show a young man with a talent for simple songs that say more than they seem.
It doesn’t surprise me that he, now in his 70s, is still filling concert venues.