I have always had a
soft-spot for James Taylor. When I was a teenager, there was a local acoustic open mic night
that myself and a few friends would go to most weeks. A right assortment of
individuals would play, from young guns to old timers, and one particular
individual would normally close the night with Fire and Rain followed by You do
something to Me - a beautiful combination. I don't know much more about Taylor
other than that song, but it's always been enough for me to consider him in a
positive light.
James
Taylor had a chequered start to his musical career, with a period of heroin
addiction in the late 60s whilst based in New York. It was Fire and Rain that
proved to be his breakthrough hit, charting at number 3 in the US. That song
tells the story of Taylor's attempt to kick heroin, and his close friend's
recent suicide. The album earned him several Grammy nominations, and thrust him
into the limelight, which probably helped him in the long-run. He's been a huge
star in the US ever since, and has a decent following this side of the pond
too.
The title
track is pure Country and Western, with simplicity at its core, and a pleasant
melody. Lo and Behold steps things up with an impassioned drive that forces its
message home with some insistent singing and strumming. Sunny Skies is an
upbeat, laid back number with a swing in its step. However, I don't think this
particular style suits Taylor - it is too lightweight for his voice.
Steamroller is a proper old fashioned blues song, with a straightforward guitar
riff that could come from any of hundreds of tracks, and so just works. It is
lyrically slightly strange - describing oneself as a napalm bomb is not the
norm, but it does follow a great horn, keys and guitar bridge so I can be
forgiving. Country Road is a great song, full of punctuated lyrics and
intricate guitar playing. Taylor's voice works perfectly against the delicate
acoustic strumming that slowly builds to something more. Oh, Susannah is
another beautiful song, although I feel it a bit too paper thin at times. Fire
and Rain is a great, great song, both lyrically and musically. It builds
steadily, and you feel every single syllable that Taylor seems to force out
like it’s a compulsion. The drumming towards the end of the song manages to not
steal the show, yet gets better every time I hear it. Blossom goes under the
category of pretty ditties that sound a bit too lullaby-esque. Anywhere Like
Heaven is a quiet piece that paints a nice, prairie picture, without being
particularly moving. Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip On Me, is a decent Blues
warm-up that never really gets going. Suite for 20G starts in a none too
convincing manner, especially the double-tracked vocals, but then really kicks
on in the second half, with a proper blow out. The bass trombone call-out in
particular cannot be heard without an impromptu bout of nodding.
This was
an album which I enjoyed, despite its flaws. The best songs are those where
Taylor's really going for it, and branching out beyond simple, stripped back
country/folk fare. He has a fabulous backing band, and when they let rip, and
the Blues and Soul influences come seeping out it really captures some pretty
raw, and powerful, emotions. As such, I probably won't revisit it as an album
much, as parts of it are too insipid, but there are some real gems on here that
I can imagine revisiting in years to come.
Chloe's
rating: 6
Chloe's
favourite track: 4. Country Road
Olly's
rating: 7
Olly's
favourite track: 7. Fire and Rain
Next week
we have an absolutely seminal album that I barely know - 174.
Abraxas by Santana. Abraxas is apparently a loose translation for "this
will sell more copies than the Bible."
No comments:
Post a Comment