I have to say, I have seen James Taylor live a time or two. Okay, maybe it's more like a time or ten. And I'm no casual JT fan. I'm talking most of my favorite songs aren't on the Greatest Hits album, and many of them don't even get airplay. I know every nuance of the live albums, down to the on-stage banter caught on the recording between the tunes. Put it to you this way, this girls might not even be disappointed if he left You've Got a Friend and Fire and Rain off the set list (though we know that will never happen). In fact this is my one and only complaint about this concert, and really any of his others I have attended. When an artist has been recording as long as James Taylor, and he reminded us of his break in 1968- so that's 49 years, and he has such a vast library, a true fan will never hear all her favorites. The same happens when I go to Billy Joel concerts. There are just so many great songs, and he can't play them all.
I started by writing the set list in my journal during the show, but quickly got caught up in the music and by intermission forget all about jotting the second half. But here's a basic run down, not in the order they were played, but rather in groupings I can remember:
He opened up with Something in the Way She Moves, a strange choice I thought. Nonetheless, it's one of those Greatest Hits and it is recognizable to almost any sort of fan. Also from GH, was Sweet Baby James, a song JT has lovingly referred to as a Cowboy Lullaby over the years as he wrote it for his first nephew, his namesake. Of course he played Fire and Rain, Carolina in My Mind, and You've Got a Friend. He prefaced the latter by telling us Carol King wrote it for him, but of course the true blues already knew that.
As I reflect, I realize he actually played every tune on the GH album, except Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, probably because it can feel a bit like a downer. As always, renditions of Steamroller and Shower the People were terrific. When he sings Steamroller live, the lights go blue and he channels his inner bluesy funk. He always has a lot of fun with it. One of my personal favorites is Shower the People. JT allows, Arnold McCuller, a back-up singer who has been with the band for years, to steal the show. And it never disappoints. Before he played Country Road, he bantered with the crowd a bit about what he called country nature hippie bullshit. There were extra laughs when he reminded the crowd how perfect a location the Berkshires was for said bullshit. If I'm to be honest, with that lead in, I thought for a moment and should have known better, that we were going to hear Gaia, from the Hourglass album. No such luck. We didn't get a single song from Hourglass or Never Die Young.
The only song we got from October Road was On the 4th of July, fitting as it was Independence Day weekend. From Flag we got Up on the Roof, one of my favorite JT songs ever, and it was especially beautiful sitting under the stars. We got an old favorite with Everyday and several songs of New Moon Shine, possibly my favorite James Taylor album of all time. He played, I've Got to Stop Thinking 'Bout That, a song he said was about obsession, and Copperline which is a nod to his other home, North Carolina. The rendition of arguably one of his best songs ever, Frozen Man was introduced with a story about how he wrote the song. I had heard it before at a show, but he told it little bit differently this time. It was based on a story he saw in a National Geographic Magazine. The song began with tingly chimes and blue lights, perfect lead in for Frozen Man.
From the new album, Before this World to no surprise, we got Today, Today, Today and a wonderful version of Angels of Fenway. In Massachusetts, JT couldn't seem to help playing to the crowd of Red Sox fans, and funny enough plenty of Yankee fans who also seemed to appreciate the nod to the Curse of the Bambino. The very last song of the show, even after the encore was You Can Close Your Eyes, from the Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. This was an absolutely beautiful goodnight serenade by James and his back-up singers which included his wife Kim, and a late-in-the-show addition to the band, his son Henry.
Overall, JT's voice was as smoothly and richly caramel as always. He admittedly felt right at home and happy to be in Tanglewood for the weekend. This gave his show a more relaxed feel than some of the previous ones I attended. The tour boasts James taylor and His All Star Band, and they did not disappoint. Arnold McCuller and Kate Markowitz were fantastic as always on vocals, as were Andrea Zonn and David Lasley. I'm not sure if Kim and Henry joined him for the night because they were home, or if they are touring with the band, but they were a nice addition as well. The band was phenomenal, especially Luis Conte on percussion and Zonn on the fiddle. There were new arrangements for songs I have been listening to for years, and it made the music more exciting. I had never heard so much fiddle highlighted in his songs live before, and it was a wonderful addition.
It would really be hard to disappoint me at a James Taylor show. If the question is, Does he still got it? The answer is yes. Yes, he can still write great songs. Yes, his voice still sounds terrific. Yes, the man can play the guitar. Yes, he can still put together a great band. Yes, he even moves more on stage than he used to. And yes, the money was well spent. James Taylor is still my favorite singer-songwriter.
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