Over the years, James Taylor has surprised more than a few concert-goers with the size of his sound when he goes out with his usual six or seven-piece group plus three or four background vocalists.\u00a0 He began his career as quite literally the prototypical sensitive folk-rocker, and he mostly sticks to acoustic guitar regardless of the size of the band around him, but until last year it had been almost 30 years since he\u2019d toured solo.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Last year, however, he decided to \u201cgo back to the well,\u201d as he puts it in the liner notes that also form the opening narration to the DVD that accompanies this live CD.\u00a0 The results, while they\u2019re unlikely to change anyone\u2019s minds about the original introspective singer-songwriter, are an excellent representation of From there you are treated to 19 tracks’ worth of James and his guitar, with just pianist Larry Goldings — and a couple of technologically-generated special guests — accompanying him.\u00a0 Acoustic classics like \u201cSomething In The Way She Moves\u201d and \u201cSweet Baby James\u201d receive familiar treatments and in that sense serve as touchstones to the changes wrought to traditionally full-band tunes like \u201cCountry Road\u201d and \u201cCopperline,\u201d which are necessarily somewhat transformed.\u00a0 <\/p>\n What the changes really accomplish, though, is to simply crystallize what is so appealing about Taylor\u00a0— this is comfort music, minor-key melodies and lyrics that feel like one of those intense conversations you have on the back porch at a family gathering, avoiding the surrounding drama for a moment of incisive reflection and connection.\u00a0 When One of the nice touches here is that There are of course, certain staples that never leave the set, but it\u2019d be easier to imagine a Rolling Stones show without \u201cSatisfaction\u201d than a JT show without \u201cFire And Rain.\u201d\u00a0 And the thing about classics like \u201cFire,\u201d \u201cSecret O\u2019Life\u201d and \u201cCarolina In My Mind\u201d is that they retain such emotional resonance even after all these years that you know you\u2019d miss them if they weren\u2019t there.<\/p>\n As for the DVD, the big difference and real pleasure there is in observing moments like the introductory Red Sox shout-out play out in full\u00a0— Taylor is a natural storyteller and gifted, rather Garrison Keillor-esque humorist\u00a0— homespun but deadly-sharp with his wit.\u00a0 His acid retort about the Yankees is hilarious and earns Joe Torre a written apology in the liner notes.\u00a0 Numerous other stories and sidebars\u00a0— heavily edited for the CD version\u00a0— make it onto the DVD and turn it into a true evening with Mr. Taylor, as opposed to simply a musical performance.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n One Man Band<\/i> is everything a