Customer Reviews

James Taylor Live

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I was lucky enough to first see James Taylor live in a small outdoor venue called Avaloch in rural Lenox, Massachusetts in the summer of 1970, after this first album recorded by the Beatles in London had been released and just before the release of the fabulously successful "Sweet Baby James" album by Warner Brothers. He appeared alone on-stage with a full head of long, long hair in a simple denim shirt and cut-up jeans with his four or five acoustic guitars, and for two and a half hours proceeded to absolutely enchant the sprawling lawn-full of hundreds of audience members with a spellbinding performance of all of the work from both of those albums. Although virtually unknown at the time, word of mouth had spread so quickly in the Berkshires area (who still considers him one of their own) that many of us went out to get this album to play before he appeared. The rest, as they say, is history.

This is a fantastic retrospective collection of his greatest hits recorded live, and as one would expect of the amazing Mr. Taylor, it is a terrific summary of that work. Many of my favorites are here, including "Something In The Way She Moves", "Carolina In My Mind", and "Rainy Day Man". Of course, so is "Fire And Rain", "You've Got A Friend", "Steamroller Blues", and a wonderful combination of "Millworker" and "Country Road", which are both among the best songs he has ever written. My all time favorite song from this album is "Sweet Baby James", which is sung about the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts where I grew up, so I have always considered this a special song. His performance on it is a brilliant illustration of just how incredibly talented an interpretive artist Taylor really is. He always pleases with songs like "Copperline", "Mexico", and "Walking Man", and this album is sure to please even the most cautious music fan. It is certainly a terrific showcase for how well Taylor can deliver on a variety of original works and covers of traditional folk songs. Enjoy

This album helped me to learn about newer songs that I had never heard before and fall in love again with the old. I love the way JT performs his songs in concert because of the way he adlibs. No matter what he does to his song, it never detracts, only enhances. "Country Road" is one of my favorites on this album because of the way it is performed. You can't help but to get caught up with the song, no matter what you are in the middle of. You feel that you are at the concert itself! "Sun on the Moon" was a great find to me. YOU MUST add this to your collection of JT albums! He demonstrates why he was selected for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

We (a married couple) saw James Taylor in Providence (Performing Arts Center) during this concert tour. As he has done for years, James tours with seasoned professional musicians and singers.

The musical arrangements on this album, his voice, the voices of the background singers, the (minimal) audience banter...make for an entertaining - perhaps even joyous - listening experience. We have worn out both cassettes (the double set) and are now purchasing the CDs.

Although the concert was in 93 and we bought the album in 94, we continue to listen to it right up until today. "Walking Man" is a perfect autumn song. "Shower the People" includes phenomenal singing by one of the male back-up singers. The arrangement for "How Sweet It Is" is better than the original Motown version. If you are in the car, you will probably pull the album out of the stack when you're in gridlock just to hear "Traffic Jam."

This album is as close to a live performance as you can get, yet the sound quality on it is superb. "Five stars" is not enough - it deserves ten!

I have heard him live and this CD brings back that magic that you experience in his audience. James Taylor's folksy warmth is felt in every sincere utterance, and this is as good or better than any of his studio projects.

Great deal at any price!

I bought this album eight years ago, and it still stays in my CD changer for weeks at a time. Every song you would expect is here, all engagingly performed. But what really sells the set for me is the selection of songs that a lot of casual listeners may not have heard much. "Secret O' Life" has me reaching for the repeat button. "Millworker" is a beautiful and touching song that will have you wondering about little matters like justice and fairness. "New Hymn" is a pure musical prayer. And Taylor's version of the George Jones howler "She Thinks I Still Care" will have you cranking up the volume and singing along at the top of your lungs. Oh yeah, and if you think JT can't rock, check out "Traffic Jam" or "Slap Leather." The production is superb, maybe the best live album you'll ever hear. I haven't been a huge Taylor fan, and in fact this is the only one of his recordings I own. But it's one of the best albums I've ever heard, and if you buy it, like me you'll probably love listening to it year after year.

There are those who are naturals for live albums and ones who aren't. James Taylor has to be one of the naturals.

Of course, if you want perfection, you probably want to stick with the studio recordings. But if you want to hear a truly electric performance, go with this live album.

From the first cut, "Sweet Baby James", you can sense the perfect rapport with the audience. The live version of "Mexico" is quite enhanced by the life atmosphere, and by the time you get to "Fire and Rain", you can sense a flow between the singer and his audience. The energy reaches its zenith on "Shower The People" and "How Sweet It Is".

Cut after cut is notable here. The pure country sound of "She Thinks I Still Care" is a highlight. "You've Got A Friend" and "That Lonesome Road" close a truly exciting experience. If you prefer the best in the spontanaity of a live performance to the cool and perfect studio recording, or even if the two are equal in your mind, then you deserve to have this in your collection.

I have never heard a live album that was just perfect. This is the one cd I take everywhere with me. My all time favorite James Taylor Song is "Something in the way she moves!" I wasn't alive during the 60's, but thank you so much for my parents for getting me into James Taylor. His band is wonderful! His songs are wonderful, and the best thing of all is his voice! If you like the voice of Bono in "U2", Michael Stipe in "R.E.M", or Frank Sinatra, then this is an album just for you. It is an album that cheers you up when you're feeling blue. Trust me I know. If you don't own this, buy it now!

Don't make the mistake of settling for the edited "Best Live" collection. This has more than twice as many songs, & is well worth the extra money. It has almost 3 times as many songs as his "Greatest Hits", making this the definitive JT collection. Combining folk, rock, country, blues, (& humor), it's a very entertaining, must-have release.

I felt the electricity and energy of the live show as a palpable surge the first time I listened to this CD. I played it for anyone who would listen for about a year. I believe I played at least some part of it every day for the rest of the summer of '93 after it came out. It replaces the first "Greatest Hits" collection as the definitive dose of JT, in my opinion. The renditions of "Country Road," "Steamroller," "Shower the People," "Secret 'o Life," "Up on the Roof," and others are what it is all about, baby. I used to think JT was dreadfully un-hip, because he had a nasally, molasses-sounding voice, and recorded his first album before I was born. I've changed my tune, but he hasn't. I could listed to him play for hours, and with this CD, I have!

Those of us who are long-time JT fans have come to expect a certain level of care, craftsmanship, and recording excellence from his studio recordings. His last two CDs, Hourglass and October Road (as of this mid-2006 writing), are good examples -- the music is often controlled and sometimes subdued (and often up tempo and raucous), but almost always polished to a sheen.

Seeing JT live is a VERY different experience than listening to his CDs. Especially when he is playing in a large outdoor facility, he brings an excitement, an immediacy, a feeling of explosive energy just under the surface. Having seen him live some 6 or 7 times now, I can say that the producers and recording engineers of this Live CD have pulled off something of a minor miracle: they have put that energy in a bottle, only now we can enjoy the contents of that bottle over and over again.

From the minimalist opening "Sweet Baby James" (just JT and his guitar), Taylor then builds up the energy level to an extreme high in such cuts as "Shed a Little Light". Then he lets loose with a rendition of "Steamroller" that just explodes (e.g. there is a crashing loud chord after the line "I'm a napalm bomb..." that The Who would have been proud to have done). This is a tune that can only be done justice live.

The tunes that feature his backup singers ("Shed a Little Light", "Sun on the Moon") are especially energetic. In between, we get some surprises, like the new ending he adds to "Country Road" that borders on rap (!), some of his more obscure tunes, like "Millworker" and "New Hymn", which are quiet little masterpieces, and he finishes with a quiet a cappella version of "That Lonesome Road" -- just JT and his backup singers, which puts an elegant cap on the evening. (And if you listen closely on that cut, you'll notice that JT takes the melody solo only for the first part of the middle verse; in the rest of the song he lets backup-singer Arnold McCuller sing the melody, and JT sings the bass part -- showing how JT's ego doesn't get in the way of doing it the "right way", since his voice is lower than all his backup singers).

I cannot rate this CD highly enough. His studio CDs are jewels, to be sure, but Live is a marvelous alternative of "experiencing" JT. The infectious energy, the patter with the audience, the high intensity tunes contrasted with the calm simple tunes -- this CD has it all.