Bloggerhythms

In 2022 I wrote a blog post on The Rolling Stones' Blue & Lonesome as part of Bloggerhythms' Last Albums series. Then Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and their friends ruined the whole thing by by releasing Hackney Diamonds two years ago. Despite that, I'm taking my chances that 76 year old James Taylor won't let me down too and release another album, even though that might not be such a bad thing. In 2020, Taylor released a set of tunes from the Great American Songbook, and it's a good one.  American Standard is a fourteen track record of cover tunes from the man who is often credited with jump-starting the entire 70s singer-songwriter movement. Taylor is no stranger to covers. Even though he's a songwriter of great importance he's recorded many singles written by others, most notably, Carole King's "You've Got A Friend," his only Billboard #1 hit from very early in his career. He also charted with "How S...

It's unusual to do a tribute to someone while he's still alive but James Taylor is a man who deserves all of the accolades he receives because, while he didn't invent the sub-genre, he is the person most associated with kick starting the entire singer-songwriter movement into the popular mainstream. Details about Taylor's young adulthood, his hospitalization, his serious heroin addiction, and his upper middle class upbringing have all been well documented so we're not here to discuss those titillating parts of his life. It's only his music that matters, although as his folk-rock masterpiece, "Fire and Rain," from his first hit album, Sweet Baby James , proves it's not always possible to separate the two. What is it about Taylor's music that gave him such widespread appeal even with people who were into the hardest rock and roll? The soon-to-be star came along in 1970, when rock was at one of its most creative and loudest eras, and to t...

James Taylor has often been credited with kick-starting the whole singer-songwriter movement so it's ironic that many of his biggest hit singles have been cover versions of other people's songs. Notable among them are "You've Got A Friend," "Handy Man," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)," and "Up On The Roof." Taylor has written some wonderful songs so my statement isn't meant to demean his accomplishments. To the contrary, he is talented and versatile enough to fold other artist's songs into his laid back musical frame of reference and truly make them his own. Considering both Taylor's good taste and commercial success recording other artists' work we shouldn't be surprised that he finally issued a whole CD of classics originally associated with other stars. On his latest release, Covers , a lot of famous 60s and 70s pop and rock standards receive the usual laid back Taylor treatment. "Not Fade Away,...

James Taylor At Christmas is almost identical to the Christmas CD Taylor released during the 2004 holiday season for Hallmark titled A Christmas Album . If you were one of the people who purchased it at your local greeting card store two years ago there is no need to buy this new release because only the artwork is significantly different between the two. Hallmark's disc did not include the cover version of Joni Mitchell's "River" that used to be available for download on Taylor's website. "River" is included on the new album but "Deck The Halls" from the original Hallmark CD is not. The new album also includes "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" that is not on the original. According to reviewers on Amazon there is now a third version, also on Columbia, including the missing "Deck The Halls" as a bonus track. If you have either of the first two versions you don't need the third but the last one has all thirteen ...

The following review first appeared online in November 2004. Therefore some of the information about how to obtain a copy is now out of date. A year after this review first appeared the album is now considered a collector's item. Unless you can find a few leftover copies at your local Hallmark store the album appears to be available only at places such as Amazon. James Taylor's first ever Christmas CD, simply titled A Christmas Album , is now available only at Hallmark stores. I have bought some of these Hallmark Christmas CDs in past years and they are usually mediocre or worse, partially because only half of the tracks are by the featured artist. The remaining tracks usually feature the London Symphony Orchestra who, at least on these Christmas CDs, is a group with very plodding arrangements. However, this year Hallmark has outdone themselves. A Christmas Album features JT on all 11 tracks, is produced by jazzman Dave Grusin, and features trumpeter Chris Botti on "...